The Link 3 - The Huntress

Chapter 5 - Teegan

The sweats were a little more athletic than I was used too. Dark gray with both the pants and shirt logoed with a swish. I usually went for something less energetically presumptuous. I laughed when I saw that Caleb was in a matching set. As a power couple, we looked ridiculous.

"I don't know," Caleb said, "we did get a good workout in the shower."

"Must have been a thousand calories," I said.

"At least," Caleb said, adjusting his shirt and absently brushing at the logo, "lots of cardio."

"We earned the logo," I concluded.

"We'll just have to own the look," Caleb said with a smile. We couldn't own if we tried.

"I love you," I said, replacing my discomfort with something much better. Caleb moved his matching logo toward mine.

"And I you," Caleb said and kissed me with less lust and more feeling than a few minutes ago. It's strange how a kiss can take on a personality, some meant to arouse, others to invoke a meaning defined by the pressure of lips and the length of an intimate caress. Before Caleb, I thought they were all the same. We had a physical vocabulary that matched our words and minds.

"Hi," I said to the woman that was in the hall when Caleb and I finally got the guts to exit in our matching attire. She smiled at us, though I thought it was a short-circuited laugh.

"Evening, Ms. Fuller, Mr. McGuire," the woman said. She was about the age of my mother but had one of those old lady perms. Frozen curls that looked like they belonged on a statue and wouldn't budge in a hurricane. She was dressed in pleated brown slacks from the 90s, matched with a tan blouse with a silken shimmer.

"Teegan, Please." I said, "and this is Caleb."

"Of course, Teegan," she said. "I'm Evelyn, more or less the housekeeper." Her eyebrows raised as did her smile. "Though in this house, the title is more of a suggestion."

"Are you responsible for our clothes?" I asked trying to keep my tone neutral and nonjudgmental.

"They looked better on the rack," Evelyn answered while nodding. "Sorry." This time, her smile was all humor.

"It's not quite our style," Caleb said, "but they'll do for now." Evelyn covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes were laughing hard enough.

"I should have steered clear of the matching," Evelyn said. "I wasn't given enough time and obviously didn't put enough thought into it."

"Is it really that bad?" I asked.

"Well," Evelyn considered, "if you act like you're about to go out for a run, maybe convince everyone you're on the same track team..." I had to laugh. Her description was dead on. I was supposedly the new ruler of an empire, and I looked like an idiot. Next to me was the man I loved, who now doubled the idiot part.

"Blame me," Evelyn continued, "and I'll quickly wash your other clothes. Tomorrow we can talk and get you something a little more flattering."

"We'll just own it," I said, repeating Caleb's words. I took his hand, and we headed back down the stairs to find Vincent.

"Good luck with that," Evelyn called as we began to descend. Caleb was chuckling, not overly concerned with our look. Men rarely are.

Victor was waiting in the entry hall, struggling to hide a smile. He didn't mention our attire, and I decided to let him ignore it. It would only be for one night. Anyone could live with that.

"Where's Captain Garcia?" I asked. "I promised him an explanation."

"His orders preclude accepting our hospitality," Victor replied. "I promised you a tour of the house." He waved his hand toward a hallway. I sighed loudly.