He shrugged one shoulder as he answered me. "It was what I had on hand. It's an herb mixture that will calm your nausea." I looked at him, suspiciously. "How did you make this for me in the five minutes it took to come upstairs?" He shook his head as he pulled his coat from his shoulders, exposing his muscular tattooed arms from the sleeveless black turtleneck he wore underneath. "I had already made it a while ago. It isn't just for nausea." I had expected him to tell me what else he used it for, but that was the end of his sentence.
I tried to focus on my response as my eyes glued to his body. I felt so cruel for objectifying him in such a way, but my gaze stayed locked onto his tight and thin shirt, straining to contain his godlike figure. "T-Thank you for letting me use it. Um, how much am I supposed to take? One cup per day?" His eyes became fierce at my suggestion as he folded his coat over his forearm. "No. Don't ever take so much of it. Your size can only handle one drop at the most. And you must only take it when you are feeling ill. Never at a select time of day or day of the week. Never."
I was caught off guard by his warning. "What do you mean? How strong is this stuff? What would happen if I took too much?" Again, he didn't answer and took the bottle from me. He lifted the crystal bottle topper from the bottle and moved to hold it in the same hand as the bottle. His hands were large enough to do so. He then used his free hand to dip his finger inside the concoction. The movement he made as he removed his finger from the bottle's opening aroused me slightly until I stopped myself, disgusted at the perverted thoughts I kept having.
I had no idea what Levy was doing, but the next thing I knew, the finger he had dipped into the medicine was now in my mouth. My lips wrapped around his finger as some sort of confused reaction, and then he pulled away, leaving the small bit of medicine on my tongue. It was tasteless, which made the taste of Levy so much stronger. My mind couldn't comprehend how he tasted at first. The only word I could think to describe it was evil. I wasn't put off by it as I should have been. This taste of evil wasn't frightening, it was as if it was calling to me and alluring me to join it in the shadows. The promise of eternal comfort and pleasure was on the other side.
I stood there, frozen and flushed with red. Levy smirked and set everything he was holding down on the couch before turning to me again. "Lavender." His voice was a low purr as he approached me. Being so close, I could only see his chest from looking ahead. I didn't have the courage to look up at him. He knew this and his hand rose to my cheek so he could do it for me. He looked down at me intently, speaking softly as he did it. "I can't wait for our date tomorrow."
The sun arose the next morning and I sat up from my couch with a yawn. As I fully gained consciousness, I realized I didn't feel as awful as I normally did in the mornings. I paused as I felt hunger for the first time since my childhood. The feeling was so unnatural that I questioned if I was awake. The sensation of nausea that always came over me in the morning was gone, and it made me feel wonderful. I jumped to my feet to test if it was truly gone and gasped at how I didn't experience a head rush after getting to my feet. I didn't expect the medicine that Levy gave me to work so instantly with the small amount I had taken. I felt so energized and yet starving at the same time.
I began to panic, thinking there was no food in my apartment. None that could be considered a meal, anyway. I then rushed to get dressed and raced out the door in my coat and mask to the convenience store. I got myself a decent breakfast and peanut butter and jelly sandwich ingredients for lunch. After I ate, I used the entire loaf of bread to make the sandwiches. I slipped them into a large Ziploc bag and hoped it would be enough to at least hold Levy over until the end of our date. At least make a good snack. The longer I thought about how insane his appetite was, the more I felt uneasy at how little I knew him. I tried to think of a way I could ask him without getting a vague answer like that of what he normally gave me.
My attention left its problem-solving state to realize what he had told me the night we first went out. I thought about how he had said he would try to seduce me again on our second date. Thinking of it now was like the first time I heard it. I didn't know how it slipped my mind so easily the first time. I had to be stronger tonight and make it clear that I wasn't going to be one of his flings. I trusted myself, but it was scary how close I let him get. I pushed the worries out of my mind and brought my mind back to think about how amazing today would be. Being an overthinker, I had planned everything out every day leading up to this one. I had a plan and Levy was going to be delighted after the good time I would show him this afternoon.
My confidence became excitement and I couldn't wait in this old crusty apartment any longer. I was dying to see the park I had gone to every weekend with my mom, back when I was too young to care about how poor we were. I hadn't returned to the park since then because of my fear that it wouldn't be the same, or that it might've been turned into a DMV or something like that. I wasn't going to let that bother me anymore and decided that I would leave early and walk to the park. I wanted to make sure it was still there, and if it was, that the slums hadn't taken over it yet. I remember it being a magical and clean place. Although, when I was young, anything could be magical.
It took an hour to walk there, but I enjoyed the unusually blue sky as I treaded the sidewalk. It was one of the last warm days of the Autumn, and I was lucky to have today alone with Levy. The sun was covered by a cloud and the cool breeze flushed through the trees as I neared the outskirts of the ghetto. I stopped in my tracks as I reached the black metal entryway of the park I once loved. It was just as I remembered. It was clean and shiny, and the sun's rays caught the green of the grass and made the hills shine like gold. I almost couldn't believe my eyes from the perfection of it.