Chapter 16
Noah
Themicrowavecountsdownwith a series of soft beeps, and I watch the growing bag spin through the glass like I'm waiting for a damn oracle to deliver my fortune.
Three… two… one.
The popcorn bag swells to its limit, threatening to burst, and I yank the door open just as the timer runs its course. Steam billows out, carrying that buttery, salty smell that means movie night in houses across the country.
I pour the popcorn into the big blue bowl and I feel it again.
That dangerous, terrifying sense ofbelonging.
Like this is my life. My kitchen. My family waiting in the living room.
Like I could actually keep this.
I know better. I understand that Rika and I just started our relationship, if we can even call it a relationship. I'm fully aware of how complicated Rika's life is, how much pressure she's under. How many things could still go wrong.
But I fell for her and there's no going back. I've known this from the moment I kissed her on her front porch, wine-tipsy and needy.
I've never been one to believe in fate or soul mates. After all, humans are not werewolves or orcs or any of the Other species who claim to find love only once in their lives.
And yet when I close my eyes at night, all I can see is Rika's face. Rika's smile and Rika's eyes when they crinkle at the corners from amusement.
All I can feel is Rika's lips on mine, Rika's body under mine.
I'm gone and I'm gone for good. All I can hope now is that I'm not going to get my heart broken. Because I'm afraid I'll never get the pieces back together if I do.
I know all this and I'm aware of the risks. After all, it's been two whole weeks since Zoe ran away from her dance class and Rika and I made up. Two whole weeks of sneaking around at night like teenagers, two whole weeks of stealing kisses and exchanging heated glances when the kids aren't looking.
Two whole weeks of flirting by text and waiting for her to sneak down to my apartment. Two whole weeks of hearing thefamily I love living upstairs after I've gone home and wishing I could be there with them. Wishing they could all be mine.
But standing here in Rika's kitchen on a Friday night, listening to Zoe and Matthew bickering good-naturedly about which streaming service has the better superhero movies, it's getting harder to remember that I'm supposed to keep my heart in check. That I'm supposed to give Rika space and time to process her feelings.
Tonight is a step in a good direction. It's the first time I'm joining the family for a movie night. I hope it's a sign that Rika is getting closer to announcing our relationship to Zoe and Matthew.
The kitchen door swings open and Rika breezes in, her pale-blue wings doing that little flutter they do when she's moving fast. She's changed into yoga pants and an oversized cardigan that slips off one shoulder, and her hair is pulled up in a messy knot that makes me want to pull the elastic free and run my fingers through it.
"Is the popcorn ready?" she asks, moving toward the counter. "Because Zoe is threatening a full-scale mutiny if we don't start the movie in the next—"
I catch her wrist gently and pull her to me, cutting off her words with my mouth.
She melts into me immediately, her lips parting with a soft sound that goes straight to my cock. I kiss her slowly, thoroughly, tasting the wine she had with dinner and something sweeter underneath. It really is adorable that she has such a sweet tooth.
When I pull back, her eyes are dark and dazed, her cheeks flushed.
"What was that for?" she breathes.
"Because I can," I say simply. "And because I've been wanting to do that since you walked in the door two hours ago."
Her smile is small and pleased and a little shy. "The kids are right in the other room."
"I know." I grin. "That's why I'm stopping now."
She swats my chest playfully, but her eyes are warm.
"Are you coming down to my place tonight?" The invitation is casual, but there's heat underneath. "After the kids are asleep?"
