Sorren
The rumble of the truck’s engine and the gravel crunching under the tires tell me that Eva is back. I spin around frantically to confirm everything is in its place.
“Sorry I’m so late.” Eva sounds drained as she comes through the front door.
She stops in her tracks and looks around the house.
Everything has been cleaned, tidied up, and put away.
With nothing else to do all day, I cleaned from top to bottom.
Dusted ceiling fans, wiped down surfaces, and vacuumed.
I figured out how to use her ancient laundry machines to clean my clothes.
“Woah. What happened here?” she asks, setting her stuff down. Even though she’s tired after a long day, her presence still feels like sunshine. I’ve only just now realized how great it feels.
“I was bored, so I cleaned up a bit.” I shrug, downplaying the effort. The wood box next to the fireplace even got refilled.
“Sorren, you didn’t have to do all this!” She throws her arms around my neck in a tight hug. “Thank you.”
I lean into the hug. Too quickly, she pulls away. Both of us are unsure about what to do next.
“It has been a day.” She exhales and plops down on the couch, exhausted.
“Yeah? What happened?”
Eva tells me all about her day. Even though she’s tired, her green eyes sparkle and storytelling pulls me in, like a moth to a flame.
“It’s awful and goes on way longer than it should. Nights like these are the most frustrating, when the debating and talking goes on and on, then we leave without taking any action. I just wanted to be home hours ago.”
“Sounds like a Mephisto board meeting,” I sympathize. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Her cheeks blush pink at my comment. There is something here, she’s got to feel it too.
She hefts herself up off the couch and stretches with a yawn. Her shirt rides up a tiny bit, and I get a glimpse of creamy skin under her sweater. “Alright, let’s go take a look at that grimoire again.”
“You’re exhausted. It can wait until tomorrow,” I tell her. Being in the house all day is getting easier. At least I didn’t have to deal with Malachi and the giant mess waiting for me back at Mephisto Inc.
“Are you sure? You’re probably going crazy being stuck here all day.” She yawns again.
“One more day won’t hurt anyone.”
“You really are the best demon I’ve ever met.”
I nudge her up the stairs and into her room. I lay down on my bed fully clothed, not yet ready to sleep. Tiny glow-in-the-dark star and planet stickers are scattered on the ceiling, and I can picture a young Eva on a stool excitedly sticking them all over.
Behind the closed bathroom door, I hear Eva turn on the shower.
Thinking of her naked in that little bath tub sends every ounce of blood in my body straight to my dick.
The metal shower curtain rings scrape across the bar, and I jump out of bed, desperate to get out of earshot.
There is no way I’ll survive listening to her shower, knowing her hands are moving up and down her wet body.
I run down the stairs two at a time and go out the back door to the steps.
A safe distance away from the tempting witch upstairs.
Not only is she a bonafide smoke show, Eva is the most interesting person I have ever met.
She is brilliant and funny, disorganized and forgetful.
For a minute there, being separated by realms doesn’t seem like an insurmountable problem.
Grant, on the other hand, is. If Eva is happy with him, then I’ll keep my distance.
I may be a Prince of Hell, but I’m not going to stoop that low.
But when she talked about him and that horrid club, I sensed a severe lack of enthusiasm.
I take a deep breath of the cold night air and look up at the night sky, the stars are obscured by thick clouds.
Water falls from the sky, landing on the walkway with a wet plop.
The drops fall faster and louder. In awe, I watch the ground soak up the rain.
Everything under the light gleams and drips with water.
An earthy smell of dirt and rocks floods my nose.
No one ever told me how incredible rain is.
Catrick Swayze bolts through the rain and flops over on the ground in front of me. Such a strange name for a cat. I wonder if all cats have a surname. His loud purr could wake the dead.
Minutes later, I hear Eva whisper from the staircase, “Sorren?”.
“Everything okay?”
“Oh, there you are. For a second, I thought you left.”
Two days with this witch, and I’m ready to vow to never leave her side.
“I was just watching the rain with Catrick Swayze.” And trying not to be a perv while you live your life.
“It started raining?” She peers out the window.
“Just now. It’s spectacular. What is that smell?” I take a deep inhale.
“It’s called petrichor, isn’t it the best?” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, and a smile spreads across her lips.
She opens her eyes and catches me staring at her. I look away a second too late. Catrick Swayze meows loudly, breaking the awkward silence.
“By the way, what’s with his name?” I hold the door open for said cat to meander into the house.
“Catrick Swayze? Like Patrick Swayze. Get it?” She laughs like it’s obvious.
“Who is Patrick Swayze?”
Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. “You’ve never heard of Patrick Swayze? We’ve got to do something about that right now.” She pads her way down the stairs in tiny sleeping shorts and a tank top, rejuvenated by the shower and this Swayze mission.
“But first, some tea. You want some?” Her bare feet on the wood steps make the cutest noise. Her wet hair hangs down around her shoulders making little damp spots on her clothes.
Corporate jargon. Boardrooms. Rules of order. Arbitration. Debentures. I think of the least sexy things I can imagine. Anything to get my mind off the way those shorts cling to her thighs.
I follow her to the kitchen and sit to hide the growing tent in my pants while she putters around, making tea for us.
“The kitchen is so clean. Thank you for doing that. It was a lovely surprise to come home to.”
My eyes dart away in embarrassment, no one has ever called anything about me lovely before. “You’re welcome. It was nothing.”
“Mr. Prince of Hell needs to learn how to accept a compliment.” She chuckles, hopping up on the counter. Her feet dangle off the ground while the tea kettle starts heating up. I want to grab that bare foot and run my finger along the arch.
“Touché.”
“Here, order whatever groceries you want. I don’t need a hangry demon pacing around my house.” She tosses her phone to me with a smile. “Oh, and get some cat food. He’s going to develop expensive taste if all he eats is tuna.”
I select a few staples as well as some better versions of what we have in the underworld.
When the kettle whistles, Eva hops down and pours the hot water into the cups she had set out. Double fisting the mugs she nods toward the living room.
“Get ready. I am about to blow your mind.” She shoots me a sly smile while pulling a DVD off the bookshelf.