Chapter 21 - Kazimir
Maria has been feeling a lot better this afternoon. I’m relieved, because she slept all day yesterday after coming home, then all night and late into this morning. But she woke up with color back in her cheeks and her beautiful smile back on her face.
“I’m really hungry,” she says, surprising me.
“Are you sure? Yesterday, you said if someone brings you food, you might throw it at them,” I chuckle.
“I was nauseous yesterday,” she laughs. “Today is a whole new day.”
“It certainly is. What were you in the mood for?” I ask.
“I still want to go to the bookshop and the little waffle coffee shop in the village. Bear and I didn’t get a chance to yesterday before I ruined the day,” she pouts.
“Bear…” I muse. “Are we all going to get our own nicknames, or is he your favorite husband?”
“Mm. I’ll have to think of a nickname that suits you. I don’t want to be boring and just call you Kaz. Everyone else already does that,” she says thoughtfully.
“I agree, it should be a nickname only you call me,” I nod.
Last night, Benedikt made a comment about me running away from my feelings.
I didn’t understand it last night, but as she turns to look at me now, my stomach flips, and I have a glimmer of self-reflection. But I push it away. He’s putting ideas in my head.
“You ready?” I ask.
“Are we going for waffles?” she asks happily.
“We are indeed,” I grin. “But we aren’t going to walk around too much. I think you should take it easy.”
“But we can go to the bookshop?” she pouts.
I chuckle. “Sure, just the book shop,” I agree.
In the village, Maria walks close to my side, so I slip my arm around her, holding her tight. We hurry across the street when the traffic clears, and I hold the bookstore door open for her.
“What kind of books do you read?” I ask, curious.
“Almost anything that catches my eye. But my go-to genres are romance and horror,” she says, already browsing one of the shelves.
“Romance and horror?” I blurt out. “So, what? Falling in love with a killer clown?” I scoff, laughing softly.
She giggles and shakes her head. “Not together! Separate genres. Although the horror-romance genre does exist, that’s not what I mean when I mentioned them right after each other,” she grins.
“No killer clowns?” I smirk. “I was going to stop at the party store and get something to dress up in for a little fun later,” I tease.
“You are insufferable,” she playfully punches my arm.
“Kazimir?” a woman’s voice calls me from behind.
I turn to see a girl I know from Chicago.
“Kaz! It is you! What in the world are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” she asks, gushing as she rushes over to me.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I smile tightly.
She tries to hug me, and I turn my body slightly to the side, so she only gets half a hug.
She keeps her arm wrapped around me as she giggles and strokes her fingers over my chest. “You look so good,” she says.
“But then again, you always look good.” Her eyes glimmer with the teasing in her words.
I have to actively step away from her to escape her touch.
For some reason, her flirting has absolutely no effect on me whatsoever. In the past, I would have been flirting back in an instant. I would have been the one who started the conversation.
“Are you here alone? I have a little cabin in the village. You should come by tonight,” she suggests.
“I’m here with someone, thanks for the invite, but I’ve got plans,” I reply politely. “Listen, I’ve got to go, but it was nice seeing you. Have a good time,” I say quickly before she invites me out again. I’m simply not interested.
When I turn to find Maria, she’s nowhere to be found.
“Maria?” I call down the long aisle in the bookstore.
I hurry to the next aisle, then the next, and find her in the corner browsing through the sci-fi section.
“There you are,” I say, walking over to her.
“Mm,” she huffs.
“Did you find anything good yet?” I ask.
“No,” she says coldly.
I narrow my eyes, picking up on her energy. Especially when I run my hand down her back, and she pulls away from me.
“What’s going on? Aren’t you feeling well again? We can go…”
“I’m perfectly fine, Kazimir,” she says coldly.
“Kazimir. My full name…mm. I might think I’m in trouble for something,” I muse, realizing what’s going on.
“Is that so? And what is it you’re in trouble for, according to you and your exceptional insight?” she huffs, refusing to look at me.
I don’t manage to hold back my laughter, and this causes her to spin and glare at me. Her eyes spear me with annoyance, and it makes me laugh harder.
“What’s so funny?” she snaps.
“You’re jealous,” I whisper darkly as I take a step toward her.
“I am not,” she gasps, her back pressed against the bookshelf. “Why would I be jealous…”
I don’t answer her or wait to hear any more of what she’s saying.
Instead, I cup my hand around the back of her head and kiss her.
Locking my mouth over hers, I press my body against hers, and instantly, the world is on fire.
Sparks fly between us and my skin tingles with a million sensations running over me.
Maria slides her hands up my waist and holds onto me.
Her lips taste like strawberries, and her body is soft beneath my hands.
And it hits me again. That same realization.
That same deep yearning and that spark of knowledge.
I’m falling for her.
My heart beats faster, and I push harder, deepening the kiss. Suddenly, I need her more urgently than ever before.
Shit, I’m way past falling for her. I’m absolutely crazy about her.
I’m in love with her.
The kiss ends, but I don’t step away from her.
“Do you need a moment?” she teases me.
“I do, if you don’t mind,” I grin, my hard-on pressing against her.
“I don’t know, I have a very urgent craving for waffles that I think we need to get immediately,” she grins back.
“What about your book browsing?” I raise my brows, pleading with her not to move just yet.
“Mm…I think I can browse a little later, after waffles.”
“Maria,” I warn her.
“Yes, Kazimir,” she says, using my full name again.
I chuckle. “I rather like the way you say my name,” I smirk.
“Oh, I thought you wanted a nickname like Bear?” she says.
“Mm, maybe not, maybe I just want to hear my name on your lips while I…” I lean close to her ear and whisper my devilish thoughts against her hair.
“Oh my goodness,” she gasps, her cheeks turning bright red.
I groan, shaking my head. “I’m not helping the situation at all, am I?” I chuckle.
“You’re making it worse,” she agrees.
“Maybe if I kiss you again?” I say, lifting her chin up toward me and kissing her for a second time.
This kiss is slower, and it makes my heart beat in a different way. It’s beautiful and peaceful and intimate.
My breathing changes, and my entire body relaxes as her hands drift slowly up and down my lower back.
But when the kiss ends, I still have a raging hard-on.
“It was worth a try,” I say, shrugging.
“I’ll walk in front of you?” she suggests. Her eyes are bright and full of mischief.
“Yes, let’s try that, because if I don’t move away from you, it’ll never go away.”
She walks just ahead of me, but reaches her hand behind her back to ask for mine. I place my hand in hers, and it feels like home in a lot of ways. It feels comfortable and exciting at the same time.
Outside in the cool, crisp air, I take several deep breaths, and my body calms down.
Maria’s eyes drift lower, and she nods, satisfied. “Waffles?” she asks.
“I hope they have butterscotch sauce,” I say, holding my hand out to take hers again.
She threads her fingers through mine, and I pull her closer.
I fucking fell in love.
Kazimir. The guy who never wanted to commit to anything.
He got married, and he fell in love.
I laugh quietly at myself as we walk together toward the warm glow of the coffee shop ahead of us.
I fell in love, and I don’t have a single regret about it.