Thanks for the positive reviews! I really do appreciate it!
I mentioned on tumblr that this next few weeks are going to be strenuous - I've got finals, a portfolio and a chapbook project due so those are my priorities. But I had some time tonight to finalize this chapter, but it's up in the air when the next updates are happening.
Chapter 8: The Morning After
Hiccup was surrounded by such comfort and warmth that he hadn't the need to move. Soft puffy clouds hugged his entire body like loose cloths. But the dreamy flood of sleep ebbed and Hiccup slowly returned to the conscious plane. He squirmed beneath the blankets and suddenly became very aware of his nakedness.
This ceiling wasn't his. This blanket wasn't his. He sat up quick and the previously night resounded in his mind. He'd slept at Astrid's last night. His car had broken and like a miracle Astrid had appeared through the rain. They'd gone back to her place. And here he was. Naked, with his boxes and t-shirt crumpled on the floor.
His brain was racing as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
He'd had sex last night.
He pulled his discarded boxers up his legs.
He'd had sex with Astrid.
He pulled the t-shirt over his head.
He'd has sex with Astrid last night.
Hiccup shook his head and ran fingers through his hair. It seemed so unreal. Last night he'd been a virgin. Now he wasn't. Honestly…he didn't feel much different. Maybe it had all been a dream. He pushed himself off the bed and headed into the main room. Astrid stood at the counter, frying pan tipped in hand, sliding sizzling eggs onto two plates. She glanced over her shoulder and a smile broke over her face.
"Good morning."
"Hey," Hiccup swallowed. The smell of breakfast was making his mouth water. He could see buttered toast and sliced oranges on the plates and the entire space smelled like coffee.
"Coffee?" Astrid asked, holding a percolator and pouring it into a mug.
"Sure." Hiccup nodded. "Black."
She poured a second. She dumped three little blue packets into her mug and a large gulp of half and half. She set his mug and plate on the island and set hers next to it. She sat down and a bit sheepishly, he followed her. What was the protocol for these situations? He'd never thought about it because never in a thousand years did he think that he'd be in one.
Astrid was wearing sweats from the day before but her blonde hair was wet and combed down her back. Her shoulders were exposed in her thin-strapped tank top and bright blue bra straps were obvious but not a concern. Her skin was radiant, smooth and pale with a subtle peachy undertone.
God, how was this even happening? Seeing her this morning was proof that it had really happened but it still felt like a dream.
"Uh, thanks, for all this." Hiccup swallowed. "It's been so long since I've had real food. It's delicious."
"It's no problem." Astrid smiled, a chunk of egg dangled from her fork.
Her eyes were incredible. Had they always been that bright and energetic? Her lips were full and welcoming. She wasn't wearing makeup but even without it she was beyond beautiful.
They ate, made small talk, but mostly ate. When both plates were empty Astrid placed them into the sink.
"Have anything planned for today?" she sighed as she turned on the hot water.
"Oh, not much, I'll have to do something about my car. And my phone." Hiccup shrugged. He could feel the dead weight of his useless cell in the pocket of the sweats. "Speaking of, is there a Verizon in town?"
"The like phone store?"
"Yeah."
"I think there's one in the mall. I could go with you, if you want."
"You don't have anything to do?"
"No, I don't have to work tonight or tomorrow and I've got my homework done. So, yeah, I'm totally free." Astrid shrugged. "Unless, you'd rather do it alone, or with someone else, or something."
Hiccup swallowed. "No, no, it sounds like fun."
Hiccup went to the bathroom and closed the door. He leaned against the counter and stared at himself in the mirror. His hair went everywhere. He was skinny and gangly and freckles dotted across his nose. He wasn't what he'd call ugly, but he wasn't near handsome like the boys Astrid should be hanging around.
Sighing, Hiccup spun on his heel to leave his reflection behind. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it onto a pile on the floor. He couldn't help but noticed the discarded underwear by the door, the very…feminine underwear.
Hiccup turned on the shower and while the water warmed he reached down to pick up the underwear. There was almost nothing to them, all see-through red lace, no coverage. But he was guessing that coverage wasn't the purpose. Were these what Astrid had been wearing last night?
Hiccup realized that he hadn't actually seen her naked. It had been dark. She could have painted her face and he wouldn't have noticed.
Astrid probably looked really good in red.
The bathroom was filling with stream. It rolled up the walls to the ceiling and clouded the mirror. Hiccup stripped his pants and stepped into the hot water. The water pressure was much better than his apartment. The water pounded on his back and he let it melt out his troubles and woman-related confusion.
This was twice now that he'd been naked in Astrid's apartment. The whole thing was beyond insane. Even still, standing in her shower, he was in disbelief. Is it possible that it had been a dream? It had been late. He'd been exhausted. And it was dark…it could have been a dream. But if it was then why did wake up naked?
He could ask but that seems ridiculous.
Hey, Astrid, did we have sex last night? Yeah, that's not stupid. Not at all.
He assumed that one day, eventually, he'd find a girl and maybe get married, and most likely have sex. But that day always seem far, far, far away. Really far away. And he never thought it would be a girl like Astrid. It was sad, and maybe a little bit conditioned from all the negative talk aimed at his pitiful love life, but his romantic future was always bleak.
A weirdo. That's the girl his dad had said he'd bring home. His father expected him to. Hiccup groaned into his hands and scrubbed the hot water over his reddened skin. He picked up the shampoo from the caddy. He wanted to be clean but he'd smell like a girl. Not just any girl, Astrid. And she did smell nice. Really nice.
Saturday rolled by in a pleasant blur. He'd called the two truck and had his broken down car taken to a local body shop. Astrid has escorted him down there, to Carl's Auto Body, where the middle-aged mechanic had almost laughed at him.
Sure, he could fix it. But it'd break down in another month, maybe two.
After that they'd taken a cab to the mall where Hiccup was relieved to know his phone was insured. His relief was mirrored in the weight of his wallet. He'd put off turning his knew phone on. He'd gone a day without it and it felt nice to not be so…connected.
Astrid insisted on talking a lap around the mall before going back. It was a mall after all, she said, and they were as much made for wasting time as for money. They walked, talked, and it felt great to be so casual. Was this a normal thing for her? Did sex mean that they were friends now?
Hiccup couldn't help but notice how other people looked at Astrid. Men's eyes lingered, too long for his taste, and a few watched her shamelessly. Girls looked her up and down and a few rolled their eyes and shifted their shoulders. She paid them no mind but it didn't lift the heaviness it left in his gut.
Was his jealousy? It was a horrible emotion. It made him feel so…tight chested and nervous.
"What's up?" Astrid asked, leaning a half step toward him, that playful grin on her face. She'd patted pink balm on her lips. She looked good in pink.
"Nothing." Hiccup shrugged.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me right?" Astrid said. Her smile was welcoming but Hiccup held his tongue.
"Yeah, I'm sure. But thanks." Hiccup nodded. I know we've only known each other a little while but I don't like how those other guys are looking at you. Yeah, smooth.
X
Boys. Astrid had never had a problem with boys. Flash them a smile, batter some lashes, lean into them, and they'd be eating out of her hand. That's how it's been since her breasts came in. What was it about boobs that turned grown men into total ninnies?
But this guy…Hiccup. There was something different about him. He was a dork, awkward, and…brilliant. He was intelligent and she could speak to him and he would speak back to her without glancing down at her chest between every other word. He was…refreshing.
X
After the mall Astrid insisted that Hiccup take a cab ride around the city he lived in. There weren't many sights to see but she didn't let that stop her. They looped around to the Bridge that arched over the Mississippi where a barge was streaking down the muddy water. Astrid pointed to the new River Campus where all the arts and theater classes were.
She'd taken one with Heather, because she insisted, and knew the first week that she wasn't made for the arts. Astrid directed the cab downtown to the old river front. The houses were old, she said, because the city was an old river town. It was bloomed along the Mississippi River back when it was the major way of transportation.
Downtown, they'd left the cab behind and she took him through the dozens of antique stores that lined the streets. They had been built inside the hundred-year-old buildings and smelled like dust and old people. Outside, delicious flavors waffled from a Cajun restaurant on the corner.
"I didn't know any of this was down here." Hiccup said, spying the faded colors of an old theater's stone facade. It would have been amazing in its heyday. Now it looked haunted.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was here a semester and a half before Heather drug me down here." Astrid shrugged. She was looking into a shop's window where they had precariously places a horrid looking doll on the edge of a baby-blue corner cabinet.
"So you and Heather have been friends a while?" Hiccup asked. He'd heard her name several times. She and Astrid did thing together that girls did, like shopping, nails, and hair.
"We're in the same year. We had a class together and we clicked. After that we roomed together." Astrid said. "We hang out from time to time."
"Why don't you still room together?"
"She's living in a house full of art people. I couldn't handle that." Astrid laughed.
"What's wrong with art people?"
"Nothing, it's just they're so…abstract, all the time, and it's hard to even hold a substantial conversation with any of them. It's like when I asked them something simple, like how their day was, they go into this conceptual tirade of how the world is beating art down and the…something industry is crushing the arts in America, or some such nonsense I don't care about."
Hiccup held his breath at this mild rant. Astrid sighed, catching his look, and laughed.
"But Heather's not like that, at least not all the time. She's normal." Astrid sighed. They'd come to the end of the street. Astrid turned to him with a smile. "You hungry?"
"Yeah, I could eat."
"How do you feel about fried rice? I think I've finally figured out the recipe." Astrid said with a wide smile, expectant.
"Sounds great." Hiccup nodded. He did like Chinese.
Astrid called another cab and they went back to her apartment. Hiccup sat at the counter while she cooked. She cooked chopped carrots, microwaved the minute rice, and scrambled the eggs. She tossed it all together and put the bowl on the counter. She dumped a hefty amount onto two plates. She stuck a fork in each.
Hiccup took a large forkful and closed his mouth around it. Immediately, he'd wished he hadn't taken such a large bite. It was…it was like soggy sandy rocks. It tasted like plain rice and carrots in desperate need of salt. Or something.
Astrid was staring at him with a wide smile on her pink lips.
"Well? What do you think?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup chewed with difficultly. He placed a finger over his lips to prevent his gag reflex from repelling the contents, and swallowed. But he might as well have spit it out. The effect was obvious on Astrid's fallen face.
"You don't have to eat it." Astrid said quietly. She forked her own.
He knew he'd struck a nerve. He took another forkful and swallowed it quickly. When he anticipated the texture the taste wasn't that bad. Astrid gave him a pitiful look.
"No, no, it's good." Hiccup nodded.
Astrid was looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief. When he took another bite, as big as his first, she turned in her seat to face him.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm eating."
"Why?"
"Because I'm hungry."
"We can order out, Hiccup. You don't have to eat it just to save my feelings."
He swallowed another bite. He looked down at his plate, almost empty. Just another bite. He could do this. He shoveled it into his mouth and swallowed hard. He set his fork down and looked at Astrid's still full plate.
"Are you not going to eat?"
Astrid's face held a expression he hadn't seen before. Her eyes were wide, trying to understand him, her lips were parted, trying to find the words.
"What?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid leaned forward, hand cupping his cheek, and kissed him. Her lips hovered over his before kissing him again before pulling away to looked at him. His heart was thumping out of control.
"You're really amazing, you know that?" Astrid said.
"I kind of feel like this part should have come before sex." Hiccup shrugged. He'd said it before he'd thought about it. He felt his chest tighten. He'd brought the events of the night before to attention. And now they had to talk about it.
Astrid smiled, Hiccup could have sworn he saw blush across her cheeks, and she looked down as she let out a girlish laugh.
"Are you upset about that?" she asked.
"Not at all." Hiccup smiled. Her blue eyes were so lovely. They were like the ocean, never ending and miles deep. He could stare into for hours. She kissed him again, hand sliding up his knee, but he stopped her.
"Is something wrong?" Astrid whispered.
"Maybe we should take it slower?" Hiccup whispered back. "I mean, it's not like I don't…want to…but,"
"It's moving too fast?" Astrid finished, smiling. "It's okay. How about a movie instead?"
"That sounds great." Hiccup smiled.
The rest of Saturday went by with chilly breezes blowing against the windows. They settled into the couch, Hiccup's arm nestled around her, with Astrid snuggled against him. When the movie was over and the sun was dropping down, Hiccup regretfully knew he needed to return to his own apartment. He had probably already worn out his welcome. Still, he wished he could sit on the couch with Astrid forever.
He stood up and Astrid leaned against the back of the couch.
"I should get going," Hiccup shrugged. "Thanks, Astrid, for everything. Really."
"You could stay here tonight." Astrid said. "Unless you'd rather sleep on your air mattress."
Hiccup smirked. "I haven't brush my teeth since-"
"I think I've got an extra." Astrid popped up from the couch with enthusiasm, then swallowed and regained her posture. "I mean, if you want to, I won't lock you in here. But I'm just saying that if you wanted to stay here, the invitation is open."
Hiccup felt his chest flutter. He tried to speak but his words came out all jumbled. He wanted to stay but if he did would she expect him to have sex with her?
"You don't have to." Astrid said, a bit sullen. "It won't hurt my feelings if you don't. I understand."
"It's not that, I mean…it's just…"
"We don't have to…do things." Astrid shrugged. "Cuddling is nice too. And, I like having someone there when I wake up. It's nice."
She smiled at him and he felt his trembling heart implode, shuttering his breath, fluttering his blood into fire.
That night Hiccup fell back into Astrid's bed. She slept softly beside him, so close, curled into his side, breathing against his shoulder. Sunday morning passed with breakfast, coffee, and a shower. They spent the day in her apartment. Hiccup helped her with laundry and dusting, the two things that she always did on Sundays. The laundry mat was less crowded, she said.
Sunday night she fell asleep against him on the couch and he used all his strength to carry her into the bedroom. Monday morning came too fast and Astrid was gone to class before Hiccup woke up. She'd left a note on the counter that said she'd be back at three. And not a minute after, Astrid was walking through the front door, shedding her coat and shaking off the cold.
"You know, Astrid, I will have to go home sometimes." Hiccup said.
"Yeah, I know." Astrid sighed. "I can't keep you here forever."
Hiccup kissed her on the cheek before he left. She'd washed his clothes so he didn't have to return to his apartment in hers. In the backseat of the cab, Hiccup already missed Astrid's place. She was right, falling asleep next to someone was better than doing it alone. It felt almost wrong t be going back to his dumpy little place.
Hiccup groaned as he stepped onto the sidewalk outside his building. He could already hear the blaring music. He looked up at the apartment above his. The windows were drawn and the lights were off. What the hell where they doing up there? Hiccup scoffed. Knowing his luck they were making cocaine.
He went inside and climbed onto the elevator. While it slowly jogged upward he dug in his pocket for his keys. He had found them and pulled the door key from the rest as the elevator door slide open. He hadn't taken a step into the hallway when he wished he could dive back inside.
A broad shouldered man stood at his apartment door. His large hand was curled into a fist and rapped against the wood. Hid red hair grew like fire around his head and erupted into a beard that extended halfway down his massive chest. His eyes were furrowed at the door in a expression that Hiccup knew far too well. It was disappointment, anger, and blunt disbelief.
"Dad?" Hiccup asked over the music.
X
I had some holiday segments planned and I had hoped to get to them before the actual holidays but I don't think we're going to get there before then. So we'll just roll with it and get there when we get there.