Infallible

Chapter 7

The next morning dawned brightly, and Rae awoke with a start. The dorms that she had grown accustomed to had no windows, so seeing the sunrise over the far-off Amity lake was a very welcome change. She rolled over, taking in her surroundings. She was in a large bed, with black sheets and a dark maroon comforter. There were a few articles of mostly black clothing littering the floor, and a half-full glass of alcohol on the nightstand. A hamper overflowed with dark-colored laundry next to the door, which happened to open just then.
Eric entered, stopping once he saw that she was awake. As the memories of last night came flooding back to Rae in full detail, she couldn't stop the profound blush from rising in her cheeks. She looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say. He walked slowly around the end of the bed, and sat down next to her.
"'Morning sunshine." He said with a smile as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Good morning." She replied, looking up to meet his gaze. She noticed that he was already dressed.
"I got you some breakfast from the cafeteria since your lazy ass slept in." He teased. Rae rolled her eyes at him as he continued, "I'm not here a lot, so I don't have much food. I have a few things to do for Max this morning, including a meeting. I'm assuming you probably don't want to join the rest of the initiates just yet. You guys have the next two days off... before the start of Stage 2. Stay here for now, get some rest."
"Thank you." Said Rae, relieved. The ache between her legs becoming more apparent by the minute.
"So... how are you?" He asked as if reading her mind. Rae thought she saw a hint of timidness cross his features, but it was gone before she could be sure.
"I'm fine." She lied, looking at her hands once again.
"Are you lying to me, initiate?" He asked her sternly. His change of tone took her by surprise and she looked up at him guiltily, blushing once again.
"I-I'm pretty sore,I guess." She admitted.
"I bet you are. That's what happens when you don't mention the fact that you're a virgin." He snapped at her. Her guilty expression turned to shock, stunned at his sudden change in demeanor. He stood, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyebrows raised.
"Eric...I...um... " She didn't know what to say. She was not about to delve into her life's sad sob story. Not right now. Right now she needed to show him that she was brave. She was Dauntless.
"I'm listening!" He said irritably. Rae sat there a moment, trying to think of what to say. However, there was no short version of this story, and she wasn't ready to let Eric in on her disgustingly ugly past at this point in time.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out. As she sat there, staring helplessly up at an expectant Eric, tears began to form in her eyes and quickly spilled over before she could stop them. She lowered her head burying her face in her hands, as if that would hide her tears from him, and attempted to quickly pull herself together. She did not want to lose her cool like this, especially in front of the most ruthless leader in Dauntless.
What the fuck did I get myself into? She asked herself angrily.
Just then, Eric sighed. He sat next to her once again, closer this time. He draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. This time when he spoke, his tone was much gentler.
"Hey, just... calm down. I'm really not good at consoling people." He said uneasily.
"I'm okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to not tell you..." She wiped her tears away in frustration and took a deep breath. "And I definitely don't know why I'm losing my shit like this. I'm sorry. I-um, I just wasn't allowed out of my house a lot growing up... to say the least."
"Rae, if you don't want to talk about it... Fine. I just wish you would have told me you were a damn virgin. I could have really hurt you last night. I had no idea. That's the last thing I need, to try to explain that to Max."
"You didn't...hurt me." She whispered, a smile playing over her lips. She was blushing again. Eric simply rolled his eyes at her, yet he wore a smug expression.
"I have to go." He stood up and walked to the door. "Stay here until I can sneak you out. Help yourself to whatever in the kitchen. Don't burn the place down." He winked at her and then he was gone.
***
Later that afternoon, Rae was laying on her back on Eric's couch reading one of the novels that were on the coffee table. She had showered again, a little more thoroughly this time around. She didn't have any clean clothes, so she threw on one of his t shirts, and a pair of his boxers. The shirt hung down to her knees, hiding the boxers (which had to be rolled several times at the waistband) completely.
About an hour had passed and Rae was deeply engrossed in the book. When the door swung open, she jumped so hard that she nearly fell off the couch.
"On edge much?" Eric raised his eyebrows, a teasing smirk on his face.
"No! It's not my fault you burst in here like a damn bull!" She teased him back, straightening up and setting the book back down on the table. He walked toward her and grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet.
"Did you just call me a bull, initiate? And who the fuck told you that you could wear my shirt?" He looked down at her outfit, narrowing his eyes at her. Confidently, and to her own surprise, Rae replied,
"I can take it off, if you want me to." She looked up at him through her eyelashes wearing a coy smile.
"That's the most sensible thing you've said so far today." With that, he grabbed the hem of the T-shirt and pulled it swiftly over Rae's head, causing her hair to cascade back down over her now bare breasts. His eyes traveled down to his boxers hanging loosely from her waist, and he rolled his eyes. "Nice to see you've made yourself at home in my apartment." He then turned and headed toward his bedroom, taking off his shirt as he went. Rae stared after him, unsure if she was meant to follow or not. He emerged a moment later with his arms full of laundry. Heading into the bathroom he called to her,
"I'm gonna need my underwear back now."
She followed him into the bathroom, stopping just inside the door to lean on the doorframe. She watched as he opened the small closet door next to the toilet. Inside was a small, stacked washer and dryer and a set of shelves. He loaded the clothes into the washer, poured soap, and told her that he had thrown in her dirty clothes from yesterday as well. He stripped off the rest of his own clothes, leaving him completely bare. Adding the clothes to the washer, he then turned to Rae. She flushed at the sight of him, standing shamelessly before her.
"Did I stutter?" He asked, stepping toward her. "I thought I told you to take these off." With that, he hooked his thumbs around the rolled waistband of the boxers and yanked them down. Once they were fully off, he tossed them in with the rest of the clothes and shut the lid with a loud bang.
"Now then, it looks like we have a little time to kill."
  He scooped Rae up and lay her on the couch. He moved inside of her gently this time. He felt guilty for being so rough her first time, and wanted to at least give her the "first time" experience she deserved. He rolled his hips against hers slowly, savoring every tantalizing moment as the sound of Rae's sweet sighs filled his apartment.

***

Eric lay on his back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. A snoozing Rae laid in the crook of his arm, her head on his chest. The dryer had finished about 20 minutes before, but Eric lay still, deep in thought. He was perplexed by this girl. This small, Amity girl with a smart mouth and a brave persona. From the second he'd met her, he'd been completely thrown off by her. He couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what it was about her that had him so wound up. There were lots of beautiful girls in Dauntless. Girls who were tough like him and most likely right within Eric's reach, if only he'd made himself available. Yet he'd put up a wall and shut everyone out. He socialized with very few of his colleagues, wearing his label of hardened Dauntless leader as a suit of armor. Then, off the train jumps Rae, cutting right through his facade and making it difficult for him to concentrate when he was near her. He'd been completely amazed when she had pulled the first move on him...not once, but twice! Not once had he held a girl after sex before now, and he knew she wasn't aware that she was in some ways a first for him also. He definitely hadn't planned on wanting to do it again, hoping that after a good fuck she would be out of his system and he could get his head back in straight. There was no doubting that she was different. Now he just needed to find a way to get to know this girl without losing his reputation, and getting in trouble with Max.
He slid out from underneath Rae, and she began to stir. He brought the clean clothes into his bedroom from the dryer and dressed quickly. He found Rae's clothes and returned to the living room to hand them to her. He found her sitting on the couch hugging her knees. She smiled wearily at him when he approached her.
"I have to sneak you out soon. It's almost dinner time, and it will be the perfect time to mix back in with the other initiates. Here, your clothes."
He handed her the clothes and she put them on. When she straightened up, he walked to her. He brought his hand to her cheek, brushing it lightly with his thumb. He looked to Rae as though he wanted to say something, his eyes searching hers. Yet, he simply turned and headed for the door.
"Lets go, stay close until we get to the chasm. Then we will go our separate ways. And Rae-" he turned to face her momentarily. "Don't tell anyone about this. It's against the rules and we could both end up factionless." With that, they exited his apartment and crept quietly down to the cafeteria.

***

"Where the hell have you been?! We thought you might have slipped and fell into the chasm or something!" Exclaimed Deidra, nudging Rae's shoulder as she sat down with her friends.
"I just needed to get a night alone, without listening to a bunch of other people snoring." She replied simply, hoping that would satisfy them. It didn't.

"Liar!" Exclaimed Jackson, amused. "Who were you with that you don't want to tell us about?"

Damn you, Candor.

"Nobody!" Said Rae, but she felt her face get hot. "Please, I don't want to talk about it, not here especially!" She motioned toward the rest of the dining room. Deidra and Jackson dropped it for the time being, and Rae was relieved when the subject changed to their plans for tomorrow. It was their last day off before Stage 2 began. That's when a dark-skinned, younger looking Dauntless guy approached their table.

"Hey guys! Congrats on passing Stage 1. I'm Zeke. We are taking you guys on a little initiation ritual, so to speak. You guys in?"

"What exactly are we doing?" Asked Jackson.

"You'll see...everyone follow me!" He bounced away excitedly. Rae, Deidra and Jackson all looked around at each other, then shrugged in unison before getting up and joining the rest of the initiates following Zeke out of the Pit.

Thanks so much to those of you following along! I definitely have big plans for where this story is going, although I haven't exactly worked out all the details yet. I guess I'll be just as surprised as you! Thanks so much for those of you who have voted so far, please don't hesitate to leave a comment and tell me what you think! Your feedback would be greatly appreciated! Happy Friday, and happy reading ♥