It was eleven thirty exact, and I was standing in front of my closet trying to decide what to wear. I knew we'd be out in the woods but what we were doing was a mystery. So instead of my usual dresses, I opted into wearing what my Mother turned her nose up at, shorts. I pulled on a pair of jean shorts that stopped mid thigh and a sky blue, spaghetti strap tank top, and I pulled my hair up into a messy bun as I left my bedroom. The same guards from earlier began escorting me towards the dining room, but instead of turning when they did I kept going until I made it to the backdoor. Like always the guards rushed to catch up to me, looking slightly confused since they weren't informed of the change in my lunch schedule. I smiled as my bare feet padded against the warm wood of the back patio and then the soft, cool grass of the yard. The guards stayed on the patio as they looked around, nodding to other guards as they patrolled the perimeter. I spotted Warren to the right walking with another guard I didn't know, and smiled at him when he looked over. He smiled back and nodded towards the woods, I gave him a nod and jogged towards the tree line, my heart began to beat fast and my palms became sweaty. I was too nervous to think, so I sharpened my senses.
Everything becomes clearer, the sounds of birds louder, the smell of flowers stronger, the dirt, and water smell amazing. The air on my skin, the breeze through my hair, everything I didn't notice before becomes front and center. As I walk I clench and unclench my hands into fists, I take deep breathes until I catch a faint smell of cheese in the distance. I follow the smell for about a mile until I end up in a meadow in the very center of my territory. Purple, pink, and orange flowers litter the area with tall grass that stops at my waste, and in the center of the meadow I could see Onyx pacing back and forth, oblivious to my arrival. I took a few quiet steps towards him, but I stepped on a stick that snapped under my weight, and Onyx quickly turned to face me, surprise on his face. When he saw it was just me, he smiled.
"I didn't think you'd come," he confessed.
"Why wouldn't I?" I asked as I moved closer to where he was. When I made it to him I saw a blanket sitting on top of the grass that had been stepped down. Sitting on top of the blanket was trays of food, one tray was full of meats, cheeses, and what smelled like freshly baked bread. On another tray was Figs with blue cheese, there was other trays full of smoked salmon rolls, salads, pasta, sushi and other things. It was a buffet and when I looked up at him he was looking at the many trays with a shy smile.
"It was a last minute plan for one, and I never asked what you liked, so I made a few things."
"A few?" I asked with a small laugh.
"I'll admit, I went overboard, but I'd rather come over prepared than have nothing you like."
"Well lucky for you, I'm not picky."
"Shall we sit?" He asked as he motioned towards the blanket.
"Oh, yes," my smile grew at the awkward tension wrapping around us. I took his outstretched hand and let him lead me to a spot on the blanket. He was wearing the same pants from earlier today, but he was no longer topless, but wearing a white, clean Tshirt. His hair was neatly combed and he smelled nice, like Sandlewood and Vanilla. We sat down with him on my left, there was an inch between us keeping our arms from brushing against each others.
"Are you thirsty?" He asked as he looked over at me, I looked around the blanket but didn't see anything to drink.
"Uh, did you bring anything to drink?" I smiled. He smiled at me and I watched as he poked his arm around in the tall grass behind us, and when he pulled his arm back he was holding a dark purple bottle with no label.
"I brought wine, it might not pair nicely with a lot of the stuff here, but I couldn't think of anything else to bring, and water seemed so bland," he explained awkwardly as he sat the bottle down.
"Wine is fine, and I'm sure it'll do."
He smiled as he picked up two glasses and poured the reddish purple liquid into the glasses. I took the wine glass from him and smelled the wine deeply. It smelled like fresh berries, with a smokey scent of wood, like a cigar box with a hint of sweetness. I swirled it around and then took a sip, the flavors burst in my mouth like I actually took a piece of fruit and bit into it. It's rich, with a delicious burn to it. Quite unique, and not like any of the wines I've ever tasted.
"Do you like it?"
"I do, it's very unique, I've never tasted anything like this before." I explained as I sat the glass down next to me, careful to make sure it doesn't fall over.
"Good, I made it myself."
"You made this?"
"Don't act too surprised," he laughed as he picked up a tray of cheese, meats, and bread. "It's just something my family used to do a long time ago. I just decided to pick up the trade again a few years ago."
"You're pretty good at it, and that also explains the no label. Are you not selling this?" I asked curiously as I took some cheese into my mouth and slowly chewed. As he began to talk I took a sip of the wine and had to keep back the approval my throat wanted to make.
"Thank you, and at the moment I'm not. Right now it's more like a hobby than anything really. I gift it to close friends for special occasions and they return the favor with, well favors."
"Ohh, so was that what Warren was doing? Just returning the favor," I laughed as I watched him smile and shake his head no.
"No, I was actually as surprised as you were, and even more so when you said yes."
"What would have happened if I said no?"
"I probably would have crawled into a hole and died of embarrassment," we both laughed and I watched as he used chopsticks to pick up a sushi roll and bring it up to his mouth. His mouth opened, and when his lips wrapped around the two sticks I held my breath. How can I find someone eating so attractive? I watched as he chewed, and then he made a sound of approval, the moan was deep and made me bite my bottom lip. His lips curled up into a small smile and then he looked up at the sky. Large trees were partially blocking the view and shading us from the harsh light, but we could still see the clouds and the bright blue sky.
"Why do your eyes glow?" I asked the question that's been on my mind since the moment I first saw him. He looked over at me, and I could see the hesitation but he told me anyways a he looked back up at the sky.
"I am a Lycan, one of the last."
"A Lycan? I've heard of your kind before but I don't know much."
"No one really does, most look down on my kind because there isn't a lot of us."
"I don't look down on you," he smiled at me as he looked over.
"No, I don't think you could ever think bad of anyone."
"Oh I don't know, I've been having some bad thoughts about someone lately," I mumbled, and he slowly leaned closer, so slowly that I doubt I would have even noticed if I wasn't looking at him.
"What kind of bad thoughts?"
"Thoughts I'd rather not talk about to anyone else," I confessed.
"Even to me?" His voice was quite and I found myself leaning towards him.
"Especially to you."
He was so close now that I could feel the heat of his skin on my cheek, "Tell me," he whispered. His breath gently kissing my cheek. I turned to look at him, his golden eyes sparkling.
"I'd rather just show you," and with that his lips were on mine. He kissed me slow, and gently. His tongue swiped at my bottom lip and I opened to let him in. His hand caressed my face as I placed my hands on his chest to steady myself. My tongue swirled and danced with his, as all thoughts of lunch left our minds. I could feel the passion with every press of his lips to mine, and at this moment I'm glad that my first kiss was with someone like Onyx.
As soon as I had the thought, Onyx pulled away from the kiss. We breathed heavily as we stared into each others eyes, his hand moved to the back of my neck as he took one last kiss from my lips before pulling away all together.
"I'm sorry," he said, I shouldn't have done that.
"You didn't want too?"
"No, I did."
"Then don't be sorry, because I wanted it too."