Closer

Skyla stared blankly at Mara. She could tell that Mara expected some kind of response to her welcome, but Skyla couldn't understand what it was she should say.

Alex put his hand on Mara's shoulder and said, "That is enough now. We will talk to Steve later." He nodded, and Skyla did not doubt that he told Mara something more with his eyes or mind or something.

"Oh, silly Alex. Have you forgotten there are no mistakes?" Mara laughed and walked away. She turned as she walked back upstairs. She looked back at Alex over her right shoulder. Skyla did not have to be a mind reader to know what such a look meant. Alex looked down and possibly blushed.

"How old is she?" Skyla asked Alex as calmly as she could.

"She just turned 18. I missed her birthday party a few weeks ago."

"How well do you know her?" Skyla asked as she played with her hair.

"Oh, don't tell me that you are jealous. She is harmless. That is cute, though. I guess that means you care." He leaned over to kiss Skyla.

As Alex leaned in, a million thoughts came to Skyla's mind. She couldn't fully grasp any of them. She let him kiss her. He was warm and eager. She could feel the heat of his breath. It felt nice not to think. Then he shifted her back farther onto the bed and gently rested himself on top of her. He smelled so sweet. His sweat lingered on his neck, and she knew his scent already. She felt his full weight on her now. He kissed her, and she tasted the tangy lime from his beer. Skyla suddenly didn't have the strength to care where she was. She wouldn't run away this time. She would listen to Brooke and make sure to fully experience this journey. She would stay with him.

I will have to think of it as an adventure.

Then Skyla couldn't think anymore. She could only hear Alex's breathing getting louder and louder. His kisses kept coming. He lingered long on her lips. Then he moved his lips lower and found her neck. Skyla smiled to herself. Maybe if she tried real hard, she could tell what he was thinking, too. She tried to focus, but without success.

Skyla threw her head back and moaned. With her fingers in his hair, she guided him. He wouldn't have to read her mind. She would make it simple enough. He moved down her neck to her breasts. He lingered on the left nipple for longer than she thought she could stand. Just as she was about to shove him off with a whimper, he moved to the other. She wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, and she shifted her hips up and forward. She reached as far down his back as she could manage. It wasn't far enough. She wanted to grab him all up at once. He felt her impatience and took both her hands in his. He held them up and above her head while at the same time moving lower with his lips. She could feel his hot breath on her stomach now. She let out a squeal, and she could feel him respond with a laugh into the hollow space below her bellybutton. He was stretched too far now. He let go of her hands. He held her hips firmly and buried his face lower. He used his teeth to move her panties to the side. She knew she would do anything for him now.

Skyla put her fingers in his hair to show him just the right way, but he knew already. He knew without her telling or showing him. She rocked back and forth, but he guided her up and back, with his hands lifting her hips. Her thighs felt warm against his cheeks. She prayed it would never stop, but she couldn't wait much longer. She let out a guttural scream.

He slithered his way back up. She began to breathe again. He buried his face in her neck. She could feel him undoing his button and kicking his jeans off with his feet. She tried to help with one hand but couldn't move yet. She managed to pull his shirt up a bit with her teeth. He did the rest. Another soiled sundress and his clothing lay on the floor. She glanced down at them briefly. She felt him pull her panties to the side once more. He lifted his weight off her and looked into her eyes.

"Are you ready, baby?" he asked.

Skyla gave him a pleading look, and he smiled. He arched her lower back, and she helped by throwing her head back hard. She heard moaning. It might have come from inside her. It was hard to tell. They were one now.

Alex pulled Skyla up after a few thrusts. He was up on his knees, and she was wrapped around him like a starfish suctioned to the side of a tank. She held him even closer and did her best to squeeze at the same time. This time she was sure he groaned, too. She found his lips and kissed him hard. He fell forward so that he was on top of her again. The motion was all they could take. She let out a final scream, and so did he.

The two lay panting in the middle of the open room. The dull light gleamed green on their sweaty bodies. Skyla was struggling with the urge to stay in his arms, but after a while she reached over and picked up her sundress. With a little shift she got out from under him. Hurrying, she put her head and arms through the dress and pulled it down with some difficulty. The thin cotton stuck to her sweaty body at every inch. He propped himself on his elbow and watched her. She handed him his underwear and jeans, but he just held on to them ever so casually.

She sat up and looked down at him. "Aren't you scared someone is going to come downstairs?"

"They wouldn't dare," Alex said with a wink.

"Oh, right. I guess they know what is going on then."

"We are just visiting, Skyla Jane. Don't worry what they think."

"You seem awfully comfortable for a visitor-too comfortable," Skyla said.

"Well this is my bed," Alex stated.

"What? You slept here? In the bar?" Skyla paused. "In this ... den?" she said as she remembered Mara's welcome.

"Yes. We all do. My sister and I lived here for about thirteen years, since we were about 15 or 16."

"What about your parents?" Skyla asked.

"Steve became our parent. He kept watch over us. We grew up here along with Peter. Peter had been here for about two years when we arrived. He had his eighteenth birthday ceremony right after we came. James stays here with us. He is in charge of the bar, and the den."

"What about Mara?" Skyla asked. She looked down so that he couldn't see her eyes.

"Mara has been here for a long time. She came when she was just a little girl. I remember her first night. She cried like a baby. She was way too young. Fifteen or 16 is better, easier."

"She cried? Was she taken here against her will?"

"Well, what is the alternative? She had no one else to take care of her. Steve was real decent to take her in." Alex stood up and dressed.

"So, is she like a sister to you then?"

Alex smiled. It was his turn to look away. He stood up and got dressed.

As if on cue, Mara slowly and deliberately sauntered down the stairs again.

"Hi," Mara said. She walked over to where Skyla was sitting, touching Alex on the arm as she passed. "Nice bed, isn't it? I sleep here every night. Makes me feel closer to Alex."

Alex grabbed Skyla's hand, pulled her up, and led her to the bathroom. They cleaned up together. It felt oddly comfortable. There was something very comforting about the den. It felt cozy. She had that familiar feeling, like she had known Alex for her entire life. Maybe this is what it means to be in love. She had never experienced this intimacy before. She had never felt closer to a man than she did right now.

Skyla decided that she would not ask Alex another question. She would wait until later.

Mara lay down on the bed. She nuzzled into the pillow and began to cry. She made sure she was finished and back upstairs before Skyla and Alex were through in the bathroom.

When Mara returned upstairs, James gave her a hug. He knew how hard this was for her. He knew her heart was broken. Alex was Mara's, after all. How could he do this to her?

Lucy remained neutral. She walked out the door. It was after midnight and she wouldn't be back until daylight.

James stayed to hold Mara for a while longer. What will Steve think when he returns? He wouldn't be happy with this mess. Alex should never have come back. James thought about saying this out loud to Mara, but he stopped himself. He tried to stop thinking it, too. He would keep his thoughts quiet for the rest of the night.

Mara and James sat down at a table to listen to the band. Peter leaned back against the bar. Tourists walked in and out. Some regulars camped out at the far end of the bar, and eventually the drinking started to take effect. The customers became more boisterous as it neared 3 a.m. The band began another set.

A synthesizer did the introduction, and then the drummer started banging away. The guitarist joined in, and the lead singer stepped forward with his shiny black bass guitar strapped around his neck. The singer swung the bass forward and was joined by his pretty blond assistant. The two belted out the first line of the Kings of Leon song like their lives depended on it.

Alex and Skyla emerged from the basement. They sat at a table across the room from James and Mara. The table was the closest one to the stage, and Skyla and Alex wouldn't be able to talk over the music.

Skyla felt Mara's glare. She ignored it. After all, Mara was just some little girl who'd lost her family and had had to grow up in this godforsaken place. She made a mental note to find out just how Mara came to lose her family in the first place. Seemed like there was a lot of that going on in these parts.

The band played for an hour or so. The last few songs had a smoky, bluesy sound that Skyla found she adored. Skyla noticed how no one seemed to pay much attention to time. The day swirled into night and then spun around again. Skyla did her best to keep her attention on Alex. He made it easy. He grabbed her hand on the table and gave her little side smiles every so often. As long as she didn't look at James, she was okay. If she happened to look over, she got the shivers-the hair stood up on the back of her neck and time slowed down.

The band started to disassemble the equipment, and James and Mara stood up. James nodded to Peter, and Alex saw James and Mara slink out the door. Alex did his best to keep Skyla otherwise occupied so that she would not notice the exit. He kissed her with a passion that she'd never known before.

Skyla's head began to spin. Maybe it was the late hour. Maybe it was the last few shots of tequila that Peter had put on their table. Either way, it was time to go. She would ask Alex to take her back to the hotel now. She longed to be where nobody would be listening.

He knew what she was thinking, so he took her by the hand. They left with a wave to Peter.

Peter watched and shook his head as they sauntered out into the Quarter. What's Alex thinking getting attached to that one? She was brought here for one reason. She was to be James' in the end. Alex is setting himself up for disappointment. He is hurting, Mara too. Steve will be real upset when he returns from making the deliveries.

The hotel room was bright and hot when Skyla rolled over. Alex lay with his arms behind his head, staring at the cracked ceiling. She stretched and gave him a peck on the cheek. She felt sore, and her head started to spin. She put it gently back down on the pillow and stared at the same crack. There was silence. Maybe too much silence. It grew uncomfortable. All the questions she had in her head began to twirl around: Who is this James? Is he the same one from New York, the one from the cafe? That can't be possible. And now that Skyla thought about it, she realized that every time she'd experienced the terror, Alex had appeared right afterward. She couldn't put her finger on it. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten here in the first place. Time for a call to Brooke to get her head screwed on straight.

"I can't tell what you're thinking now," Alex said. "Do you know that?"

"How would I know that? How is it that you can do it at all? Why can the others from Steve's Place do it, too?"

"I can't hear your thoughts, because you don't want me in. You are making a conscious effort to block me from getting inside you. That is usually a learned skill. Blocking and reading are both possible with enough practice. I could teach you."

"Really? I used to be able to finish people's thoughts all the time when I was younger. It doesn't work anymore, though. I have forgotten how to do it. I used to be able to do lots of things like that. I think that it scared me, so I made it stop."

"We will make it start again then."

"I don't know if I want it to start. I have been warned that I might be harmed from someone from a past life. I don't want to be open to that kind of thing." She explained as best as she could, but she was afraid to tell him much more. She'd probably told him too much already. She didn't want to experience another episode like the one with Craig. She had been so sure about Craig's feelings and had been grossly mistaken.

"Well, sometimes it doesn't matter what we want in this life." Alex got up and went into the shower.

Skyla shook off his shifting mood. She took out her cell. She still had the three unread text messages. She decided to go through them and erase. No doubt they were all from Brooke. She didn't even have to read them, but she did anyway. The first two were the same: "CALL ME!!!" Both of them were from Brooke, of course. The last one was different, though. It was from an unknown number. It must have come when they were driving to New Orleans yesterday. Skyla opened the message. It read, "Welcome home." A shiver crawled over her flesh.

"Maybe it's a joke from Brooke," she said out loud. She knew it wasn't. She knew there was something strange going on here.

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