After retrieving my coffee mug, with most of the tea still in it, Zane rinsed the mugs out, but left them both in the sink. Then, he excused himself, saying he would rest in the guest bedroom. It was smaller than the room Carly was staying in, he told me before retreating into the shadows, but would do the trick.
I normally would've been rather irritated that I was forced to sleep out of a bed, but it wasn't the time or the place. Besides, like I've said before, I don't do well in enclosed areas. I would have preferred to sleep outside, but with Lydecker somewhere out there, it certainly wasn't the smartest idea in the book.
So, with Zane peacefully dozing in the guest bedroom across the kitchen, I walked quietly into Carly's room. The door, when I opened it, squeaked slightly, but fortunately, Carly didn't seem to notice.
I crouched down and began to dig underneath the bed for a comfortable blanket to pad the wooden floor. There were about five different blankets, ranging from your typical cotton to softest flannel.
The room was fairly small, not extremely, but it was indeed little. Carly's bed was shoved up to the right wall, below a window, which was covered up with thick blinds. But, despite the covering, some golden sunlight managed to trickle it, lighting the room just barely.
In the opposite corner, there was a chair in which Carly had put her backpack and tennis shoes. The backpack itself was partially open, exposing the shiny barrel of the gun. The clip had to have been almost empty.
Laying the two blankets I had gathered down at the foot of the bed, I crept over to the chair, trying not to wake Carly. I pulled the gun out of the backpack and checked it. There, surprisingly, wasn't any more ammunition in the gun at the time. So, I slid the empty clip out and put in a fresh one. Just in case we ran into Lydecker during the trek back home later that day.
I gathered my blankets up in my arms and had just risen to my full height, ready to leave, when Carly stirred. Not knowing what to do, I stupidly froze, like the sheep I had seen only a few night earlier.
Carly rubbed her eyes, squinting through them due to the sunlight that danced upon her lids. Finally, in the shadows she saw me. "Zack…"
I walked back over to her, knowing that I couldn't leave her now, mostly because she knew I was there. All along, I was mentally kicking myself for having stayed in the room instead of leaving. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
As I sat down at the foot of her bed, she rose to a sitting position, pushing the blankets down around her waist. While I was debating about how to break the news to her that we had to leave, she said, "When do you want to get going?"
"What?"
"We…I…have to go back, from what I understand."
"You heard?" I asked.
"Just that part…it's not like you guys were talking quietly or anything like that. If I hadn't woken up so late, I probably would've heard everything you said."
"Well," was the only thing I could think of saying.
"I know, it was stupid for me to come along in the first place."
"No," I argued. "I assumed that your apartment couldn't be safe anymore. It was a risky judgement call."
"How did…Zane…know?"
I laughed slightly and ran my fingers through my falling hair, then tucked some of it behind my ear. "He's just like that."
"I see."
The conversation paused as she watched the floor, unsure of what to say. And I, looked away from her, also not certain what to tell her. Did I like her as more than a friend? Yeah. Did I love her? I don't know. I haven't loved a lot of people in my life. The only ones are the other X5s, and even then, that's more of a sibling kind of love…well, there are exceptions to that too, I guess.
But, I didn't enjoy the thought of Carly leaving. She had been there with me for a lot of the shit that had happened up here. Yet, what was I supposed to say? "Hey, it's been nice. Sorry, I had to kill my long-lost father in front of you, and you had to get dragged here, but it's all been fun, and I don't want you to leave"?
Like that would ever work.
Slowly, I came to realize that she was staring at me, studying almost, if you will. I turned to look at her, seeing that her glittering green eyes were catching the light like emeralds. Raising her warm hand, she caressed the side of my face, which was becoming prickly from not having shaved in a day or two. Carly, if she noticed, didn't say anything.
Then, she leaned in and, resting her hand on my shoulder, kissed me. For a moment, I was shocked, not having expected something like that. But, hadn't this been what I secretly wanted?
Not that logical thinking mattered anymore. My brain was clouded over with desire, something I knew little, if anything about.
I wrapped my arms, still covered with my leather jacket, around her neck and kissed her in return. We both fell onto the bed, her hands rubbing against the warm leather of my back. Slowly, I made my way down the side of her neck where skin, warm and soft, met my lips. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
She pulled off my leather jacket and let it drop to the floor below. I almost objected, because that was my jacket, my precious jacket, but I couldn't protest, for she had covered my mouth with soft kisses.
I was blind, god, was I blind. All I could think about was animalistic lust, anticipating what lay ahead. The next thing I knew was that my hand was touching skin that I had never seen before; skin that was usually so protected and covered, but she wasn't stopping me from anything. She wanted it as equally as I did.
When my shirt fell to the ground and her hands touched my bare chest that I been so utterly afraid to admit to only hours before in the shower, I knew that I was a lost man. My walls were broken down; the walls that I had held up for so long against her came tumbling down. I should've held my restraints up, stopping her, preventing her from doing anything, but I couldn't. It was over, and I had lost the battle.
She kissed my chest and let her hands run over my smooth skin. A shiver passed through my body, and I prayed that she couldn't feel it. Slowly, her hands made their way to my back, and she traced the outline of my shoulder bones as she kissed me. I wondered if she was as nervous as I was.
Pulling away from my touch, she took her own shirt off, leaving her in just a silky bra. And when she pressed herself close to me, I could feel her heart pounding beneath the softness. A heart that was powerful, like the Blue Lady, but not in torture with the horrific flames. Carly was more real to me than the Blue Lady had ever been. She was my Blue Lady.
Hesitantly, I let my fingers slide down to the top of her pants. I glanced at her for affirmation that everything was ok to proceed, but she had her eyes closed as she savored the moment. So, I unbuttoned her pants and they too, joined the pile of clothes on the floor. Her legs were warm against my body, and she pulled me closer as I kissed her more deeply.
Never before had I felt anything like it. Nothing so powerful, but yet so fragile at the same time. I've heard stories that making love is like something you'll never have again; your first time will be unforgettable. And wouldn't you know, I was still a virgin. Although, virgins are pure, sinless creatures. All of which I was not, so I suppose it would be safer to say that it was just my first time and leave it at that.
"Zack?" Carly whispered as my lips tickled the soft skin around the nape of her neck.
I paused to look up. "Yes?"
She just smiled and ran her hand down the side of my face as our eyes met. "Are you okay?"
"For the first time in my life, yes, I am."
Eventually, our clothes formed a pile on the floor, and we were wearing nothing but skin. The sunlight trickled in, and I felt tiny beads of perspiration begin to form as the heat in the room rose. For a split second, I thought of Zane and prayed he wouldn't find out. Worry about him later, I told myself. You've got bigger issues at hand right now.
I moved my kisses downward until I had reached what I have heard many people refer to as the "forbidden fruit". This was it.
I straddled her gently, careful not to hurt her and entered gently. Carly said nothing but shut her eyes in desire and arched her body, struggling to contain pleading moans. I feared that if I touched her blistering skin with my hands, I would be burned from the heat. She was so beautiful, but at the same time, so wonderful. I couldn't let her leave me now.
We came at the same time, but said nothing because we both knew that Zane wasn't far away. She pulled me closer as we rocked as one body, one soul together, and I was no longer apart from the world.
Carly soon fell asleep as I laid my head on her chest listening to her peaceful breathing and the steady pulse of her heart. She had the heart of a martyr; I could sense that already even though I barely knew her.
I wrapped my arms around her and felt her sigh. The golden sunlight fell upon us, so that we bathed in its golden rays. Nuzzling against her neck, I smelled the warm scent of vanilla and strawberries and prepared to sleep.
Later, only after Carly was fully asleep, did I swing my legs out of bed, still letting the sheets cover most of my lower half. I grabbed my boxers, which I fallen to the floor, along with the rest of my clothing and slid them on. It was a strange feeling, having clothes back on again, that is. Probably because I had spent most of the early morning without any on.
As I finished getting dressed so I could grab some breakfast or something before Carly and I left again, I realized that I didn't regret what had happened between us. I would never see her again, most likely, and that was just the way life was.
So, I stood and stretched, watching Carly as she slept peacefully in the bed, her bare arm clasping the sheets close to her, I only wondered if we could make it back to her apartment without any interruptions from Lydecker. I'd kill him on sight, if I had to. And, that, was most definitely, just the way life was.