Chapter Three – Jade POV

The week went by quickly. Orion and Danny swapped phone numbers, and they became inseperable. It was nice to see Orion with a friend. I found out that Danny was also a spellcaster and actually knew a lot of spells. He taught Orion some, and it was fun to watch them learn and play together.

“Are you ready, baby?” I called to Orion.

“Yes, Mommy!” He called back happily. “But I can’t zip my suitcase! There are too many toys!”

I giggled as I headed for his room. I stood in the doorway. “Toys? Baby, you’ll be on the beach, and Daddy said he bought you sand toys. Why don’t you leave your robots, dinos and action figures here. You can take Teddy if you want, but don’t bring him out in the sand, okay?”

Orion nodded. “Can I take Captain Purple too?” He held up an action figure of a man in a purple spandex suit.

I laughed a little. “His name isn’t Captain Purple, but sure, you can bring him.”

He stuffed the figure into his suitcase and started to zip it. Before he could, I walked in. “Just a second. Let me make sure you have everything for a week stay there.” I sifted through the suitcase. “Seven pairs of shorts, two pairs of pants, eight tees, a hoodie, undies, bathing suits, sunscreen, toothbrush, hairbrush…yup! You’re good to go!”

“Mooooom,” he put his hands on his hips. “You forgot Teddy and Captain Purple!”

“Oh, right, right.” I grabbed Teddy and jokingly put it up to Orion’s face. “Rawr! We’ve got Teddy!” I placed it carefully into the suitcase. “He’s pretending to be bad! Oh no! This looks like a job for….” I grabbed the action figure. “Captain Purple!” I made the toy fly in front of his face. “Zoooooom! Here he comes! Are you ready, Teddy?”

Orion giggled as I put the figure beside Teddy. “That rhymes!”

I hopped his nose. “I know!” I gave him a big smile. “Okay, we can’t keep Daddy waiting. Let’s zip!”

We zipped the suitcase together. Walking toward the door, I nearly bumped into Marco, who laughed. He grabbed my waist and kissed me.

“See you soon,” he smiled warmly.

“Ewww! Marco! That’s yucky!”

Marco laughed again and crouched down in front of Orion. He held out his arms and Orion hugged him. “Have fun in Sulani, bud. I look forward to all of your stories when you come back.”

Orion folded his arms in front of him. “Is Mommy your girlfriend?”

I turned away, stifling a giggle. Orion asked this all the time, and always asked Marco. I knew it was uncomfortable for him, as he didn’t know if it was appropriate, but I was highly amused.

Marco sighed, putting his head down. “Let me ask you what you think? Are we? Should we? What do you see?”

Orion hopped. “Yes! Mommy loves you! You love Mommy! And,” he hugged Marco. “I love you too!”

Marco smiled happily, hugging him back. “I love you too, buddy. You’re the coolest.”

I knew I was as red as a lobster at this point. I knew Orion didn’t quite know what love was when it came to couples, but hearing him say that Marco and I loved each other got me.

At least on my end, it was true.

“Okay, sweet boy, we should go now,” I said with a smile. “Can’t keep Daddy waiting.”

“Daddy is fast, Mommy!”

I knew he was referring to Caleb’s supernatural speed power. “Yes, yes, he can be, but I think the luggage may weigh him down. Come now, we have to go.”

He bounded after me and we headed to the penthouse.

Caleb opened the door and Orion hugged him, clinging to him tightly. When he ran in to hug the others, Caleb hugged me.

“Hey you,” he said quietly.

“Hey. Excited?”

He laughed. “Not as much as he is, it seems. But yes, I am.” He gazed at me. “What are you going to do for a whole week?”

I grinned. “Video calls, I should hope.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“And I think I might hit the town. I haven’t in a long time. It’ll be nice.”

He smiled happily. “Good. You need some free time.”

Ruby and Orion walked over. Ruby and I smiled at each other, but didn’t speak. No words were needed. We were still connected. Like twin sisters. I still wasn’t used to seeing her looking so modern. She wore a sleek, short dress with heels, and her hair was up in a messy, but stylish bun.

“You look great, Ruby,” I smiled.

“Aw, darling, you look radiant, as ever.”

I bowed my head with a smile. “Thank you.”

Caleb grinned. “I’m lucky to be surrounded by pretty girls, hmm?”

Orion glared at him. “Daddy! Mommy loves Marco! They even kiss!”

I snorted. It was amusing seeing a four year old reprimand his father for flirting. I smiled as I blushed a little. “Love is a bit much.”

Caleb smiled. “No it’s not. I see that. And I know that tone.” He crossed his arms and grinned again. “So, when are you going to tell him?”

Ruby looked shocked. “Caleb, that is a rude thing to ask of a lady!”

I giggled. “It’s okay, Ruby.” I turned to Caleb. “Honestly, I don’t know. The time just isn’t right yet.”

He shrugged. “That’s fair.”

Morgyn came over. “Ready guys?” He looked at me. “Oh, hey Jade!’

I smiled. “Morgyn.”

Caleb glanced at the time. “We should head out now, actually.”

We all walked out together, and when they were to head to the train station, I hugged Orion.

“Be good for them, okay baby?”

He nodded.

“I love you, and I’ll see you in a week. But we can video call any time, okay?”

He nodded again.

I stood straight as Caleb took Orion’s hand. He hugged me again and kissed my cheek. It was something we still did in a friendly way. Marco knew and was okay with it.

Orion, though, clearly wasn’t. “Daddy! That’s gross!”

We giggled.

“Right, sorry,” he winked at me. “See you in a week.”

We parted ways and I went home again. As soon as I stepped in the door, Marco came over to me.

“So!” He said excitedly. “Alone for a week! What’s the plan?”

“Hit the town every night. Get drunk, make friends.”

He tilted his head. “Drunk? Every night? Don’t go lush on me.”

I giggled. “The drunk part and the every night part; those were jokes.”

He smiled. “Well, let’s go then!”

I shook my head. “It’s morning. Let’s relax for the day.”

He nodded. “That’s fair.”

We spent the day just watching movies, talking and relaxing. Marco made a nice dinner, which we ate in the romantic candlelight. When we were done, I changed and prettied myself up to go out for the night. There were no time constraints. No limits. We could do as we pleased.

The night was ours.

We hit the stargazer lounge first. This was by far my favorite place in the city. It was a rooftop karaoke bar with a pool and friendly people. The view was incredible. The singers were mediocre or terrible, but fun to watch.

I ordered Marco and I a drink and we sat on a couch with a tall back. I leaned against him, watching a performer, amused. While I had a good singing voice, I was far too nervous to show it off in front of others.

The night continued with a few more drinks and some dancing. We finally decided to go home around midnight. As Marco went to use the bathroom, I went downstairs to our own pool. Forgetting my bathing suit, I just decided to skinny dip. Marco and I were the only ones here, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me like that before.

I jumped in and leaned against the wall, enjoying the coolness of the water. It was a pretty warm and humid night, so the water and air conditioning felt good. Especially with how buzzed I was.

I ducked under the water, wetting my face and hair and coming back up. As I did, I saw Marco at the bottom of the stairs, grinning at me, amused.

I playfully put on my best seductive face and poked my hand above the surface of the water, curling my finger toward me in a “come here” gesture.

He laughed and rolled up his pant legs, sitting at the edge of the pool.

“You’re drunk,” he said. “You shouldn’t be in the pool.”

I laughed. “I’m a little buzzed, Marco. I don’t get drunk. I stop myself when I’m comfortable.” I swam over to him. “Come on! We’re kid free, just had a nice night out, why not go for a swim before bed?” As I got close to him, I splashed him, giggling.

“Hey!” He shouted, seemingly frustrated at first, but then laughing. “Rude.”

I grinned. “That wasn’t rude, my dear.” I grabbed his hands. “But this is!” I pulled his hands, causing him to fall into the pool. He popped his head out of the water, gasping and shocked.

I giggled. “Come on in, the water’s fine!”

He glared at me, but his frown turned to a cheeky grin. He swam toward me and pinned me against the wall of the pool.

“I’ll get my revenge,” he growled playfully.

“Oooh, villain talk,” I teased. “I like it.”

He laughed and splashed me, swimming away. I chased him.

“You know, your clothes are slowing you down!” I shouted as I swam after him.

He stopped suddenly and I swam right into him with a bump. We both laughed and he wrapped his arms around me, kissing me.

“You are so cruel,” he smiled playfully. “And I mean it. I’ll get you back, somehow.”

“Mhm,” I put my arms around him. “Sure you will.” As he kissed me again, it was my turn to push him against the pool wall. This, of course, started something we didn’t exactly plan for, but here we were.

“I was serious when I said you didn’t need these,” I smirked, unbuttoning his shirt.

He laughed. “No, you said they slowed me down.”

“Hmm, well right now, they are slowing both of us down.”

He shrugged his shirt off of his shoulders. “So this is why you wanted me in the pool?”

“Nah,” I waved my hand. “I’m just taking an opportunity.”

And with that, our little session continued. It was different from what we were used to, and not just because we were in the water. Marco and I almost never drank alcohol. As things got more heated between us, the effects of the alcohol made our desires much higher. We didn’t tease each other much. He pinned me against the wall and entered me quickly as I wrapped my legs around him. Our kisses were fierce and unending. Every touch and sensation was magnified. I tangled my fingers in his hair and ran my nails down his neck and back. This of course, caused him to move faster, heightening our experience further.

It had to be tonight, right? I had to tell him. I couldn’t take it anymore. He had to know how I felt. I felt my desire start to falter as I began overthinking. What if I scared him away? He said he never thought he would be one to fall in love. Would I lose him? Would our love always be one sided?

Suddenly, he stopped. He gazed at me, catching his breath. “Are you alright?”

I snapped out of it. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. It’s good.”

He tilted his head, but to prevent any further questions, I kissed him again, moving my hips against his.

Maybe I wouldn’t think about that right now.

He moved his head down, kissing and teasing my neck, finally biting it, something I really enjoyed, though I never vocalized it.

The perks of previously dating a vampire.

As he continued, it didn’t take much to push me over the edge. The euphoric feelings were only minor compared to my growing anxieties about what I wanted to tell him.

‘Not now,’ I reminded myself. ‘Enjoy the moment.’

He reached his release not long after, and we clung to each other, quietly catching our breath, leaning against the pool wall together.

After a little while of silence, he gazed at me, his brown eyes curious. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I nodded, but stayed quiet. I felt myself sobering up. I actually wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

He kissed my forehead. “Sure? You were really into that and then…silence. Did I do something? Do you feel okay? Need to lie d-“

“Marco,” I grabbed his shoulder. “I lo-” I stopped. “I’m alright,” I smiled, changing my mind. “I’m just sobering up, that’s all.”

“Headache?”

“No.”

“Need sleep?”

“N-yeah, maybe.”

He smiled. “Alright. Let’s go to bed.”

Yeah, probably for the best. We dried off and got dressed into our normal night attire; a pair of boxers for him and a tee and undies for me.

I quickly got under the covers and faced the wall, closing my eyes, sighing. As I felt him get into bed, I went to turn off the light above the bed.

“No, wait,” he said, touching my hand. “Can I…can we…” he sighed. “I need to talk to you.”

I closed my eyes and didn’t turn toward him. “Okay.”

There was a pause. “Are you…can you like…look at me?”

I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or worried. Nervous maybe? I didn’t know. I rolled over. He was sitting up, looking down at the blanket, drawing shapes on it with his fingertip.

I sighed. “If this is about the pool, you didn’t do anything,” I smiled. “I sobered up. I’m a bit tired. I’m sure I’ll be okay tomorrow.”

He smiled. “Well, good. That’s reassuring.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

He stopped, staring straight ahead. “Uh, that.”

I didn’t believe him, but shrugged. “Alright.”

As he laid down, I cuddled close with him. He put his arm around me and I reached up to turn off the light again. He didn’t stop me.

We laid in the darkness, and I felt myself starting to drift off to sleep. He turned on the light again and nudged me. When I looked at him, he had a smirk on his face.

“Hey, so, I think I love you,” he said, his smirk turning into a smile. Of course, in true Marco fashion, he seemed uncomfortable, but happy that he said it. As if he had been holding back.

I stared blankly at him. “I…” I sat up. “Wait, what? I wanted to say that too. It was running through my mind-“

“In the pool,” we said together.

He laughed. “I knew something was wrong.”

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. You said…” I trailed off.

He smiled. “I said I wasn’t the loving type, I know. I guess something changed.” He kissed me softly. “Because I love everything about you, mi reina. Literally everything.”

I gazed up at him. “I love everything about you too. And I love you.” I pulled him closer. “So much. So, so much.”

He laughed softly, holding me tighter. There was something about him. The bond we shared was much stronger than I had ever felt with anyone. Sure, Caleb and I were bonded as well, even after splitting, but there was something that wanted to hold onto Marco and absolutely never let go. It wasn’t magic, or if it was, I didn’t recognize it.

But I loved it.

Chapter Four (click here)