HOLLOW

•NINE•

•Natalie's POV•
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I was restless up until the sunset. I wasn't expecting to be this excited to meet Athanasios. He just made me feel a certain way. None of my boyfriends had ever made me feel the way Athanasios has. It was indescribable. I always seemed to feel all bubbly inside.

Just thinking about it made me want to smile. The way he held my hand earlier and how his curls fell over his face. God, I felt fifteen again. And his smile- his smile was breathtaking. His eyes were so compelling. They seemed hopeful- like there was so much more to him. I've never thought this much about a guy. Butterflies continued swirling in my stomach all the way up to when night fell.

I did what I saw Athanasios do earlier and felt along the wall. I finally found the spot where my hand could pass and walked through. I found the familiar staircase and quickly ran up. I made sure not to trip over my own feet. If that happened I couldn't imagine how embarrassed I'd be.

I finally found myself in the same room Athanasios had shown me. The only difference was that the sky could be seen through the windows and Athanasios sat on a blanket in the middle of the room. "Hello," I say softly. At the sight of him, I grew breathless and nervous.

He kindly smiled at me and invited me to sit. I had to stop myself from skipping over there to save me the embarrassment. "I wasn't sure what foods you would like so I asked the cooks to make just anything," He says, rubbing the back of his neck.

I smiled up at him. "Anything is fine. I'm not picky," I inform him. He nodded before looking at the sky. "Years ago when the first packs were formed, my ancestors picked this particular land. My grandfather used to say, the stars are beautiful- they might even compete with your grandmother," we both laughed at that.

I sat up straighter as I caught sight of the full moon. "When I was younger, I was so interested in the stars that I had stayed out all night watching them. In the morning my mother had to drag me back inside because she was so mad at me. She had gone all over town looking for me while I was in the backyard the whole time," I said. He chuckled at the story as he moved some of his hair out of his face.

We ate food and talked about random stuff while looking at constellations. He was right. This was the best spot to look at stars. After a while, we had decided that it was better to lay on our backs while gazing at them. "Hey, I don't know much about you," I say, breaking the silence.

He licked his perfect lips before answering. "I don't know much about you either," He states. I suddenly remembered an ice-breaker my old teacher made us do. "Hey, let's play a game, I ask a question and you answer then you ask a question and I'll answer," I explain. He nods. I smile and start asking.

"Favorite color?"

"Black."

"Favorite food?"

"Bacon."

"Birthday?"

"January twenty-third."

"Most embarrassing moment?"

I laughed at his question. Well, this is going to leave me red. "A kid in my kindergarten class pooped in a corner and I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when the teacher saw it. She blamed it on me and I swear no one talked to me for the rest of the year. I had to change schools after that."

Athanasios was laughing his head off by the time I finished. His smile was wide as he looked at me. "That kid probably felt so guilty," he says. I playfully glared at him as he continued laughing. "Yeah yeah, can you stop laughing so we can continue?" I ask. His laughter slowly died down and we continued playing.

"Age?" I asked. His eyebrows slowly climbed his forehead. A nervous smile also made its way onto his face. "What?" I question him. He shook his head, looking away. "You're not going to believe me when I tell you," he says. I raised a challenging brow in his direction.

"Alright, fine. I, Athanasios Afroudakis am one hundred and twenty-two years of age." He says. I laughed at his joke. "Stop joking and tell me! Let me guess, twenty-something?" He shook his head, his face losing its playful look. "I'm serious, look," He pulls a picture out of his pocket and hands it to me.

If you kinda ignore all the scratches from either time or the model camera, you could see what looked like the young version of Athanasios. "That was in 1896," He says softly. I look between him and the photo. He was really one hundred and twenty-two years.

"Wow," I breathed. For some odd reason, it didn't seem odd to me at all. "How did you not age?" I asked. He smiled at me. "I'm immortal," he says. Never mind. This did not make sense. I snickered. "It's gonna take me a while to believe that," I said, handing the picture back to him. He nodded and slid his hand over to mine. I didn't hesitate as I gladly let him lace our fingers together.

"I always wondered what... having a mate would feel like," He says, studying our hands that held onto each other. I couldn't help but look at him. He looked so focused as his eyes traveled around. His lips were slightly parted as well. "I heard everyone talking about how great it is. It just made the wait more unbearable. Now, that it's finally here, I know that the wait is worthwhile," He turned his head to look at me and our eyes met.

He lifted his hand and placed it behind my neck. My breathing pattern quickened as I felt his warm hand at the back of my neck.

His tongue darted out to lick his lips before he started guiding me towards him. Time seemed to slow down and it felt like forever had passed before our lips connected. My eyes shut as I cherished the moment. Our lips moved slowly together in a soft, gentle kiss. I don't know what but something went wild within me.

I felt my soul jump with glee as his soft lips kept moving against mine. I felt myself blush when we finally broke apart. I let my eyes flutter open to meet his chocolate orbs. He let his hand fall from my neck and back into my hand. My whole body felt on fire after that kiss. I watched as he brought my hand to his face and pressed his lips against it. Okay, now I was overheating.

We now lay there silently, looking through the sky. It was clear to me that that was the best kiss I have ever had. It was most likely going to play on a loop in my head all night. Not that I wanted out of my head. It was soft and just the right speed for me. I can't remember a time when I shared a kiss that could even compare to this. It also made me realize that my past boyfriends were alright.

I don't know when, but I fell asleep. It was one of the most comfortable slumbers I have ever fallen into.

_____

I woke up with the sky still filled with stars. I also felt restrained. I looked down and noticed a muscular arm wrapped securely around my waist. I looked back up and came face to face with a sleeping Athanasios. A heavy blush came rushing into my face. He looked so peaceful at rest.

He just looked happier and his mouth was turned into a small smile. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp before he awoke. A frown formed on his face before he roughly pulled me back into his chest. "Mine," He growled in his sleep. I was probably never going to get out of his grasp with his arms forming a death-grip around me.

I tried tapping his cheek in hopes of waking him up but he only smiled. I huffed before laying my head back on his chest and closing my eyes. Might as well enjoy the moment while it's here. Before you know it it'll be gone faster than it came.

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