019

The week moved slowly, like the hands of a clock when you watch them, trying to see their incremental movements. I couldn't shake the growing feeling of suspicion and anxiety that had settled in my stomach like a pebble at the bottom of a river. The days flowed over it regardless, but the pebble was still there, causing a miniscule shift in the current, just enough to set me off balance. It felt as though my internal compass had lost true north by just a few degrees. This wild adventure I'd found myself in in the last couple of weeks had jolted unexpectedly, and I no longer knew if I felt safe.

I hadn't tried talking with Buddy about it any more, hadn't tried asking questions or calling him out. Perhaps I wanted to believe him, wanted to ignore the question mark that kept wriggling in my gut and just choose to trust him. Perhaps I was scared of the truth, of what it might be and what it might mean. Maybe it was both. I only knew that I wasn't ready for the kind of heartbreak I'd feel if it turned out he was lying to me, and so it was easier to sweep it under the rug and ignore the hunch that kept breathing down my neck.

By Friday I had almost managed to convince myself that I'd imagined it. I pushed through the work day, the minutes passing like hours. When four thirty came, Morgan swanned over and perched on the edge of my desk.

"Drinks tonight?" He said, eyeing me carefully. "You look like a girl who needs a drink."

"When do I not need a drink," I asked with a sigh, leaning back in my chair and stretching my hands above my head.

"Rarely, but today more than usual. This whole week more than usual, to be honest." Morgan watched me carefully. "There's something up isn't there? Is it to do with the mysterious new boyfriend who I still haven't met?"

I smiled, but it didn't quite reach my eyes, and I knew it. "Everything's fine. Just a lot on my mind this week. But, if you'd like to meet Buddy, how about we all go out for drinks together?"

"Yasss," Morgan said gleefully. "Now that's what I call a Friday night. Invite your housemate too, she's a blast."

"Sure thing," I said. Morgan and Lena had met a few times, and had always hit it off. "What about you, anyway? No special man in your life at the moment?"

"Oh, only Naruto, you know how it is," he sighed. "I might invite some friends from the footy club though," he added thoughtfully.

"Sounds good," I laughed, then quickly settled back in to my desk as Troy's office door opened.

Morgan sauntered back to his desk, winking at Nadine as he passed. She threw him the smile that she reserved solely for him, and which she systematically denied everyone else. I started to feel a little more relaxed, the weekend finally in sight and Morgan's conversation soothing the headache that had been growing all day.

By five o'clock, I was hurrying out the door, promising to see Morgan at the Cobbie in a couple of hours. I texted Lena, letting her know about the plans, then met Buddy at the house.

We ate dinner together, a stir fry made of whatever veggies we could scrounge from the bottom of the fridge. As we sat across from each other, I allowed the discomfort of the past week to dissolve. Sure, I still had questions. Didn't everyone? It would be this way whether he was human or not. Every couple had secrets, I realised, and every couple would have to deal with problems in their relationship. That was part of being human, and to think we could be the exception would be hopelessly naive. Working through the problems was what made relationships stronger, and I wasn't about to let this beat me.

I determined to enjoy the evening, forget everything else, and just relax for once. Problems would always exist. But they didn't always need to be sorted out today. Some things could wait til tomorrow.

I watched Buddy, studied how his long dark eyelashes brushed his cheeks when he blinked, how his eyes sparkled when they caught mine. No matter what else I had been feeling, it hadn't been enough to dampen my feelings for him. My stomach still turned somersaults when he looked at me, and my body still overheated like an over-revved engine whenever we kissed. I felt my face going red just thinking about it, so I focused on the meal, finishing quickly and then cleaning up.

"I should get changed," I said, walking to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and changed into a pair of black high waisted shorts, but couldn't decide on a top.

"Hey, can I have your opinion?" I called out to Buddy. He appeared in the doorway a few moments later.

"On what?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

I held the two tops up beside me, switching which one I held in front of my chest.

"Which top?" I asked.

"The orange one," he replied easily, then stepped into the room. "Or, to be honest, I prefer the third option."

He moved toward me and took both of the tops out my hands, dropping them on the bed and running his hands around my bare waist. I hadn't even felt remotely conscious of my partial nakedness until I felt his hands on skin that he hadn't yet touched. A thousand tiny fires were instantly lit all over my body as his hands explored the new terrain. I fell helplessly into him, wrapping my own hands around his neck and feeling my breaths shorten. Our lips met naturally, as though they were simply coming home, and our minds slipped into the strange world we made where there was nothing but us, our skin, our lips, and the fire in our veins. The heat spread, engulfing us both, causing the kiss to become deeper, more desperate, more searching. Buddy's hands were on my waist, then my hips, then my neck, and everywhere they went, the flames followed. Any resolve or thoughts of abstinence I had were melting quickly. I wanted him more than anything at that moment.

The air in the room shifted, something taking over, and I felt Buddy change. He was steering me back toward the bed, and I didn't resist. I sat down, then lay back on the pillows, and before I knew it, he was on top of me, kissing me again. My whole body was in fire with the electricity of lust. I pushed my hands up under his shirt running my hands across his muscles back, pulling him in closer. I pulled his shirt off over his head, and even when it got stuck momentarily on his ear, the mood was too thick to even pause to laugh.

The sun was setting, and I hadn't turned any lights on, so the room had begun to dim just a little, the dark held at bay by the orange glow from the window. Buddy's hand was at the back of my bra when we heard the all too familiar sound of Lena's car turning in to the driveway.

We both swore loudly in unison.

The moment burst like a child's bubble, and we reluctantly tore our tangled bodies apart. Buddy groaned and rolled off me, reaching for his t-shirt. I sat up in bed and ran my hands through my hair and across my face, sighing deeply. Lifting my head out of my hands, I caught Buddy's eyes. I grinned and shrugged, shaking off the sexual frustration and jumping off the bed.

"To be continued," I said, kissing him on the cheek before reaching down to grab the orange shirt he'd chosen earlier.

Buddy looked up at the ceiling as if praying to some unseen god for deliverance. I looked at him, smothering the urge to laugh at the desperation in his eyes.

"Cold shower?" I suggested unhelpfully.