The laughter clued him in, and Kaspian swiveled his head to glare at me yet again.
“Don't look at me like that.” I pointed at him as I continued to chuckle. “I warned you.”
“What is this? How is this possible?” He gaped at the TV, sitting forward and crossing his legs.
I went to sit beside him on the rug. “This is called a movie. Short for moving pictures. It took many years to develop the process. The first of them were silent and in black and white. But then we figured out how to color them and record sound. Now, the technology keeps advancing faster and faster. Every year it seems as if they can do cooler stuff than the year before. We can make it look as if men fly or transform into big green monsters.” I waved at the Hulk. “We call it special effects.”
“This isn't real?”
“No. It's more of that make-believe. It's all done with machines. Computers, to be exact. And you need to believe me when I say that you're not ready for computers.” I got up and held a hand down to him. “Come on. I'll show you the rest of the house.”
Kaspian looked from the television to my hand, then clasped palms with me. He stood up, using mostly his own strength, and nodded. But his stare kept straying back to the movie, so I turned it off.
“This way.” I put the remote on the coffee table.
“You turn it off so easily.”
“That's how it works. That's why I warned you not to touch the buttons. They're what turn the television on and off.” I went down the hallway. “This will be your room. I don't get a lot of guests, but I like to have a guest room in case a buddy comes in from out of town. I don't . . . my family's gone. So, uh, yeah, no family coming to visit.”
Kaspian had been inspecting the simple room—in particular, he was eyeing the bed—but he stopped and turned toward me. “What do you mean gone?”
“They're deceased. I've got some aunts and uncles. Cousins. But my parents passed away a few years ago. First Dad, then Mom quickly followed. She just wasn't . . . yeah, she loved him a lot. They had me later in life. So, they weren't as young as you might think.”
“I'm sorry, Demetrius. No siblings?”
“Nah. Just me. I'm good though. I don't need all that stuff.”
“Stuff?”
“You know, holidays when you get together with your family and celebrate. Do you guys have holidays?”
Kaspian frowned over the word, then said, “We have ceremonies for our gods and special days in honor of them. Usually, that's done as a community, but there are some days that we celebrate with our closest relatives.”
“So, we're not so different.”
His expression softened. “No, we're not.”
I cleared my throat. “Uh, the bathroom is over here.” I motioned down the hall. “It's small. Just the basics. But I've got soap and stuff in the shower and fresh towels on the rack. Help yourself.” I went back to the living room, Kaspian trailing after me. “Upstairs is the main bedroom and bath. That's it.”
“I like it very much.” Kaspian wandered back to the kitchen and picked up his shopping bag. He glanced out the window at the backyard and nodded. “This is a good home.”
“Thanks. Here.” I took his bag. “I'll put that in your room. Go sit down in the living room and enjoy your beer.”
“Thank you.”
Back into the living room we went. I took his stuff to the guest room and took a moment to compose myself.What do I do with Kaspian now? Netflix and chill? Should I take him out and show him what little there was to see in Salem? Maybe to a restaurant? Or is that too much? Maybe it would overwhelm him. He's probably exhausted from traveling.I snorted hysterically to myself.
“Yeah, world-hopping must be exhausting,” I muttered and went out to the living room.
Kaspian was sitting on the couch, drinking his beer as if he had one every day. He looked utterly at home and damn if those clothes didn't up his hotness factor.
“What's wrong?” Kas asked.
“Nothing. I'm just trying to remember where I left my beer.”
“It's right there.” He pointed with his beer bottle—just a normal dude.
“Thanks.” I followed his direction to the kitchen and found my beer on the island. I didn't even remember putting it down. Taking a big swig, I turned around and found Kaspian standing a foot away. I nearly spat beer on him. Luckily, I'm a master at swallowing and got it down. Then I gasped, “Don't sneak up on me like that.”
