Chapter Six
Korvin Slater
Exploring
For the first time in my life, my animal is quiet. He is there, I can feel him moving around in the recesses of my mind, but he isn’t fighting me for dominance or trying to force me to shift. I think it may be because I finally have a plan to talk to our mate. I just need to wait for her to come out of her apartment.
Less than three hours ago, the scent of her pussy, her arousal, permeated the entire building, nearly taking me to my knees. Knowing she is here, close enough to touch, has me making rash decisions, but I can’t hold back. And to be honest, I don’t want to.
After taking care of my raging erection, again, I showered, dressed, and now I find myself waiting downstairs outside the apartment building for her to emerge. I don’t know if she will want to leave her apartment today, having worked late at The Gin Room, but I will wait all day if I have to.
As luck would have it, I don’t have to. I’ve only been loitering outside like a weirdo for twenty minutes when she walks out. Her face is tilted to the sky like she is catching the rays of the sun like a sunflower. Her skin shimmers beneath the rays, begging me to touch her while her red curls bounce in the late morning breeze. For the longest moment I just stare at her.
She turns toward me and freezes. A small smile plays at the corner of her lips as she takes me in.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” I feel stupid the moment the word falls from my lips, but I don’t know what else to say.
“We haven’t been introduced yet,” she says, holding out her hand. “I’m Akasha.”
I take her hand in mine, feeling her silky skin for the first time. A frisson of awareness runs through me the moment our skin contacts hers.
“Korvin.”
She nods, looking at her feet. “I saw you at The Gin Room last night. Do you work there?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, I won’t keep you. I’m just going in search of some coffee.” She tries to pull her hand away, but I hold tight.
“I know a place that has the best coffee. If you don’t mind the company,” I add on.
“I would love someone who could show me around,” she says, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. “I’ve never been to the city before.”
Pride surges through me at the fact she has chosen to spend time with me, allowing me to be her guide. I get to not only spend time with her but show her all my favorite places and keep her safe.
“Let’s get you some coffee and then I’ll show you around the borough.”
****
I spend the entire day with Akasha.
The original plan was only to introduce myself to her but that went out the window quickly, and suddenly I found myself exploring the area I have been living in for the better part of ten years, experiencing everything like it’s the first time all over again.
After grabbing coffee, we walk the streets, looking in through shop fronts, eat steak burritos from a street vendor, and even visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. I keep waiting for her to complain that her feet hurt from all the walking, but more often she is the one dragging me behind her to see the next thing.
With every step we take, we talk. I can’t remember ever having spoken this much in my life but for some reason it simply flows between us. From where we grew up, childhood memories, favorite colors, and music, to everything in between. Neither of us turn the conversation to anything heavy, but we get to know one another throughout the day.
Her laughter is infectious, and I find myself smiling more often. Another thing I’m not used to. So much that my cheeks hurt from using the muscles.
“Will you look at the time!” she exclaims as she stares at the screen of her cell phone. “We’ll have to catch a cab back.”
I whistle loudly, holding my hand out to get us a ride. My heart thunders in my chest as we ride back to our building in silence, my large hand still wrapped around her smaller one. I want to say something, to tell her I would like to do this again, but I can’t find the words. I feel like after all the talking I’ve done today, I’ve simply run out of words.
She smiles at me after we step out of the car, and I pay.
“Thank you, Korvin. I really enjoyed today.”
“I’m happy to hear that. I haven’t had this much fun in ages,” I say with a grin I couldn’t hide even if I wanted to.
“Can I tell you something?” she asks shyly.
“Anything.”
“Since the moment I got to the city, to Brooklyn, I knew I was meant to be here.” I can hear she is trying to explain something but not telling me everything. “I feel like I’ve known you my entire life.”
Leaning down, I kiss her forehead. “Sweet girl, that is the best thing I’ve heard in ages.”
“Really?” she asks, smiling up at me and I wink at her.
“Let’s get ready to go to work,” I say, cutting into the moment but knowing it needs to be done. For the first time today, my bear rumbles, unhappy with the fact I am halting our progress. “If you want, I can always show you around more another time.”
“Oh, I would love to see the catacombs. I read they do a candlelight tour,” she says excitedly as we get onto the elevator.
“We’ll have to do that tomorrow night, when we’re off,” I say pressing the button for my floor.
She doesn’t select a different floor, and it hits me. We are living beside each other, that’s why I could smell her so clearly. She is my new neighbor. The apartment had been sitting vacant for over a year until just this week. Now I know who moved in.
“It’s a date,” she replies, kissing my cheek and skipping off the elevator to her apartment before disappearing inside.