Zoe's only wish is to be able to run barefoot through grass, but she knows it'll never happen. Ever since she was born, she's been unable to touch anything living without it instantly dying. It's a curse she would do anything to get rid of, but that...
"So are you willing to give me any more juice details now that it's just us girls?" Alex asked as soon as we sat down in the living room.
"You know nothing could have happened," I pointed out.
"Ugh, seriously? Fine," she muttered.
"What does the l-word mean?" I asked her to change topic, and she chuckled.
"Love. You know, as in, have you said I love you to one another." She gave me a wink and a teasing smile.
I felt my face starting to burn, and I adverted my eyes. Turned them to my lap instead and my fidgeting fingers. "Isn't it too early for that?"
"So what if it is? Everything about you two is too early. Do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Don't play dumb. Do you love him?"
The truth was that I had loved him from the moment I looked into his eyes. That was just how it was, how the magic of the mate bond worked. But in more human terms, did I love him?
It really was such a hard concept to wrap your head around. I felt the things that most humans would use to define love. I wanted to always be around him, he made me feel safe and happy, and his smile made me smile. I would do anything to protect him, even if that meant death for me. But that was all things that the mate bond also automatically made me feel. So that didn't help with if I loved him in the way Alex meant, the way that grew with time.
But Felix had managed to make my life go from a cold winter day to a warm summer evening. Because of Felix, I had regained hope in that I could live a normal life. With Felix, I saw the light instead of endless darkness.
"Yes," I said and was unable to keep the smile off my face when I said it. "I love him."
"I'm pretty sure he loves you too," Alex said, and she had lost some of her teasing tone. Instead, there was a soft seriousness there. "I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. I've never actually seen him look that way at anyone ever before. But... Not to be like that, but physical stuff is, you know, a part of a relationship."
"I got a new lead that hopefully will make me find a cure," I admitted to her.
"Really? That would be great. Not only because of sex and stuff, but damn, you really need to get out of that dress. Promise me I'll get to help you fix your wardrobe," she said, and the seriousness was gone again.
"Deal," I smiled, and then a realization hit me. I hadn't thought about what would actually happen between me and Felix physically when I got rid of the curse. Or not more than as a brief passing thought. It really was a topic that I knew very little about. It wasn't something that I could talk to my father about, and I didn't have any friends for that either. Besides, I had never seen it as a possibility, so I hadn't ever bothered to consider talking about it. I knew the main mechanics of sex, of course, and I had read a few novels that depicted it, but that was about it.
"Don't worry about it," Alex interrupted my thoughts.
"Worry about it?" I asked, wondering if I had missed something else she'd said.
"Sex. I assume that was what you were thinking about and clearly getting worried over. But honestly, I feel like people make a much bigger deal out of it than it needs to be. And the first time might be a bit awkward for you, but the same goes for a lot of things when we try it for the first time. So don't overthink it. When the time comes, just do whatever feels natural."
I gave her a weak smile and nodded. It calmed my thoughts, and hadn't I just recently decided to try to live more in the moment and not worry about everything? I couldn't do any of that yet, so it was better to leave the worrying for another day.
"Having any fun conversation?" Felix said as he came in carrying a tray with the pie and plates.
"Just girl talk," Alex winked.
Felix frowned, but he didn't try to find out more.
Both me and Alex were seated on the couch, there were two armchairs as well. Felix only had to give Alex a glance for her to choke back a laugh and change to an armchair so Felix could sit next to me.
He cut up the pie and handed us a piece each. I didn't start off eating, but curiously watched Felix take his first bite instead. His eyes lit up as soon as it hit his tongue. But before I could ask for confirmation that he liked it, Alex let out an exaggerated moan.
"This," she said, looking at the piece of pie on her plate. "This is heavenly."
I chuckled at her, but quickly turned back to Felix.
"It really is. The best pie I've ever eaten," he confirmed, and I smiled as I started to eat as well.
"What movie are you going to watch?" Alex asked next.
"She's never seen Star Wars," Felix answered.
"Wow, so Zoe, you ought to know that if you don't like that movie, no amount of delicious food will be able to save the relationship," Alex laughed with pie in her mouth.
"I'm not that bad," Felix protested.
"Right... You've never dumped anyone because they didn't like Star Wars."
"That was different and you know it. I was already planning on dumping her, that just became the final thing."
"Yeah, yeah. But consider yourself warned, Zoe."
"Since Felix loves it, I'll probably love it too," I answered with certainty.
"Can you two get any more obnoxiously cute?" Alex rolled her eyes.
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