I moved over to the couch, scooting up beside him. 'I know.'
He slid his arm around my shoulders and regarded me with a look both tender and exasperated. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against my neck. The small touch made my blood burn.
'God, you're beautiful. I just wish it wasn't the result of some other guy.'
'Yeah,' I said. 'Me too.'
'Sorry I blew up.'
'You call that blowing up?' I asked. 'That was nothing.'
'And I'm sorry I stood you up. That wasn't right.'
Seth had moved up my neck and now nibbled my ear. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back.
'It's okay,' I assured him. 'Really.'
'You're awfully forgiving.'
'Hey, what can I say? Christmas love and kindness, right?'
He laughed and ran his fingers through my hair. 'For someone allegedly so evil, you sure are good.'
'Well,' I said, pressing into him. 'I'm not that good. I'm thinking some very bad thoughts right now.'
'Yeah. Me too. If our thoughts condemn us, I think I'm headed straight for Hell.'
'No, you aren't. Hugh says your soul's like a supernova. You're going straight to the pearly gates.'
Warm love and desire enfolded us, supplanting the cold tension. Yet as we curled up and chatted about light topics, I couldn't help but morosely think this was a common scene between us. Fight. Brood. Apologize. Snuggle. In all the fantasies of a stable relationship that I'd harbored over the last millennium, this pattern had never been a part of them.
After a while, we sort of surpassed snuggling and moved onto something of a more adult nature. At least I did. Sometimes Seth could be coaxed into sating his lust, though it always made him incredibly self-conscious. Me, I loved watching him come. He was always so damnably blasé that seeing him lose control in an orgasm almost did more for me than my own climax.
He apparently had the same feelings toward me and was content to simply watch me touch myself tonight. After not getting off with Jude, I was more than happy to take things into my own hands. When I finished, languid and content afterward, he lay down on the couch beside me, lacing his fingers with mine.
'I don't think I'll ever get tired of that,' he sighed.
'You should finish yourself off.'
'I'm okay.'
'You sure?'
He smiled. 'Self-control, Thetis. Self-control. Besides, I have a good imagination. Sometimes it's enough to pretend I'm the one doing that to you.'
I shivered as an image of Seth played in my mind, his body inside of me while I came, muscles clenching around him as I cried out his name and dug my nails into his back.
'Jesus,' I said softly, closing my eyes.
'Yeah.'
We realized then that it was really late and started getting ready for bed. When I emerged from the bathroom after brushing my teeth, I found him waiting for me in the bedroom with a small box. He handed it over.
'I told you I had an early present.'
I turned the package over in my hands, running my fingertips over the edges. It had been wrapped in gold paper and had a red bow. Judging from the sloppy wrapping and misaligned ribbon, I was willing to bet he'd wrapped it himself. I offered up a small grin.
'It's way too early. Presents before Christmas? That's not right. I mean, I'm not that evil.'
He sat back on the bed, leaning against the headboard, looking supremely pleased with himself. 'Well, I am. I guess my soul just dimmed a little. Open it.'
Sitting down as well, I hesitantly tore the paper. There was no question in my mind that this was a jewelry box. The question was: What kind? Seth occasionally showed a romantic spirit, but he wasn't the type to do anything crazy like propose. At least I didn't think so.
Hoping for a tennis bracelet, I instead found a ring. But it wasn't an engagement ring, not in the current way of thinking. It was one of the modern recreations of the Byzantine rings. Only this wasn't one of the ones we'd seen at Erik's, not exactly. It was platinum for one thing, glowing soft and silvery in the dim lighting. The smooth disc on top had a dolphin engraved in it, decorated with a few tiny, embedded sapphires.
I stared at it, unsure what to say.
'Do you like it?' Seth asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
'I…yeah. Yes, I do. Very much.' My words came out haltingly.
'You seemed so sad about losing the other one that I thought maybe this would be a nice substitute.'
He looked so rapt and excited that I couldn't bear to tell him that not only had I not lost the original ring, I'd actually hidden it away in the closet so as never to see it again. This one was very different, true, but the similarities were strong enough to dredge up all the dark feelings I tried to keep buried, memories of a sunny day long ago when my husband—the husband I'd eventually betrayed—had slipped the other one onto my finger at our wedding.
'It's beautiful,' I said after a long stretch of silence, needing to reassure him. It had been very kind, after all. Seth didn't know my history or the pain intertwined with it. 'Why a dolphin?'
'Yeah…it's kind of cutesy and trendy, but…well, none of those Greek letters meant much to me. But I read something about dolphins being important in old religions on Cyprus, so…'
That brought a true smile to my face. 'Yeah. They were. Messengers from the sea gods. Good fortune and all that.' Something occurred to me. 'We saw these at Erik's, like, a couple days ago—but not this one. How'd you get it? Did he have more in stock? Or did you go somewhere else?'
His eyes crinkled with amusement. 'Hey, I'm learning your powers of persuasion. I got in contact with the artist and commissioned it.'
Good lord. Seth had had a custom ring—a platinum custom ring—made right before Christmas. And he'd had it done in a matter of days. The cost must have been through the roof. The queasy feeling in my stomach intensified. Observing my silence, his smile faltered.
'You sure you like it?'
'Yeah, yeah…of course. I just…I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. It's great.' I slipped it onto my right ring finger. It fit perfectly. Hesitantly, I met his eyes. 'This is a, uh, friendship ring right?'
'Yeah, don't worry. If I propose, you'll know it. For one thing, I'll be hyperventilating.' A sly smile— surprisingly sexy—turned up his lips. 'And it'll be a ruby.'
'Rubies? No diamonds? Too expensive for the old writer's salary, huh?'
He made a disparaging grunt at that. 'No, I just think diamonds are common, that's all. If I get married, it'll be because something uncommon is occurring. Besides, you wear a lot of red, right? I know how important it is for your accessories to match.'
I snorted at that and let him draw me into the bed. He fell asleep quickly, as always, but I lay there, touching the ring. Its metal had warmed to my skin, and I could trace the dolphin and sapphires with my fingertip. The unpleasant memories the ring stirred up hadn't abated, but somehow, lying in his embrace, they seemed a little less painful.
Sleep finally came to me, and I immediately started dreaming—the dream.
I was back in the kitchen, surrounded by all the same vivid sights, smells, and sounds as before. My hands in the water. The scent of orange soap. 'Sweet Home Alabama.'
It was a repeat of what I'd seen before, my dream-self washing dishes and humming along to the music. She glanced behind her into the other room. This was where the dream had ended last time. Now it kept going.
A little girl sat in the living room, about two years old. She was on a blanket on the floor, surrounded by stuffed animals and other toys. She clutched a plush giraffe in her hands. It rattled when she shook it. As though sensing my dream-self's gaze, the little girl looked up.
She had plump cheeks that hadn't quite lost their baby fat. Wispy, light brown curls covered her head, and her hazel eyes were large and framed with dark lashes. She was adorable. Behind her on the couch, Aubrey lay curled up in a tight little ball. Another cat—covered in orange-and-brown patches—sprawled nearby. I'd never seen
