Only Your Touch

Chapter Seven

"You look like you're freezing." Vic slowly made his way to my doorstep. I had his scarf in my hands. "You should wear that." He pointed at his own possession. I shook my head.

"I've held onto it for longer than it needs to be." I spoke as he stopped in front of me. He grabbed the scarf from my hand and wrapped it lightly around my neck.

"If it means you staying warm, keep it a little longer." He held the fabric in his hands. We were so close. His warm breath could be felt on my cheeks. I bet I could kiss him. If I kissed him, would he pull away? And how would I know that if I kissed him, we would both refrain from spreading germs? Why the hell didn't my thoughts go first to the germs? Why was my first thought reflecting my fears of him rejecting me? Vic cleared his throat. A nervous tendency I've noticed. He let go of the scarf as he back away.

"Go. We should go." I whispered.

"Yeah. Come on." He went quickly off without me. I had to run to catch up. And the first thing I did was hold his hand. He looked down at our hands. He showed no form of emotion. I tried to let go. He laced our fingers together with a tighter grip. It was no longer the same thing as yesterday. I was actually holding his hand. I mean, I couldn't feel anything because we were both wearing gloves but it was the idea. "Did you sleep well?"

"After you called, yes. I felt safer." I shrugged. His mouth twitched into a smile.

"So....I make you feel safer?" He was teasing me. I rolled my eyes. God, it feels like forever since I've been able to be comfortable around someone. I'm glad it was someone who seemed to have the same feeling as me.

"I just need to learn to put my phone on a charger."

"You don't want to wake up to this face in the morning. Trust me." He made a funny face at me. I laughed. "I'm glad you're laughing. I want to be able to hear more." I was hoping my blush was covered by the cold making my cheeks turn red. "I like the feeling of making you happy. It's fulfilling." I could only offer a smile. I didn't want to do anything to change his mind. I managed to stay at the same walking pace as him. He walked fast. Luckily, we were about the same height.

"So, where are we going?" I asked. He stopped.

"Here. We're stopping here." I looked at the building we were standing in front of. It was a rundown building with a dirty sign. It read that this was an orphanage.

"What are we doing here?"

"I help out. You can leave." I made a small gasp when he let go of my hand. Everything felt so cold without him next to me. I thought about the conditions inside. The children inside. Kids don't really care what is on their bodies. And this building didn't reflect how clean everything was. "I told you this wouldn't be your thing." He went inside without me. He was daring me.

"Fuck me." I whispered in defeat as I ran up the stairs. I quickly opened and closed the door behind me. I saw Vic waiting with a couple of little kids by his side.

"This is my friend that we don't touch, okay?" He smiled at the kids then winked at me.

"Hi. Are you here to help?" A little girl was standing in front of me. I couldn't speak. My voice was caught in my throat.

"Come on, Kellin." My gaze shifted from the little girl to where Vic was holding his hand out for me. He no longer had his gloves on. I denied the gesture by shaking my head. "Follow me." I excused myself so I didn't bump into any of the kids. Then we made our way over to a big keep out sign that was hanging on a door. He began taking off his coat. I noticed he was wearing a short sleeved shirt. I mimicked his actions, taking off the scarf and my jacket. He took it from my hands.