Axon did as I asked and together we sat by theentrance where the rain was trickling down from the sky.
“I’ll take half and you can have half.” I attempted to split the clay with my bare hands and struggled quite a bit.
“Let me have a try,” Axon held out his hand and I gave him the clay.
He easily split the clay into two halves and handed me one of them.
“Thank you.”
“What do you think you’ll make?” He asked as he worked the clay between his big blue hands.
“I was thinking of making a crystal encrusted goblet, which is basically a large cup.”
“That sounds nice. Do you have all the crystals you need for it? Should I get some more?” He asked, always eager to provide me with every little request I might have. I could feel my resolve to wait for luminescence wearing thin with each passing day. There was no denying that I wanted to be with Axon. I’d known that for a long time, but was it worth the risk?
“No, I’m good. Thanks though,” I acquiesced.
“What about you? What are you going to make?”
“I’m going to make a textured ball for Tarak and Gab-bae’s sietling. I remember having one as a child and it brought me a lot of joy.”
“That’s thoughtful of you.”
Axon shrugged his shoulders. “It’s tradition to present gifts to the newborn a few days after they’ve entered the world.”
“We have a tradition like that too, but we give gifts to the mother a month before the baby is born.”
Axon nodded his head as he softened his clay between his palms. We were both getting messy with wet clay working its way up our arms.
It didn’t take Axon very long at all to get the clay to a workable texture and start forming the toy he had described. I, on the other hand, couldn’t get the clay to soften at all. I was starting to lose hope when Axon noticed I was struggling.
“It tends to be easier if you work the clay under one palm and then the other. Here, let me show you.”
I thought he would show me by taking my clay and working it himself, but instead he walked behind me and sat down with his chest barely a hair away from my back. I could feel his warmth and longed to lean back against him.
My heart raced as I waited to see what he’d do next. On one hand, this could end disastrously with Axon accidentally touching more of me than he can handle and having to back away, or this could end up with us being as close to cuddling as we’ve ever been.
With Axon’s chest close to my back, he reached out from behind me and placed his hands on top of mine.
“Together?” he asked, his voice sounding far more husky than usual. Did I have that much of aneffect on him? Was it me, or just the closeness of our bodies that he liked?
“Together,” I agreed.
He kneaded the clay with his hands on top of mine. It was easy work with him doing it with me. As we moved, the clay made its way further and further up our arms until I was sure we were completely covered from fingertip to elbow.
As the clay got softer, Axon’s hand slipped and his arm brushed against mine. I prepared myself for him to pull away from the pain, but that moment never came.
Instead, he slowly pressed his arm to mine. His breath hitched but that was the only sign that he was being affected at all by my touch.
“Does it hurt?”
“No, it feels good. I think the grit of the clay on our arms is helping.”
“Can I keep going?” he asked in a quiet voice full of anticipation.
“Yes,” I breathed. I wanted more.
He slowly moved his hand up my wrist to my arm, then gently ran his fingers up and down my skin, sending warm tingles down my spine.
