Ethan is already waiting for us in his car when Martha and I come out of her house arm in arm. We arrive at where he's parked and Martha opens the back door while I sit beside Ethan in the front seat.
"Hi..." She simply says to Ethan with a smile before she comfortably rests her back, exhales, and closes her eyes. We'd been working all day and I know she's tired. I feel guilty for keeping her out of her bed. I can't wait for me to turn eighteen so she can finally retire.
"Hi. Thank you for doing this" I say to Ethan with a smile and he also smiles, nodding back in return.
The drive to the station is a short one, about ten minutes, and done in silence since we don't want to wake Martha who appears to have drifted into dreamland already
As soon as we alight from the car, Martha excuses herself and goes straight to get our tickets which Ethan insisted on paying for. He also gets some stuff that he says we might need for the road. The ticket Martha got is for a suite cabin that contains a bed and two adjustable double-seater couches.
The moment we enter the suite, she goes straight to the bed...
"I'm an old woman. My tired bones won't let me take the couch, so I need the bed and my beauty sleep more than you two youngsters." She says as she put on the sleep mask she remove from her bag
"It's a three-hour journey, Ash, you should try and get some sleep. Remember we're not on holiday, we still have work tomorrow." She tells me and pulls the cover over her head. "Good night."
"Good night."
"Good night, M" Ethan and I wish her together.
I put the jacket Martha gave me on the arm of the chair that's nearest to me and sit down, looking at the fast-passing scenery outside the train's window.
"Not feeling sleepy yet?" Ethan asks and comes to sit beside me
"No... What about you? If you want to sleep please go ahead. The couch is adjustable and should be comfortable enough for your height."
"I know, I'm not just sleepy yet." He replies, looking out of the window for a while before asking…
"Nervous about what you might find out when we get there?"
"Nervous?... Nah! Whatever I find out won't change the fact that my wolf is half-human, half-wolf. I was worried before mostly because of Martha. I don't want her to see me as a monster. But now that I know how she feels about me, I'm not worried anymore. As long as I can learn to control my wolf and she doesn't pose danger to the people around me then I'm cool with whatever it is I find out"
"Great. I really like the way you think. Any other person would have been sick with worry but not you. You're a very strong woman, Ash"
"Oh, thank you," I reply with a smile. "But it's just simple logic. I mean why worry when I know it won't change a thing... Besides, I'm kinda used to being called a freak. Let people say whatever they want, it doesn't bother me anymore." I say with a shrug
"No. You're too beautiful to be called a freak so don't get used to it. It doesn't suit you" He says while looking into my eyes.
His complement catches me unaware and I freeze for some seconds while still looking at each other.
I however quickly regained myself.
"Yeah right!" I reply before looking away from him. Directing my gaze back to the passing scenery outside the window
'Beautiful?...' I repeat the word in my head and it sounds foreign to my ears. I've never considered myself a beauty before and I have never heard anyone associate that adjective with me. I don't own a mirror and whenever I'm cleaning the pack house bathrooms, I never look at their mirrors long enough to convince or admire myself that I am a beautiful woman. I just get by. Didn't really have the time for frivolous thinking.
He chuckles
"So uhmm, Martha said both of you will be leaving the pack as soon as you turn eighteen?" He breaks the silence between us
"Yeah... I will be free to pursue a different career. A much better one than cooking and cleaning other people's filth."
"Yeah, I agree with you... So when is your birthday?"
"In three days. Freedom at last in three days, yay!" I reply, punching the air in excitement
He chuckles "Yeah, freedom at last. I'm happy for you. Congratulations!"
"Yeah, thank you."
"So what next after the Night Howler's pack?"
"I want to go back to school. I'll work part-time in the morning. Then go to evening classes to get my high school diploma and then go to college."
"That would be great! Do you have any particular school in mind?"
"No, I don't. Now that I know you, you will help me with that when the time comes won't you?" I ask, jokingly batting my eyelashes at him and we both laugh.
"I'm honored you asked and I'll be happy to help. I'll sure miss you both when you're gone... I'll miss you especially, you know."
I couldn't help but laugh at what he said. I know I have zilch experience when it comes to men but telling me you will miss me when it's not even up to twenty-four hours that we met? Isn't that a little farfetched
"Ethan, you don't even know me that well! It's not even twenty-four hours that we met and you're already talking about missing me?"
"Yeah I know it's not up to twenty-four hours that we met but whatever little minutes that we spent together is enough for me to know that I like you. I like you a lot actually." He softly says and slowly moves towards me. He pauses for a while when his face is about half an inch to mine, looking deeply into my eyes before his eyes move down to look at my lips.
I already know what he's about to do. And the way he's looking at my lips makes me feel as if he's informing me about his intentions ahead, giving me the chance to back down if I want to before he considers moving in.
I don't turn away... I should allow him to kiss me... Why not? He said he likes me. He likes me a lot, even. I think I like him too. What's there not to like about Ethan? He's handsome. I especially like how the flecks of brown and gold in his gray eyes twinkle when he laughs. Martha also likes him a lot plus he cares about my well-being.
With my strange wolf, the chances of me ever finding a mate is slim but Ethan doesn't seem to mind. I would be stupid not to allow him to kiss me. Now that the opportunity just presented itself, I'm excited to find out what it feels like to be kissed by a handsome man. I want to know how it feels to have a handsome man beside me. Maybe find out what it feels like to have another person, apart from Martha care for me.
My eyes drift shut as our lips touched slightly at first before we slowly deepen the kiss
A novel I once read described the lead couple kissing, using words like heart fluttering, mind-blowing, weak in the knees, and euphoric pleasure. I'm almost eighteen and I know better than to dwell on and base real-life experience on some writer's imagination.
Kissing Ethan is a very nice experience. I like the way his lips feel pressed to mine. The inside of his mouth is warm and tastes faintly of mint and sweet coffee. I'm enjoying my first kiss until I hear some kind of explosion inside my head