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FORTY-NINE
When Alethia managed to pry herself away from Stan long enough to actually put some clothes on, she figured she should probably do some laundry, too. Not to mention clean bedsheets...
Once she'd set off the washing machine, she headed back to the bedroom with an armload of fresh linens to remake the stripped bed, only to hear a thumping sound against the wall. At first, she thought it might be the washing machine, but a quick check told her it was behaving itself just fine.
She returned to the bedroom. What on earth...?
It wasn't until she heard a woman's voice screaming that she understood. Andrea the accountant next door must have company, too. Company that had stayed overnight and she was still enjoying this morning. Wait, was she shouting his name?
Alethia pressed her ear to the wall, hoping it might help her hear better, but it turned out Andrea wasn't shouting a name at all. It sounded like she was screaming, "This is the way!" Not just once, but repeatedly.
What a strange thing to say during sex.
Shaking her head, Alethea headed for the kitchen, where Stan had decided to brave the coffee machine. He still eyed the toaster with suspicion, but this week's grocery order had included almond croissants, so he'd put one of them on a plate for her, which suited her just fine.
Alethia stilled. Only one plate, and one cup of coffee. Well, he still had his horns and wings, so she shouldn't be shocked, but... "I'm sorry we didn't manage to break the curse last night, Stan. Maybe if we try again tonight..."
Stan turned and grinned at her, holding out her coffee. "Sure, if you want. But I'm not sorry. Not about last night, or about still having wings and things. I have you, and you're worth more to me than food or coffee or even sunlight. The curse binds me to you, so I'm not even sure I need to break it, if it means I must protect you. Which I would do anyway, because no one is more precious to me than you." Down went the coffee on the table, and he wrapped his arms around her.
Blue eyes stared down at her, filled with love, before his lips descended on hers and Alethia felt like it was just two of them, dancing in the stars, just like the first time they'd kissed.
It was Stan who broke the kiss, but only so that he could remind her to drink her coffee before it got cold.
After breakfast, when Alethea went to shake the croissant crumbs into the bin, she realised she'd been ignoring other chores, too. "I'll just take the rubbish downstairs. Then, if you want, I can research gargoyles and demons for you, so we can put what we learned last night into perspective."
The recycling bin was threatening to overflow, so Alethea took a bin in each hand and headed downstairs to deal with them. The big wheelie bins lined a short alley beside the car park, so she emptied each of her kitchen bins into the corresponding ones that the council trucks would pick up later in the week, then turned to head back upstairs.
Only to find Birger blocking her way. Standing in the sun, where Stan couldn't come to protect her.
Fuck.
She lifted one bin in front of her, ready to whack him with it if necessary. "I'm warning you. If you don't get out of my way and leave me alone, Stan will hunt you down. You shouldn't be here, Birger."
"Is Stan the big guy who threatened me before?" Birger asked. "Your boyfriend?"
Alethia started to nod, then realised how that would look. "He is now, but he wasn't when I was chatting to you, or the night we met. He just kind of appeared in my life, and..." And she wanted to screw him all night, then fall asleep with him inside her, so they could do it all again in the morning. She felt her cheeks grow hot. "I'm sorry."
"No, I owe you an apology. I mistakenly thought we were soul mates, destined to be together, but I was wrong. Because of you, I found my real soul mate, and...we never could have worked. Andrea and me, we're perfect for each other. We even finish each other's sentences. I knocked on her door because I was worried about you, about your new boyfriend, because I thought he'd hurt you. You were limping, and..."
Alethia blinked. She'd been limping? Oh, right. "I twisted my ankle. Stan came over to stay with me to help me get around while it was healing. He can be...really protective sometimes." And it was really hot, too. Him growling MINE with every thrust, until she fell apart around him.
"Well, I was worried, so I knocked on your neighbour's door, to ask if she'd noticed anything suspicious. And when Andrea answered, she was wearing the exact same t-shirt I was, only she had the matching mug! We got to talking, and then one thing led to another, and..." It was his turn to blush. "Sorry if we got a bit loud last night. We're trying for a baby, you see, because we both want one and all the natural fertility books say you need to have lots and lots of sex."
She and Stan had been too busy having lots and lots of their own sex to notice, but she was hardly going to tell Birger that. Wait... "Uh...like when she screamed, 'This is the way'?"
He went bright red. "You heard that. Sorry. We might have gotten a little carried away. We'll try to be quieter next time, I promise."
"Thanks." Alethia paused. "Was that all? Will you let me through now?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. And that I hope you find your own soul mate. I'm sorry I wasn't yours," he said as he moved aside, so she could pass.
"Apology accepted. And you know what? Maybe I will. So you don't need to worry about me. I hope you and Andrea will be very happy together." Alethea marched back up to her apartment with her head held high. It wasn't until she'd closed the door behind her that she allowed herself to sink down with her back against it and let out the laugh that had threatened to escape all the way from the bins.
"What is it?" Stan asked. "Are you all right? You should have left the rubbish until dark, so I could go and dispose of it."
Yeah, she probably should have, but then she wouldn't have known what her neighbour shouted during sex with Justin Bieber. What did that even mean, anyway? Maybe it was something they'd gotten from the fertility books.
When she could stop laughing long enough to catch her breath, Alethia said, "It's fine, Stan. I think you really did scare my stalker away, and he won't be bothering me again." Not if he was spending every spare minute trying to make a baby with Andrea.
