Angelina

Chapter 8

     Stella was out checking on the animals when I found her. It was fully dark out now. She heard me and waited for me to come into view. She looked embarrassed and something else.

     “We need to talk.” I said and then I knew what the something else was. Hope. This will not be easy, I thought.

     “I’m sorry about earlier.”

     She looked forgiving. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

     I did mean it but I could not tell her that.

     “Sex always makes me feel better. Even in my past life, I was a prostitute. I like it, Rogue. The way it makes me feel in control and sometimes equal.” She explained.

     “I understand. There was a time when I slept with everything in a skirt…”

     “I wish I knew you then.” She interrupted to say quite serious, what should have been a jest.

     “I’m not that person anymore.”

     “But you are still young, not yet three hundred.”

     “I don’t know about that. We go through stages in our eternal life. You’ll get there eventually but for right now are you ready to be a life partner?”

     “For you, yes.”

     “Stella, this is already hard for me.” I pleaded.

     “It’s hard for me too. My life partner has to be exactly like you if not you. Don’t go on, I know why you are here now.”       She ran away. I was supposed to make things better. Why did I feel like it just got more complicated? I stared into the darkness, long after she was gone.

     My phone buzzed. A pleasant feeling passed through me. Angie.

     “You said whenever I needed anything, anytime. I need you to save me from boredom.’ Her text read.

     ‘I’m on my way.’  I replied.

     She sat sideways with her legs bent up on the sofa. Her elbow rested on the back of the sofa while her hand propped her head. She idly played with a loose thread on her pink tank top. Her pajama bottom was pink and white stripes.

     I made deliberate light noises as I approached and she looked up and smiled. The sound of her heartbeat thrilled me.

     “So, bored huh?”

     “Not anymore.”

     I reached down and kissed her lips lightly before sitting next to her. She put one leg down and leaned forward. She wanted me to kiss her more but that was not how I wanted to cure her boredom.

     “There is a possibility I might be able to convert them into vegans before I leave.” She sounded content with the outcome of her dinner the night before.

     I focused on the last thing she said. “And when is that?”

     At first, she looked confused. “Oh, at the end of summer, Aunt Emma says I’m making amazing progress. Thanks for that.” She looked sad. Angie had not thought that far ahead. Neither did I for that matter.

     “What are your plans when you leave here?” I enquired.

     “I, I don’t have any.” She looked embarrassed. Was it because she did not think things would get better?

     “Then, I guess we have to make some but not tonight.” The sparkle in her eyes returned.

     “What did you do today?”