Love Charms (45 page)

I
wrapped my lips around his neck and lay there, feeling more alive and whole and
wonderful than I ever felt when I was actually regular and alive, whole and
perhaps wonderful.  The entire theatre lit up before me, black and brilliant
and bright, and I could see everything if I wanted to.  I didn't want to see
anything, though.  I wanted to lay here, rapt, and experience my unique version
of the afterlife, of heaven.

It
ended, as I knew it probably would.  I didn't know exactly when, but all of a
sudden I felt an extreme exhaustion settle into my body and I slumped onto the
ground.  My arms loosened around Evan's torso, dropping to my sides, and my
tongue lolled out and lapped at his throat once, then twice, before my head
fell back, tired.

Evan
looked down at me, smiling, then he sweetly kissed my lips; a light, soft peck.

"Oh
my God," I said.  "Wow."

"Oh
my God," Evan agreed, playfully mocking me.  "I like you like that,
Sadie.  Maybe we can do it every day?"

I
lay there, limp and tired, but my mind and mouth weren't in accord with the
rest of me.  "Maybe we can do it again in a couple minutes," I said.

Evan
laughed and pushed inside of me.  Even while soft, I liked how he felt in me,
and with gleeful anticipation I realized his cock twitched just a little bit. 
Not too much, not all the way there yet, but with a little urging maybe we
could...

Mmm. 
Yes, yes we could.

* * *

Evan
and I made love one more time and then huddled together on the floor of the
theatre.  The dark, abandoned room surrounded us, serene and quiet.  Nothing
interrupted us except our thoughts and ourselves.  My heart beat slow, soft,
and I could hear it in the back of my mind; a gentle reminder of my situation;
I was cold but I was not dead.  Evan's heart thumped loudly against his chest,
though, and whenever I lay my head there I became awed at the quickness of it.

And
then I panicked.  "Where's Cinna?" I asked.  "What are we
doing?  We need to go find her?  Why are we in the movie theatre?"

I
fussed and fidgeted, escaping the comfort of Evan's warm embrace, and jumped up
away from the blankets.  Naked, determined, I stumbled towards the flashlight
laying on the ground--the one I'd mistaken for a beacon to heaven--and picked
it up, intending to go in search of my cat.

"Sadie?"
Evan asked, calm.

"Evan,
I need to go find her," I said.

"Do
you want clothes?"

I
shined the flashlight on myself, notice the pale blue color of my bare skin on
open view to anyone looking.  Granted, it was just me and Evan, but still.  I
scrambled back to the blanket and grabbed it away from Evan, then wrapped it
around my body, hiding myself from view.

He
stared at me with a silly grin on his face.  I shined the flashlight on him. 
He wore nothing, was just a sensuous, thrilling body of muscle and sweat and
sex strewn across the floor.  Propping himself up on his elbow, he looked at
me.  Sex-tousled hair scattered around his head, enticing and alluring me to
rejoin him.

"Here,"
he said, reaching behind him and snatching a pile of folded clothes. 
"These are yours."  He offered them to me.

I
reached out with my free hand while still keeping the flashlight on him. 
Vaguely recognizing the clothes, I took them and gripped them hard, holding them
at my sides, while I ogled his masculinity.  In response, Evan rolled over,
laying on his back and flexing his muscles.

He
has abs, I thought.  Really nice abs.  He has a beautiful stomach.  I'd never
seen his abs before, but, oh my, he had them.  I stared at him, then I crept
towards him, crawling over.  With light fingers, I touched the curvature of his
taut, flexed stomach.

Evan
grabbed my hand and pulled me onto him.  Oh no, we were going to have sex
again, weren't we?  When I thought of it like that, it seemed like a chore, but
really, I knew it was anything but.  Except, no, he wiggled around until he had
me in his arms with him kneeling on the floor, then he lifted me up as he
stood.  Carrying me, both of us nude, he then placed me reverently on the
floor.

I
had the flashlight still.  I flashed it on his crotch.  "You're big,"
I said.  He wasn't fully erect, but my imagination filled in the blanks.

"You
didn't notice anything before?  I mean, this isn't the first time we've done
this, you know?"

"I
was distracted!"

"Here,"
he said, taking the flashlight away from me, then the clothes.  "Let me
dress you."

"I'm
not a doll, Evan."

I
wasn't a doll, but apparently right now I was.  Evan propped the flashlight up
on one of the theatre seats, shining it onto us.  Taking my panties from the
pile of clothes, he crawled over to me on his knees and pulled at one of my
feet.  I lifted it for him, giving him a funny look, but he ignored me.

His
hands and the smooth fabric of my panties slipped up my legs.  A light, gentle
heat went first--his fingers--followed by the caress of cloth.  It reminded me
of taking a shower and then using a warm towel straight from the drier to dry
off with.  He pulled my panties all the way up my legs and fitted them into
place on my hips.  When he finished, he patted my crotch.

I'd
dropped into some meditative trance at the wondrous feeling of his fingers and
my panties trailing along my skin, but I snapped out of it at the pat.  My
knees wobbled, weak, and I nearly fell to the ground--I wanted to fall to the
ground--but Evan held me up by my rear.  His fingers tickled along the curves
of my ass, holding tight, and really I wanted to fall to the ground even more
now, but I restrained myself.

Evan
dressed me and I let him and it seemed so simple and silly but it was one of
the most amazing experiences of my life.  So normal, casual, and yet with my
odd fascination with his fiery touch and the careful, loving way in which he
obsessed over my body, dressing me, it became something else entirely.

I
stood there long after he finished, soaking the last of the glowing feeling
in.  Evan put his own clothes on alongside me, smirking and laughing at my
dream-like daze.

And
then, oh God, Cinna!  "Evan, I need to go find the kitten.  Why are we in
the theatre?  I don't understand."

"Shh,"
he said, taking my hand in his.  "Everything's fine.  Mostly fine. 
Desiree has her.  Jonny let us in and we've been here for a few hours.  You
kind of passed out after doing whatever you did to Alex, and this seemed like
the closest and best place to recoup."

"Oh,"
I said.  "What happened to that man?  To Alex?"

Evan
frowned.  "I don't know.  He was still breathing when we left, but I don't
know what happened.  Do you know what you did?"

"I..." 
I knew.  I knew a bit, at least.  "I don't know exactly.  You know how I
said you make me feel warm?  Desiree is kind of the same, but a different
warmth.  The other men the other day were... they
burned
.  It... it
wasn't the same at all.  I thought maybe if I felt different kinds of heat from
different people, maybe they'd feel different things from me, too.  I wanted to
be very cold towards him, so I think that was it."

"Oh,"
Evan said.

He
would hate me now, I knew.  He would think I was dangerous.  I was dangerous,
too!  I'd taken down a powerful man who used to be in the military and I was
just like one of the others now.  I didn't want to be, but for Evan, and I...

I
cried.  The tears stung my cheeks, but I couldn't stop.

"What's
wrong?" Evan asked.  "Sadie, don't cry..."

"I'm
dangerous," I said.  "You're going to hate me.  I don't want you to
hate me."

He
smiled, a slight laugh playing along his lips as if he thought me silly. 
"What?  I don't hate you."

I
sniffled and moved into him, cuddling against his chest.  Yes, he should hate
me, but I still wanted to cuddle with him.  "I might hurt you,
though," I said.

"You
won't," he said.

"How
do you know?"

"How
does anyone know anything?" he asked.

"I
think you're wrong," I said.

"Alright." 
Evan nodded, considering it.  "Prove me wrong, then."

"What?"

"If
you think you might hurt me and that I'm wrong, go ahead and do it.  Hurt
me."  He held his arms out, giving me free reign to do what I wished.

I
stared at his chest, at his arms, at the smug expression on his face.  I stared
at his chiseled jaw and his delicious, tempting neck.  Tugging on his athletic
shirt, I pulled him down and latched my mouth around his neck.

So
good!  I licked at his throat and felt his warmth sneaking across my tongue. 
My lips burned lightly, a pleasant, ever-present heat.  My teeth felt glazed,
like I'd just eaten a freshly baked piece of apple crisp.

"Oh!"
Evan said, melodramatic.  "I'm in so much pain, Sadie!  This hurts so
badly!  Ohhhhh."

He
tried to squeeze me in his arms in a hug but I moved my mouth away and punched
him in the chest.  Holding up my fist, I glared at him while trying not to grin
and laugh.

"That
didn't really hurt, either," Evan said, feigning disappointment.

"I'll
do it again!"  I went to punch him once more, but he snatched my hand out
of the air and teased open my fingers, holding my hand in his.

I
moved alongside him, impulsive and natural, and we walked hand in hand towards
the exit to the theatre.  Evan snatched up the flashlight as we passed it by
and illuminated our way.

* * *

The
theatre lobby was much the way I remembered it; bleak and dark, but somehow
less abandoned and more comforting than anything else in the city.  The glow
from the popcorn machine lit up the area near the concession counter,
constantly flipping popcorn.

The
batteries or the popcorn would run out sooner or later, I thought.  Did Jonny
have a plan for when that happened?

The
self-proclaimed zombie movie usher stood near the front doors, sweeping up
non-existent dirt.  To the side, Desiree sat on one of the lobby couches near
the bathrooms, grumbling.  My kitten, Cinna, darted out from beneath various
chairs and couches, dashing forward and swatting at Desiree's shoelaces, then
dodging away from the woman and hiding once more, only to repeat the same a short
while later.

Desiree
looked none too happy with this set up.  I watched, grinning, and Evan looked
over at me and laughed.

"Well,
she's having fun, I guess," he said.

Desiree
saw us, stood up, and stomped over, hands folded across her chest.  "Are
you two done being whatever you're being?  You couldn't have just woken up.  Do
you know how long I had to wait out here?  Well, I don't, because there's no
clock or watch or anything, but it felt like forever, alright?  So, are you
done?"

Evan
groaned.  I got the feeling she acted like this often.  She gave him a hard,
stern look, then she turned to me and became an entirely different person.

"As
long as you're up for it, Sadie," she said, hushed.  "You fainted, so
maybe you need more time?  I don't know.  Evan's the EMT.  Did he take care of
you alright?  Was he out of line?  Do you want me to smack him?  I'll do
it."

I
shook my head.  "No.  I feel fine.  I think everything's alright.  I don't
know why I fainted."

"Oh,"
Desiree said.  "Oh, good.  Your cat's been... fine..."

Cinna
rushed over, batted at Desiree's shoelaces.  Her claw got stuck in the string
and she pulled at it, mewing as if she was in mortal peril.

Desiree
bent down and reached for the cat's claws, unsticking them from her shoelace. 
I frowned when I saw her arms; covered in thick, long lines of bright red
scratches and scabs.  She saw me staring at her arms and then shied away,
folding them over her chest again to hide herself.

"It
doesn't hurt," she said.  "I'm not angry at your cat or anything.  It
was just an accident, you know?"

I
stepped forward, letting go of Evan's hand, and I put my arms around Desiree. 
She watched me, confused, and just stood there, stiff.  I hugged her tight. 
After a few seconds she gave in and hugged me, too.  She felt soft and nice and
her hair smelled like rain and vanilla.

"I'm
so sorry," she said, whispering quietly so only I could hear.

"It's
alright," I said.

Then,
louder, she said, "Now that everything's settled, I'll head back.  Your
bag with all your stuff's over on that couch."  She pointed to another of
the seats neat the restrooms.  "I'll see if Alex is alright, I guess. 
I'll tell him that you both abandoned me the first chance you got.  I don't
know if he'll believe me, but what's the worst that can happen?"

"Desiree,"
Evan said.  "You can't go back there.  I don't think Alex is necessarily a
bad person, but... he's changed.  You saw what he did to Sadie.  Who knows what
he'll do to you."