Chapter 61: Cinnamon buns

Chapter 61: Cinnamon buns
The feeling of waking up naked and in the arms of my lover was so perfectly heavenly. From the warmth of his bare skin against mine, to the softness of his hold on me, enclosing my body within his strong arms. At least… it was heavenly perfect until Ophelia burst into the room, a mortified look appearing on her face the moment she saw me naked underneath Nicholas who held me tightly, covering any inch of me that was too exposed.

“You… wha!” I could see the conflicted look of awkwardness, rage and confusion all over her eyes. Eventually she sighed and said, “Get dressed and come to the living room… both of you.”

She made a move to close the door behind herself before turning back and looking Nicholas straight in the eye, “You better make sure you don’t break her heart. Because if you do, I’ll torture you for eternity!”

“Pretty sure you walking into the room and making this awkward is already torture enough, Ophelia…” Nicholas mumbled.

“What was that?” She exclaimed.

He raised his hands in surrender and then immediately placed them back on me when he realised, he was exposing me.

“N-nothing Ophelia!” he said nervously.

She snickered before saying, “I thought so.”

Then, she exited the room and closed the door behind her. Nicholas and I both immediately looked at each other wordlessly, both shocked by the encounter. Admittedly I was slightly embarrassed, but not the least bit ashamed.

“Ophelia hasn’t changed. She’s still as terrifying as always…” he said, shaking his head and then chuckling. I chuckled back and then we both got dressed, eager to see why she’d barged in earlier.

Surprisingly, when we arrived in the living room, Kiyan and Theo seemed very friendly with one another as they sat and laughed together. Melissa sat in the corner, occupying herself with coffee and a plate full of cookies. She looked tired, as though she’d had a rough night trying to fall asleep. But I was also sensing some sort of hostility from her.

Ophelia entered the room shortly, with a cup of coffee in her hand which she handed to me. She wordlessly stared at Nicholas, scrunched up her nose and then took a seat as well.

“So,” Theo began, “Kiyan and I were thinking that maybe you could announce your wedding at the local fruit festival here? The entire festival is usually broadcast everywhere so you’ll have a good chance of getting the news out publicly. Then you can announce the date and venue of the wedding as well.”

I looked at Nicholas and smiled awkwardly. He smiled back and scratched at the back of his neck before giving a soft cough.

“What’s the matter?” Kiyan asked, noticing the sudden change in atmosphere.

“Well, we haven’t really thought of the exact date as yet…”

Kiyan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Well, you have a few hours before the announcement, so I suggest the both of you get thinking about it.”

I turned to Nicholas and he nodded at me, wordlessly telling me that we’d get to discussing it later.

Aura and Parker were set to meet us at the festival and Melissa opted to stay behind, wanting the house to herself to catch up on some much-needed rest. When we arrived, I was overwhelmed by how large it was. It was set in amongst large flower fields which spanned on endlessly. Amongst these flower fields were large pathways carved out, filled with neat stalls selling fruit, food, jewellery, trinkets and clothing. Towards the centre of a few rows of rose bushes was a large, circular clearing filled with people who surrounded an array of stages, the largest of which, had a band singing live music. The other stages were used for plays, announcements and smaller musical numbers. Each stage was being filmed. I could almost remember seeing a few of these festivals broadcasted on the TV. Before recently, they didn’t particularly air events in Bovardia often, thanks to the censorship in place to prevent the rest of the world from taking a glimpse of equality.

The scent of cinnamon wafted into my nose, emitting from a nearby stall. Immediately my stomach grumbled and Nicholas looked down at me, a smile on his face.

“Why don’t we get you something to eat, while Theo organises a slot for us to make the announcement?” Nicholas asked softly.

I nodded, hoping that we could get a quick chance to talk alone about our wedding date and venue. Ophelia and Kiyan stayed behind as they waited for Parker and Aura to arrive while Theo went to the stage.

Nicholas gently took my hand, and we walked to the stall selling cinnamon buns and coffee. Nicholas ordered for the both of us, and as we waited, we got talking.

“Any suggestions on an actual wedding date… or where to have it?” I asked.

Nicholas frowned and tilted his head before saying, “I’m not sure, but we should have it within a reasonable time and Zestonia is certainly out of the question. I don’t think it will be safe to have a wedding there with Dante lurking around.”

I agreed with him.

“How about in a month? It gives legislators enough time to amend and abolish the legislation. Ophelia and Theo also seem to need a little more extra time to set up all of the measures they need to acclimate the humans into society as equals again.”

Again, I agreed with him. Everything seemed to be falling into place. And Dante’s defeat was imminent. With freedom so close, he’d no longer have a cause. That was what we were all counting on.

The cinnamon buns were delicious. Sweet and aromatic. I’d had one once before with Ophelia, but she didn’t care much for cinnamon and so we never really ate anything that contained it.

“Should I buy you another one?” Nicholas asked, watching as I savoured the bun.

I bashfully smiled and said, “Yes please!”

But before he left to go and get another, he reached out and placed a thumb against my mouth, wiping off the sugary icing and cinnamon on my lips. My heart beat erratically in my chest, even more so when I saw him staring at my lips. I wished more than anything that we were alone at this moment.

He slowly started to lean in, and I almost swore he were about to kiss me. But instead, he twirled a strand of my hair, with his finger and then disappeared. I could tell by his smirk that it was intentional.

While Nicholas got me another cinnamon bun, I returned to Ophelia and Kiyan who still waited for Aura and Parker. There was a sense of awkwardness brewing between Ophelia and I, and I could tell that Kiyan had begun to sense it. It didn’t take too long for him to disappear too, using Theo as his excuse.

I decided to speak first and break the silence between the both of us. Apparently, so did Ophelia.

“I’m sorry—” we both said simultaneously. Both of us paused, smiled and then laughed together.

“I’m sorry for getting overprotective like that. You’re an adult and you have been for a while now. It’s just that I’ve always kept you so close and sheltered because of what you and your brother went through and because of the way humans are treated. So, for me… I always feel the need to protect you two. I’m sorry if I overstepped,” she said.

I smiled at her and then shook my head.

“Not at all. I am an adult and… I have a right to partake in adult activities. But don’t ever apologise for trying to protect me. It shows me you care, and I appreciate that, Ophelia.”

Ophelia smiled and then pulled me into an embrace, completely melting any remaining awkwardness between us. Just then, Aura and Parker arrived and so did Nicholas, smiling with his cinnamon bun in hand until he saw his sister. They were clearly still on less than pleasant terms, despite her new change of character. I couldn’t say I liked her very much either.

“That for me?” she teased her brother when she saw the cinnamon bun in his hand. She made a move to swipe it from him, but he pulled his hand back and then grabbed mine, placing it in my hand securely. Aura rolled her eyes and Parker offered to buy her one. She sulked momentarily but reluctantly agreed after he’d flashed her a smile.

“Where’s Theo?” she asked, looking around.

“Doing something useful, unlike you,” Nicholas spat. There was an edge to his defiance, something I hadn’t quite seen before. It unnerved Aura, but she surprisingly made an effort to extend an olive branch.

“I’m sorry for what I did to you and your mate… forcing this on you both. I’m sorry.” She then turned to me and surprisingly reached out a hand. It was warm.

“I’m sorry…” her words were soft and sincere, and her gaze was so gentle, I could almost see why Parker had fallen for her as hard as she had for him.

“It’s alright… forgiven, but maybe not forgotten,” I said.

She sighed and retracted her hand. “That’s understandable. Perhaps I’ll work on being nicer to the both of you.”

Nicholas scoffed and shook his head.

Parker had returned at the same time that Kiyan and Theo had. Theo looked at Nicholas and me and then flicked his head to the side, motioning for us to go and follow him. I hadn’t expected us to be up so soon, and I was admittedly nervous.