Page 31 of Escape from the Green

"It was fast," he allowed as we followed the row of numbers toward our room, watching with curiosity as I slipped the keycard in much the way I had seen in movies.

"It's cold," he murmured as we moved inside the room, finding one large bed covered in white sheets and blankets, a window leading out, and a bathroom to the right.

"Air conditioning," I told him, pointing to the vent. "You can control the temperature of the room with this," I went on, pointing to the thermostat. "You can make it warmer or cooler." I turned it warmer, leading him over to the bathroom, enjoying introducing him to things more than I knew I would. "Here is the shower," I told him, turning the water on. "There are soaps and shampoo." I left out the part about them not being pure and organic. They might irritate slightly, but not enough to really bother him. "And this is the toilet," I finished with, flushing it. "And we have a door. No more pine branch barriers."

"That - and bags of almonds - are two things I could get used to. Would you mind?" he asked, waving to the shower.

An image of him flashed across my mind, naked under the spray, his muscles on glorious display. The idea made a heat spread across my body, made my core tighten.

"Sure," I said, hearing the airiness in my voice, wondering how long it had been since he could properly clean without the chains hindering him. With privacy. "Here are towels. And... washcloths. And you can use the robe," I told him, motioning to the one hanging behind the door - white and fluffy. At his brows drawing together, I shrugged. "I will wash your pants and jacket for you once you're done. They should dry by morning. And then you will have something fresh to head back in. What?" I asked when all he did was stare at me, something unreadable in his eyes.

"I forgot what this was like," he told me.

"Forgot what what was like?"

His next word pierced my heart.

"Kindness."

I don't know what prompted me to do it. I had barely known the sensation of one myself. But the urge was too strong to fight.

I closed the space between us, pressing my face into his chest, wrapping my arms around his back, squeezing tight.

There was a moment of stunned silence before the tree limbs he called arms wrapped around me, crushing me closer to him.

We stayed that way for a long time, until the warmth felt like something I would remember always, the scent of The Green clinging to his skin, his arms feeling like a safe place to be.

But then, spell broken, we both pulled away at the same time.

"Turn the handle to the top for hot water," I told him, ducking out without making eye-contact, a bit worried he would see the truth in my eyes. That the embrace meant something to me.

Because I hadn't known kindness either.

And feeling it from him made me think I could really get used to it.

But not with him, I reminded myself as I slowly pulled off my shoes and pants, climbing into pajamas - the only pair I had in my bag.

He was going back to The Green. Hopefully to find his family. Maybe fall in love with one of his kind, create another generation of rare creatures.

And me, I was going to go to New York City. I was going to disappear. I was going to get a job. An apartment. And maybe, just maybe, I could meet friends. I could build bonds. I could possibly even find a man. Of my choosing.

Why the idea of that filled me with something resembling dread was beyond me.

The door to the bathroom opened, bringing a gust of humid air as Drake walked out in the robe that had opened to a V down nearly to his navel.

I was almost embarrassingly aware of his nakedness.

"Humans have us beat on cleansing as well. The soap burned a little," he admitted, shrugging.

"They're not natural," I supplied, jumping up off the edge of the bed a bit frantically, rushing into the bathroom. "I'll be back out in a moment," I told him, then proceeded to take almost an hour, stripping out of my pajamas to take a quick shower myself, slipping back into them after, then washing his clothing as promised.

By the time I moved back out to the bedroom, I found Drake in the bed under the covers, sleeping like the dead.

Sleeping the sleep of a free man, a man who knew no one would wake him with demands, with anger, with violence.

I slowly climbed in beside him, careful not to make him stir, wanting a peaceful night for him for the first time in who-knew how long.

I woke up sometime later to something in my hair.