The next chapter is up! Enjoy!
For the next few days, the driving lessons were coming along nicely.
Aerin was really getting the hang of it and doing a good job. Mia's surprised he has yet to even tap any of the cones, let alone hit them.
Just like many first-time drivers, he was a very cautious one. He did his best to maintain a speed no higher than twenty to twenty-five mph whenever they were out in the open area out front of the house. Though eventually, she will have to work with him going faster.
While a lot of the residential roads around here are pegged at average speeds of no more than twenty-five mph, there were still plenty of roads out here that range from anywhere between forty to seventy mph, pending on what kind of road you're on.
Thankfully, she doubts they will really use the roads that are between sixty and seventy mph. Mia hardly goes down major parkways. She prefers using back roads, if possible, to get somewhere further away.
The days were still gradually getting warmer, because of this, Mia was finding it harder to really stay inside and work on writing. This is why the last couple days; she's been going out to the wooden table in the backyard right outside the house and working there.
Sometimes, she also just goes out there to read.
Aerin also enjoyed the new scenery as well. The cushioned chairs she keeps out there around the table were comfortable. She also has a large retractable awning that's attached to the side of the house, that way she can roll it out on days when it's too hot or the sun is causing a glare on the laptop's screen.
Tundra would spend his time wandering about the yard or darting from one side to the other while he's out there with them.
At this time, they were enjoying being out back in their usual spots at the wooden table.
Mia was getting excited because she was only a few paragraphs away from finishing her book. Then all she needs to do is go back and revise it just as she normally does with each chapter she finishes, before emailing it off to her publisher.
Adar was sitting in one of the seats next to her, looking up some stuff on his laptop. He really liked typing in how many things work so he could pull up the various video selections to pick from and watch online.
He had already learned some time ago that he can learn just as much valuable information on the internet just as one can find in books. Like with the driving. Watching videos of people taking steps through the driving process from beginning to end was very helpful when it was time for him to start learning how.
Mia even got him small headphones that he can plug into his laptop so he can listen to the videos without disturbing her.
He was currently wearing them now while watching a short, informative video on airplanes and how they work. So far, it was very interesting how they broke it down in the vid and explained it while showing the process.
It still fascinated him that the humans here could make things fly and travel underwater.
The videos he watched on submarines earlier were very interesting. One of them showed how submarines were made including their history and when some of the first ones were made. They also talked of how to regulate the compression within them and how it's important to decompress on the way to the surface.
Between the endless amount of information, he found online and in books, Adar feels he has already learned so much about society here on Earth.
Anything that held loads of information he would watch or read. It didn't matter if it was something in ancient civilizations that were no longer around anymore or current worldly events and machinery, he would delve into it.
It wouldn't surprise Mia if she walked in on him watching a program on advanced aeronautics or eyeballs deep in a book on the Theory of Evolution. He clearly loved learning and liked the fact that he was still learning something new every day.
She would also sometimes take him to different places. Like the park or some of the good hiking trails through the local Pine Barrens around these parts.
Of course, he scoffed at the ridiculous story about the Jersey Devil when she told him all about it. Even he stated that such a creature that was a combination of so many different animals could possibly exist.
While Mia didn't believe such a creature existed either, it still gave her ammunition to poke fun at him on how where he was from, they had creatures like dragons. Whereas here, dragons were just as fictional as the Jersey Devil and several other cryptids out there.
They ended up going back and forth afterwards making fun of the odd creatures from both his world and hers. Then both just laughed it off afterwards, because it was a rather silly conversation.
"Couple more paragraphs to go. Then it's finished." She says, as she types away.
Adar shifted his gaze from the video on the screen to her. The volume on his headphones was on low. So, he could still hear her when she spoke.
"Really? That's great." He told her with a small smile.
"Yep, then tonight after dinner, we can crack open a bottle of wine and celebrate." She says.
Mia did that last time when she finished her first book, and it turned out to be a success. So, now, she'd like to make it a tradition to do so whenever she completes a book.
She found herself being very inspired as of late and already had an idea for a new book after this one. The young writer may go ahead and start writing down the storyline and plot for it within the next week or so.
He can't say he was expecting that. Probably because since he's been here, he can't say he ever really saw her drink all that much. The only time he saw her drink was when she had a couple glasses of red wine on Easter a couple months back.
"A bottle, you say? Hope you don't end up drinking the whole thing. Wouldn't want to have to carry you back to your bed if you pass out. Though, I'm sure I'll get some entertainment out of it before then." He teased.
She snorted at that, "I doubt I'll polish off the whole bottle. Especially seeing that it's for both of us and not just me."
"Oh, so you mean you are going to share it then?" Adar replied, with a teasing grin.
"Of course, I am. Not going to hog the whole bottle to myself after all." Mia stated.
"For a change, seeing as you don't seem to like to share some things. Particularly the frozen dark chocolate covered strawberries in the freezer." He joked.
"Bullshit, I have shared those with you plenty of times." She countered.
"Really? Because the look you gave me when I took the last packet of them from the box says otherwise. Like you were going to give me a thorough chewing out for it." He says, with a smirk.
The young woman huffed, "That was just one time. Was having a craving for them that day, and you just happened to take the last one."
"I shared them, did I not?" He said, with a hint of amusement in his tone.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah, guess I can't complain there. Because you did end up sharing them." She replied.
The pair only exchanged a few more words before she went back to typing.
Mia was eager to finish before they went in a little later to start dinner. She will also be sure to email the last part of the draft to her publisher afterwards so that she has it and will go over it.
Another couple of hours went by, before she stopped typing and revising the last chapter, then she leaned back in her chair with a proud smile.
"Finished!" She says, while pumping her arms up in the air.
Adar turned to her with a humorous look at her cute reaction to finally finishing her work.
"Congratulations." He tells her.
"Thanks!" She replied.
Now all she had to do was email it to her publisher then she could close her laptop.
This only took her another couple of minutes to do. Then she closed the laptop, picked it up, and stood up. Mia's gaze then went to Adar.
"I'm going to start cooking now. You can stay out here on your laptop while I do so if you want. Or if you want to help, you can do that too. Your choice." She told him.
"I'll help." He says, as he closes his laptop and stands up from his seat.
Then he picked up the laptop and tucked it under his arm and they both opened the back door and headed inside. Mia called Tundra as well and he ran across the yard to meet them and follow them in.
She was making chicken tenders with a side of jasmine rice and corn.
"You can start prepping the rice, I'll get out some of the ingredients I need for the chicken." She instructed.
"Sure." He replied.
Mia went over to preheat the oven, before going into the fridge and getting out the package of chicken tenders and the container of grated cheese. Then while he was at the pantry getting out the bag of rice, she asked him to grab the breadcrumbs and garlic powder while he was there
He brought the items over and placed them on the island for her, before going to grab a small pot to fill with water.
They both did their tasks and prepped just about everything. The last thing she pulled out of the fridge after she breaded the chicken was the bag of corn. Then she grabbed another small pot and filled it with the corn before adding some water to it.
Mia placed it on the stove top next to the small pot that had rice in it. But she didn't start it up yet because it would take about forty minutes to cook the chicken tenders in the oven.
When they finished, the two of them retreated to the living room and waited for it to be cooked.
"So, what movie shall we put on this time? You want to choose?" She asked him.
"Alright." He replied.
Mia turned on the TV, then handed him the remote.
There was one movie that looked interesting that he's been meaning to watch. So, he went into the Prime Video App and into her movie selection.
She watched him scroll through the selection before stopping on one and tapping on it.
"The Exorcist. Can't say I have seen that one in a while. Good Choice." She said.
"Looks interesting. Judging by the brief summary, it looks pretty scary. Is it a monster movie of sorts or maybe paranormal?" He inquired.
"It's a paranormal horror movie. Girl get's possessed by an ancient demon and the priests try to exorcise it from her." Mia explained.
Definitely sounds like an interesting movie storyline.
He recalls reading a couple books on the paranormal from Mia's book selection in her office and even saw a couple shows about it. At least one of the said shows talked of people being possessed by spirits or demons. It showed instances of people acting crazy and speaking in tongues while someone tries to draw the possessing spirit from their body.
They sat next to each other as the movie started playing on the screen.
The pair watched a good portion of it while waiting for everything to cook. Mia got up a couple of times to start cooking the rice and corn on the stovetop, so it'll be ready when the chicken is.
The scenes where the young girl was starting to show signs of possession were still both just as disturbing and suspenseful now as it was before.
Of course, he thought it was very weird when she started walking down the stairs while in a back bend. Then stated how that just wasn't possible.
It wasn't until Mia explained to him that when possessed the spirit and demon can make a person do unnatural or seemingly impossible things. Some more examples of this were when she made some of the furniture in the room move, trapping her terrified mother in the room with her after she went in to stop her daughter from stabbing herself in the privates with a crucifix.
When the food was finished cooking, they paused the movie and headed into the kitchen to pull it out and eat. Before she sat down, Mia went into the pantry and pulled out a can of Caesar's Gourmet Dog Food and emptied it into Tundra's bowl. Figured he could join in on celebrating too, with a special dinner.
"So, when I will finally be allowed to read this new book of yours?" He asked her as they ate.
"You can have the very first copy when it's published." She told him.
Adar nodded, "Fair enough."
"I'm still not really sure you'll like it. As I said, it's a book for mainly preteens and teens. Not so much adults. I mean, I know there are plenty of adults out there that have read various books from that age group and liked it. But with all the material I saw you reading so far, you didn't really peg me as someone who read those types of books." Mia admits.
"Probably not, but if it's written by you, I wouldn't mind reading it." He tells her.
Then an amused grin appeared on his face.
"I already have seen your collection of preteen and teen books in your various book selection you like to read. Particularly, this book series called Goosebumps as well as a few books on children's fairytales. I also saw this little series called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark". He teased.
Her eyes widened a little and she quickly took a sip of water to hide the blush on her cheeks, when she noted that he had found some of her old childhood guilty pleasure books that she had read on occasion.
"Yeah, and? Like cartoons, there is no age limit on books you know." She pointed out.
"Perhaps not, but still no less amusing that you would watch some cartoons or read some of these children's books." He continued teasing her.
"Says the guy who actually thought the Japanese Anime Show, Ghost Stories was pretty entertaining and funny." Mia countered.
She got him there.
While he thought some of the other cartoons, she watched were ridiculous like that Dragon Ball Z and Super show, the one she had just mention did have some very hilarious dialogue and very random and funny moments that made him laugh.
"I'll admit that one was an exception. But the rest of the ones you watch are still pretty ridiculous." He says.
"And here I have yet to introduce you to some world-famous classics like Looney Toons and Tom and Jerry. I'll even throw in some Ed, Edd, & Eddy for good measure too." She jokes.
"No thank you. I think I've already had my fill for some silly cartoons. I'll stick with live shows and movies." He told her.
Mia huffed, "Fine. But I still say before you start making anymore judgements, at least sit through the movie 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' with me. I like to think you would at least like that one. It's a unique movie because it's one of the very few that is a blend of live action and cartoon."
He furrowed his brows, "Didn't know they could make movies with both."
"They can. We'll watch it after the Exorcist." She replied.
Adar agreed to it, only because he did pick the first movie. So, the next one would be her choice. It was something they usually did whenever they sat down to watch something. They would just take turns picking something.
One of the most recent ones that she picked out that he ended up really liking, was this fantasy/horror show on Hulu called 'Siren' about deadly mermaids dwelling in waters off the coast of Washington and how one of them got in close contact with humans and became very close with them.
Once they finished eating, the pair cleaned off the plates, eating utensils and pots and placed some in the dishwasher and some in the strainer by the sink.
Afterwards, Mia went into one of the cabinets above the counter and pulled out a couple of wine glasses. She placed them on the countertop before going into another cabinet and pulled out an unopen bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
She pulled out a cork opener and opened the bottle.
Mia didn't fill the glasses in the kitchen though. Instead, she gave Adar the glasses to carry to the living room while she followed him in with the bottle.
They set the items down on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down.
That was when she started pouring them both a glass of red wine. He thanked her and took the offered glass. This was his second time drinking any wine from here. He thought it was pretty good and didn't taste all that different from the wine they had in Middle Earth.
She hit the play button on the remote and the movie resumed playing on the screen.
As they continued watching it, Mia found her mind drifting to something else. Something that has been on her mind for a while now.
No matter how many times she tried not to think about it, it would still manage to pop up. In the end, she couldn't help it. Nor deny the fact that they almost shared a kiss that day while walking the beach.
Mia found herself wanting to bring it up with Aerin, but didn't know how. Perhaps because she was scared that he would either brush it off or say it was a mistake getting that close when they did.
It could be, he just sees her as a friend and nothing more. For some reason that thought hurt her.
After her assault, she never thought she could ever get close to another man in that sense again. She didn't believe she could trust another with her heart again either.
But Aerin was different than any man she has ever known. Not only was he kind and humorous, but he was very understanding and considerate.
Mia felt comfortable and safe with him, and he made her happy. She also cannot deny that in these last couple of months, she did start to feel something for him. Her heart would flutter in her chest when he smiled at her and warmth would spread throughout her body whenever they made close contact with one another.
She recalls when her heart started pounding when they started to lean in for what was clearly a kiss.
The young woman was so lost in thought, that she didn't realize right away that he had said something to her.
"Hmm? What? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that." She told him.
He was silent for a moment, before speaking again.
"I said, for someone who is supposedly celebrating the completion of her book; it looks like you have a lot on your mind right now. Either that, or you just happen to like staring down intently at your glass of wine." Adar says.
"Oh, no. Everything is good. Had just thought of a recurring moment I can't seem to get out of my mind, is all." She replied, while placing her glass down on the coffee table in front of them.
"Good or bad?" He asked.
"I'm…not entirely sure." She said, feeling uncertain.
"Well, what was it about?" He inquired.
"Just something that was…recent." Mia replied.
"Must be serious if you're having a hard time talking about it." Adar implied.
"It is. I'm just unsure how to address it." She admits.
He studies her for a moment, before reaching over to brush a long, dark lock over her shoulder.
"Whatever it is, if you feel you may have a hard time talking about it, then you don't have to. But just remember, I am here for when you do wish to talk." He assures her.
A soft smile slowly appears on her face.
"I know, and believe me when I say, I do feel like I can talk to you about anything. Yet, I find this topic to be somewhat awkward to bring up." She said.
He studies her face.
"May I ask a question?" He asked.
"Sure." She replied.
"Does it have to do with our shared moment on the beach last week, after you slipped off the rock and I caught you?" Adar inquired.
Mia was quite surprised. Out of all the questions he could ask her. She never thought it would be that.
"I'm guessing by the stunned look on your face, it is. Isn't it?" He pointed out.
She averted her gaze and stared down at the coffee table in front of them.
"It's just…well…it was never really brought up between us since it happened. I wasn't sure if it was because…maybe you thought it a mistake and…only view me as a friend. I really didn't know how to address the subject with you after it happened." She finally confessed.
Though the whole time she was explaining this, she still couldn't get herself to make eye contact with him. Instead, she just continued staring down at the table as she told him.
Then she felt a couple fingers gently grasp her chin and shift her face to meet his.
He had a soft smile on his face.
"I can assure you, it wasn't a mistake, Mia. During these last couple months, I felt a shift in our friendship, and it began to become something more than that.
The reason why I didn't bring up our moment at the beach though, was because I thought perhaps, I overstepped my bounds and almost did something that could've made you uncomfortable.
Because I understand what happened between you and that man was both horrible and traumatic. I figured, kissing you too soon, may bring up bad memories of him as well as make you nervous and…afraid of me.
I do care for you, Mia. But I want to take things slowly with you, because of what you have been through. You're comfort and security come first. And the decision will be yours to make, when you're ready." Adar tells her.
Everything he had just told her; made her heart rate accelerate and made her fall for him even more.
How did she manage to meet someone as wonderful, caring, and considerate as him? When he just admitted while he has feelings or her, her sense of comfort and wellbeing came first?
There just is no other way to put it. Aerin was very special.
A genuine smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Thank you, for telling me all this. But you're wrong about one thing. I could never be afraid of you, Aerin. How can I be? When you have shown me kindness and joy since you came here. And let's not forget the fact that you saved my life. I never felt uncomfortable and afraid around you.
Rather, I always felt comfortable and safe with you, like I never had with anyone else before. And in time, my feelings started shifting as well. I stopped viewing you as a friend and started seeing you as someone so much more than that." Mia says, as her eyes become a little glassy.
He didn't say anything.
Adar just slowly reached up and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over it in a very affectionate gesture.
She didn't even flinch or tense up from the contact to her face. Instead, she felt warmth spread throughout her and she found herself leaning into the soft touch.
"You don't have to hold back anymore. I was just as ready for the kiss on the beach. Just as I am ready for it now." She told him.
He felt his heart leap at her words.
His gaze made contact with hers, where he held it. Then just like their time at the beach, it was like everything around them melted away and it was just them.
The pair started slowly leaning in closer.
It seemed like ages before the gap finally closed and he softly pressed his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss.
What could only be described as electricity shooting down their spines, they continued the kiss, pulling more strong feelings and sensations from it.
It wasn't long before her arms made their way around his neck while his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her in closer until she was flush against his front.
Mia felt the tip of his tongue probing her lips. She parted them to allow him entrance where his tongue proceeded to caress hers.
A sigh left her as she deepened the passion-filled kiss.
Her heart was pounding so fast, she thought it was going to bust through her ribs. While he felt like he was in a daze and his heart pounded in sync with hers.
The kiss was nothing less than amazing and lasted for quite some time, until they both needed to eventually pull back for some air.
They were both breathing pretty heavily as they gulped down some air.
"Damn, that was amazing. But then…you must've had centuries of practice." She said, between breaths.
Adar huffed out a silent chuckle.
"No, not necessarily. I think you just bring it out of me." He replied.
Mia gave him a soft smile and reached up to caress his smooth cheek.
"Think it's safe to say, there is a lot that we bring out of each other. And have been for a while now." She says.
"I agree." He said, as he continued holding her to his front.
Not long after, Mia leaned in once more and captured his lips in another kiss.
The glasses of wine and the movie remained forgotten as they continued making out. Each kiss was just as emotional and strong as the last.
Both of them would agree that this never felt more right.
Until Next Time