Glowing in the Sun 6

No sounds could be heard in the room aside from their loud moans over the creaking of the wooden bed. They kissed again, their breaths melding together as he held her close. He pulled her waist off the mattress, pulling her closer to his hips. He increased his pace when her legs tightened around his waist, bringing him deeper into her.

"Wi- Will," she breathed his name softly.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he felt himself reaching his peak. For the first time in a long time, he let himself go. Her muscles tightening around him brought him to ecstasy. He groaned in her neck, closing his eyes at the sense of euphoria.

He continued breathing heavily, finally reaching the resolution. Her muscles loosened as he pulled away from her. He rose on his elbows, looking at her glistening skin, the brown turned into bronze in the orange lights in the room. Her eyes remained wide with pleasure and her lips swollen red from their kisses.

Sweat dripped from her forehead as she looked up at the ceiling. Her breathing laborious as he rolled off her.

For several moments, nothing other than the sound of their breaths filled the room before he said, "That was great."

"Hmm," Tora replied.

They laid on their backs, on the bed, not saying a word. The strong scent of their arousal still permeated through the room. Their clothes scattered all over the bedroom floor, from the door to the foot of the bed.

Her wet, hot skin slowly cooled as she came down from her high.

Will placed his body closer to hers before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He brought her body close to his, holding her tight against his chest. "I hope this is okay," he said. He lightly passed his fingers up and down her arm. "You seem a little tense."

Tora sat up on the bed, with the bedsheet tight against her chest. "It's just that I haven't been in a relationship in a while. I'm a little…" Tora searched for the right word, "um, uncertain. It's not that I don't like you. I'm not the type to commit long-term."

Will sat up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder blades. He placed soft butterfly kisses all along her neck. "Then I guess that would mean I'm the first," Will whispered breathily against her ear. He kissed the shell of her ear, making her moan like a soothed kitty-cat.

"Well-," before she could continue, her phone rang.

Tora took her phone on the bedside table and answered without glancing at the caller ID. "Yeah?" As she listened, Will noticed her brows furrow before her eyes widened. "He did what?" Tora touched her forehead as if soothing a headache. "Okay. What do we do?" She got up off the bed and walked around the room, collecting her clothes. "Okay. I'm on my way."

She continued on the phone with a series of "alright" and "okay" before she finished the call. "I got it. I'll meet you there. Bye."

Tora hung up before she released a sigh. She turned back to Will and said, "I've gotta go."

"Already?" Will said. He saw the dark look on Tora's face as her eyes fell downcast. "You look worried. Is everything alright?"

Tora remained silent as she pulled on her panties. She continued to search for the rest of her clothes in the mess of the bedroom floor.

Will got off the bed to hand Tora her pants. He pushed a little harder, passing his hand on her naked back as he asked, "Is this about your friend who is in a coma?"

Tora turned swiftly. "How did you know?"

"Well, the way you said 'he did what?' to -who I'm guessing is- your mom, I just took a guess," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well, he woke up yesterday morning." Tora turned around and put on her shirt before grabbing her pants.

"That's great," Will said. "So, what's the problem?"

"But, he's still sick. We're going to see a friend who's more knowledgeable on the subject," she answered.

"Wait, how did your friend go into a coma? What happened to him?"

Tora furrowed her brow, looking at the wall of the bedroom for a while before she answered Will. "He was struck by lightning," she said through gritted teeth.

Tora had told that story many times. Every time she explained it, she had to omit specific details from her account of the events of that night. Even Will, her boyfriend, did not know anything about the exact cause of the lightning strike.

"Yeah. He was in the park during a lightning storm, and it hit him. He had several heart attacks and seizures before he went into a coma."

Will got off the bed and pulled his pants. "Can't your mom look at him at her hospital?"

"It's a special case that her friend specializes in," she said. "I can't say any more than that."

Tora finally put her shoes on. She left the bedroom to the living room, where her bag remained along with the rest of their dinner.

"I have to go." Tora took her purse before she turned to Will. "Thanks for tonight. I had a wonderful time." She placed a soft kiss on Will's lips. She closed her eyes, letting her tongue roam in his mouth before she let go. She turned around and went to the door, leaving without turning back.

***

Darren slumped in the back seat of the car and sighed for the thousandth time that night. He was physically and emotionally spent. After finding out he could glow and fly -well, more like float- Miriam called Tora. Once they had spoken, she then bought three last-minute plane tickets for them. She called another person. Immediately afterward, she brought him some outerwear and told him that they were headed to Colorado.

Darren soon discovered that it was not the first time he had exhibited superhuman abilities.

Since Darren exhibited the ability to levitate and glow when he was in a coma, Miriam sent a sample of his blood to Doctor Jonathan McGee. The person was a specialist when it came to the Vetus gene, so Miriam sent Darren's blood for analysis. The person was a good friend of Miriam's late husband, Jordan. Even after his passing, she got along with the doctor quite well.

Tora met them at the airport with a go-bag. She passed through the airport's clothing store for some last-minute shopping. As they had purchased last-minute tickets, the only seats available were first-class on the flight to the International Airport in Denver.

When they landed, they were shown to a private room where they exited through the back of the airport. A man and a private car waited for them, allowing them to leave the airport unseen. Now, they were driving at midnight through the Colorado desert to Doctor McGee's home.

Darren tried to sleep on the flight and has been trying to sleep in the car, but he could not. Sleep eluded him. He remained alert. Even in the dead of night, in the middle of the desert, every little sound resounded in his ears. He could hear the rocks scraping against the tires of the SUV. He looked at Tora, sitting beside him as she slept. Her breathing and heart rate were slow and constant. Miriam slept as well, but her heartbeat much faster than Tora's.

The driver Doctor McGee sent, his son, Matthew, was controlled in his breathing. He sat up straight, ever vigilant as he drove. He drove carefully, at a docile 15 kilometers per hour as his visibility was low in the night.

Darren looked up, out of the car window. The moon was full, and the stars shimmered in the sky. Darren looked back to the front of the car, watching the landscape through the windshield. Even in the night, his eyes were an owl's, seeing the animals scurrying along the ground when they heard the car coming. His eyes quickly caught a large structure about a kilometer ahead of them.

Wait, how could he know the exact distance? He could see far away, but it seemed he could discern the distance he could see.

The car rolled onto a smooth surface, past the massive structure, continuing to a smaller box structure. The car climbed up a slight incline into a garage before coming to a complete stop. Matthew shut off the engine before he said, "Alright, we're here."

As if almost on cue, Tora and Miriam opened their eyes. "Matt, is the door open?" Tora asked.

"Yep," he replied. The car doors opened and shut in a simultaneous chorus as everyone left the car.

"You can leave the luggage. We'll get 'em tomorrow," Matt said.

Darren followed Tora and Miriam, who seemed to be already familiar with the house. They weaved past the other car in the garage to the heavy glass door on the side. The moment they entered the dimly lit hallway, Tora entered a room as Miriam opened another and closed the door behind them. Darren was quite lost as Tora and Miriam treated the house like their own. Darren paused for a moment then turned around to Matthew.

"It's okay. They've been to this house many times before," Matthew replied. "You can take the next room over."

"I don't know what we're doing here."

"They haven't told you anything, huh," Matthew scratched the back of his neck. "We'll talk about this in the morning. For now, get some rest. I'm sure you're tired, too." Matthew walked past Darren as he continued down the hallway. "I sure am. Good night."

Although it was night, Darren's room brightened as the light of the moon filtered in through the large glass windows. Smaller lights scattered in the shadows of the room, giving the space a planetarium-like atmosphere. There were no curtains by the windows as they were unnecessary since there were no neighbors for several kilometers.

Darren laid on his back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. His mind traveled back to Tora, who entered the house like it was her own home. She had most likely been in the house before with Miriam, and perhaps Jordan. She would love it here, especially if every night, the moon and the stars made their presence known in the bedrooms.

The hypnotic beauty of the desert night immediately lulled him into the much-needed sleep that had eluded him.