Bloodcurse

Intimacy

The shower definitely helped.

Throwing on a fresh set of clothes, I take one last look in the mirror and decide this is as good as it's gonna get. Of course, Caden already knows what I look like now - he's come by to see me every other day, even going as far as bringing me my favorite drink from the convenience store down the street whenever he visits. It's yet another testament to how inherently lovely he is.

Since I had to improvise, I quickly wrapped one of my books in some old magazine pages and hope he's not going to hate the copy of Nikola Tesla's autobiography that I bought in Wyoming about twelve years ago. It's got pictures, at least...

I spend the remainder of the hour tidying my room and throwing out the empty plastic bottles that have accumulated on my desk. They used to be filled with soda before Adam repurposed them; he fills them halfway with cherry juice and tops them off with blood to get me used to drinking it. It's... strangely okay. The sweetness masks the metallic taste a little, and the consistency is definitely improved by it as well. However, I'm annoyingly lazy when it comes to taking them back to the kitchen.

Gathering the bottles into a pile, I quickly stuff them into a laundry bag and toss that into my closet. That has to suffice for now. Other than getting rid of the dishes - if you can call them that - I straighten out my bed, picking up the clothes strewn about the covers and arranging my pillows to look somewhat presentable.

Satisfied with my last-ditch effort to make my room look clean, I sit back on the bed and wait, checking the time on my phone every now and then. When it's a few minutes past nine, I finally hear a knock on my door.

Jumping up, I rush over and open it to see Caden towering in the doorway. It's still hilarious to me that he has to duck in order to enter most rooms. "You're so punctual."

Caden grins and steps inside, and I notice his hair is tied back loosely. He must have come over right after closing the salon. "My dad used to say early is on time and on time is late."

I close the door behind us and turn around to wrap my arms around his waist. "Sounds like your dad and my dad would have gotten along swimmingly."

He hugs me back and places a kiss on the top of my head. "I'd like to think so."

Drawing back from him a little, I smile as his eyes meet mine. "Hi."

"Hi," he replies, gazing at me softly. "You smell nice."

"Thanks," I say through a chuckle. "I actually showered earlier."

Caden smiles amusedly. "Do you usually not?"

"Well, let's just say it's very telling of how much I like you."

Laughing brightly, Caden leans down to kiss me, and I lift my heels off the floor to meet him halfway. When we eventually part again, I run my hand over his hair and gently take out the elastic. He blinks in surprise as his hair falls into his face, and I chuckle.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," I tell him as I brush a few strands behind his ear.

His mouth opens as if he's about to say something, but he decides against it and simply returns my smile instead. I don't know how much time passes as we continue to stand here and just look at each other, but I don't mind at all. I could probably do this forever.

Eventually, Caden takes a deep breath and withdraws from our loose embrace. He briefly grins as he notices my crestfallen expression, then searches his pocket until he finds a neatly wrapped package and offers it to me.

"Happy belated birthday, Seth."

Wasting no time, I tear the wrapping paper open and uncover a black, rectangular box. Lifting the top just a bit, I instantly recognize what's inside and quickly drop the lid again as I gape at Caden.