Life after Death: The Afterlife of Hezekiah Chamblee

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Morning After and Project Partners

Hezekiah's POV

"Hezekiah?"

My eyes slowly fluttered open to find a shirtless Chance hovering over me with a small smile on his face, his hair slightly tousled yet making him more and more of the handsome stud that any girl (or guy) would be lucky to have. And after last night, I was the one to claim him as much as he claimed me. "Oh, hey," I replied, voice full of sleep as I rubbed my eyes and stifled a yawn. "I didn't know you stayed over."

"Didn't want you to feel alone," he replied as he watched me stand to my feet and stretched my limbs, oblivious to my nudity. "But I did have to head to my place real quick to grab some clothes before coming back to shower. I also ordered in some breakfast and had it delivered."

I soon faced him. "You didn't have to do that."

"One, it's what a good boyfriend does. And two, I wanted to because I felt like you needed something to get you energized after last night."

I felt my face heat up, my mind flashing back to all the sensual moments that took place last night in my bed as we did all positions and sexual acts that might've given Adelle a heart attack. "Well, when you put it that way," I conceded, lowering my head.

Chance raised it up as I soon faced his kind eyes. "No need to feel bashful, 'Kiah," he said. "Last night was bound to happen since you and I were meant to be. I know it and so do you. I meant what I said to you last night when I wanted you to finally come out of your shell. And I intend to help you do just that."

"Thank you," I replied. "I'm just-"

"We can take it slow, but know that I'm invested in this between us. All you need to ask yourself is whether or not you're invested as well."

I inhaled deeply, Lucifer's reminder in my head. "I am."

Chance granted me a wide smile. "Good. Now, hit the shower and then meet me downstairs."

I nodded, watching him leave before grabbing some sweats and ducking into the bathroom. Looks like the start of something wonderful," I thought as I turned on the shower water. I just hope that I wouldn't mess things up or worse, cause the wrath of one Brazilian femme fatale.

**************

The scent of Belgian waffles, sausage, hashbrowns, and omelets tickled my nose as I stepped into the kitchen where Chance was waiting for me. "Hope you like omelets," he asked me. "Yours has tomatoes, peppers, ham, cheese, and cilantro. Mine's all veggies."

"I love omelets," I replied gratefully, taking my seat next to him at the kitchen island before Chance served me a glass of orange juice. "It's been a while since I had a good breakfast like this."

"Figured you could use a spread like this, but I can cook something better in the days to come."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? I look forward to it."

Chance nodded before he turned to me. "I've been hoping that you and I would get to spend more time together now that we're here in the Nexus," he said. "Back on Earth, everyone and anyone in our lives made sure that you and I were kept apart and in our respective corners."

"I know that feeling," I replied. "One moment that stands our in my head was when you and I were assigned as partners for a project for English, remember? Tenth grade?"

"Who can forget it? I was hyped up since our swimming lessons got snubbed by Berkmar and I wanted to get to know you again..."

***************

FLASHBACK (Tenth grade, first semester)....

"Okay, class. Now that you've been assigned partners, your project is to work on an oral report with an accompanying visual or aural exhibit based on the story from your summer reading list," Mrs. Cartier intoned. "This counts as forty percent of your grade and I will be judging everything based on presentation, the paper in general with spelling and grammar accuracy, and relatability to the book of your choice. It's due in three weeks and cannot be done during class. Make sure to see me and let me know of the book of your choice. You may use this time to talk about the book of your choice and what project you and your partner will be utilizing."