Page 16 of Making Haven
I’ll never stop marveling at how perfect my location is. I’m surrounded by wildlife that shields me from the worst of what the world has seen. I can live off the land, I can hunt, I can hide while also having the comforts of a home up on a hill.
The walk to the creek is mostly quiet, only disturbed by the sounds of nocturnal birds and animals scurrying around. Devin seems tense, waiting for a zombie to come running any moment but I’m relaxed, knowing I would hear them from enough distance away to warn us.
Before long, the sound of the creek hits my ears. The stream moving is rhythmic, like a lullaby, mixing with the other sounds of nature that surround this place. For a moment, it’s easy to forget all the shit happening outside of this little bubble. When I’m here, I feel like it’s not the end of the world and that I’m not a vampire. I feel like I’m just a guy enjoying a bath.
“Here we are,” I say, nodding forward. “The creek is just past these stumps.”
“Convenient,” Devin murmurs, stepping over the stump and sitting down on it. “That wasn’t too far but I think I was right, I might need a piggyback on the way back home.” His face does something funny when he says home, like he can’t believe he just called the cul-de-sac home. I don’t call him out on it.
“I’m willing and able to be your trusted steed,” I tell him, giving him a grin that makes him roll his eyes, only this time I can tell it’s a playful display rather than annoyance.
What the fuck has changed?
As much as I want to question it, I let it lie, enjoying it while it’s here. Who knows how long it’ll be before he’s back to hating my guts.
I sit down in the grass, carefully pulling my socks and shoes off. Then I take off my hoodie, folding it and making a little pile of my clothes on top of my shoes.
“I’ve brought the good stuff,” I tell Devin, pulling out the soap and shampoo, handing it over to him.
Taking it, Devin stares down at the labels. “Fuck,” he hums, turning towards me with wide eyes. “I don’t even remember the last time I’ve properly cleaned myself like this. It’s been a long ass time.”
I touch my nose and playfully say, “Yeah, I can tell.”
Devin snorts. “Asshole. Like you smell like daisies.”
Shit. I like this side of Devin, when his teasing isn’t filled with barbs meant to hurt. I like seeing this side of him.
If I’m not careful, I can see myself falling. Which would only complicate things. Especially because he’s planning on leaving as soon as he feels well enough. Better to not gain feelings at all.
Standing up, I lift my shirt over my head. I fold it up and place it on top of my hoodie. Then I shuck off my jeans, adding them to the pile. I can feel Devin’s eyes on me, but I do my best to ignorehim. I do my best not to show my emotions, the way my stomach is buzzing with butterflies, wondering if he likes what he sees.
Finally, I take off my boxers. Completely naked, I walk over to the creek and slowly step inside, hissing at how cold the water is.
“Jesus Christ,” I get out through clenched teeth. “I wasn’t expecting it to bethisfucking cold but this is better than nothing I guess.”
I hear some rustling behind me. I step into the creek until the water is at my waist before I chance a glance over my shoulder at Devin. If I needed to breathe, I know it would be stolen from me in that moment.
Devin isbeautiful. Dressed down in just his boxers, I find my eyes roaming toned, pale skin. He has a treasure trail that leads down into his boxers and a dark patch between his pecs.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen another naked person and I’m struck by the novelty of it. It’s intimate, to be bare with another person. But that’s not what this is. We’re just bathing. Nothing more.
I shake my head as I turn forward once more, sinking into the water further until I’m neck deep. The chill of the water helps to clear my head. Thankfully it’s been a few days since I’ve had any blood in my system, keeping me from getting an awkward erection. I have a feeling something like that would absolutely ruin this tentative truce we have going on.
A moment later, Devin is stepping into the water. He curses at the temperature before he’s breathing out a sigh, sinking completely in. I turn around, watching as he ducks his entire head under the water straight away. His skin pebbles and his nipples harden. I lick my lips, imagining warming them back up with my mouth.
Fuck. I need to rein in my thoughts.
Devin tosses the soap at me as he shampoos his hair. I quickly get a lather going, washing myself quickly and efficiently, doing my best not to linger anywhere.
God, now that I think about it, I don’t even remember the last time I’ve come. Maybe after that time I took down a bear and drank it dry? One of the side effects of being a vampire is I can only get myself hard when I’ve recently drunk fresh blood and I try not to indulge too frequently, mostly living off animal products such as fresh eggs. Someday I’d like to find myself a milk cow so I could live off that as well, but that’s more of a pipe dream. Where the hell am I supposed to find a cow around here?
“Here,” Devin says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“What? Sorry, I was miles away.”
“I could tell,” he says, “you had this dreamy look to your face.”
“Was thinking about how hard it would be to find a cow,” I tell him honestly, completely skipping over the whole ‘making myself come’ part.
