Why did I say I didn’t want to get a drink?
Ugh.
Maybe, it’s good that I said no.
I don’t want to seem too eager, anyway.
I’m just, you know, playing hard to get.
Not sure what the benefit of that is, but I think it’s working.
He likes me.
Ugh, I sound like a teenager.
Hera would tease me so much if she knew the way I was thinking.
Demi tossed in bed, thinking again about how handsome Charles looked in yet another individually tailored suit, haunted by his charming half-smile that sent butterflies directly to her stomach. It wasn’t fair that a human could hold this much power over her. Maybe that was why she felt the need to hold him at a distance. Something told her she could fall for him more deeply than she had anyone else as soon as she let herself.
Falling for a human is out of the question, right?
The days until they could see each other again dragged on, and Demi wished she had the power to speed up time. Still, she resisted texting him until Saturday, when he reached out with details about the evening.
I’ll pick you up at 7, and we can have a cocktail before the curtain.
Her mind raced as she tried to think of a relevant excuse as to why he wouldn’t be able to pick her up. Nothing came to mind, and she just hoped that he would let it go without asking too many questions.
Don’t worry about it, I can just meet you there at 7! Looking forward to it.
At worst, she seemed cagey. At best, mysterious, which wasn’t a bad impression to give, as far as she was concerned. An air of mystery gave her identity some protection, not that he would ever guess that she was who she was.
It struck her as ironic and a tiny bit dangerous that they were going to see Orpheus and Eurydice, an opera that was very close to her own world. The real story was a little different and involved members of her own family—her brother, Hades—but it was always charming to see how humans interpreted the tales of old.
Demi had never been to an opera topside, and had to admit she was impressed by the theatre. The sight of Charles pulling out a chair at the bar for her, however, was far more impressive than the intricate sconces and painted cherubs on the ceiling.
“Hi,” she said as soon as they were close enough to hear one another. It came out of her mouth in a far more sultry manner than she’d meant it to.
“Hi to you, too. You look gorgeous, as usual.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek, slipping an arm around her waist as he did. He smelled like smokey tarragon, and Demi felt a warmth wash over her as the gruffness of his cheek slid across hers, despite the fact that he was shaven clean.
“As do you.”
“How was your day?” he asked, sliding a glass of champagne across the bar to her.
“Oh, the usual. Just got the order in for an upcoming wedding. It’s going to be a pretty big affair. The couple getting married is... well, they’re kind of important people where I’m from, so I’m lucky to have gotten the contract.”
“Is that right? Where is it exactly that you’re from?”
Shit.
Stumbled right into that one.
Where am I supposed to go from here?
“Um, oh, well, not too far from here. Do you come to the opera often?” Demi knew that she was talking too quickly, well aware that her tone was highly suspicious, but she could only hope that Charles would have the grace to go along with it.
He did.
“To be honest, I started coming more for clients than anything else, but I’ve kind of developed a taste for it. Orpheus and Eurydice is one of my favorites. Do you know the story?”
Demi took a sip from her glass to try and hide her smile.
Be cool, Demi.
You’re flying awfully close to the sun.
“Kind of. What is it that you like about it so much?”
“I think I like the questions it brings up. I mean, the music is beautiful, but it always gets me thinking about what I would do if I were in Orpheus’ situation. He had the chance to bring his love back from the grave, back from the clutches of Hades, but instead he broke the rules and looked back. All he had to do was keep walking forward and he would have lived a happy life with the woman of his dreams. I guess... I just hope that if I’m ever tested in such a way that I would have more faith.”
As he spoke, Demi thought she could see through to a sensitive side of Charles. He gave off such an aura of strength and determination, it was kind of nice to see an ounce of vulnerability. It was something her ex, Zeus, had never been able to show. Instead, he’d just get angry and start a storm or something.
Stop thinking about Zeus.
He’s not thinking about you.
Suddenly, she wished that this wasn’t the first date she was going on in years. It was important to have a rebound, to get back in the game before meeting the next big love, but Demi had gone cold turkey. As such, she felt like her emotions were running circles around her as Charles’ knee grazed hers under the bar.
The lights in the lobby started flashing.
“Looks like that’s our cue. Shall we?” Charles pushed back his chair and offered her his arm to lean on while she climbed down from the stool. She didn’t need the assistance, but she took it anyway, anxious to get as close to him as possible.
The performance itself was very impressive, and the private box they were in reminded Demi of old classic romance novels, where the drama of the audience members eyeing their respective forbidden loves was more exciting than the performance itself. It wasn’t that being with Charles was explicitly forbidden to her, but Demi couldn’t help but feel she was doing something she shouldn’t be.
Which, of course, only made the whole thing hotter.
Demi let the music wash over her and tried to inch her leg closer to where Charles’ hand rested on his leg, silently begging him to touch her. Eventually, as if reading her mind, he moved his hand to her knee, gently squeezing it, but not so gently that it tickled. Instead, the sensation sent shock waves straight through to her core, and her heart started racing. Suddenly, nothing that happened on stage mattered anymore, as Charles’ hand slid slowly up her thigh.
Is he thinking what I’m thinking?
If I pull him in, will he be offended that I didn’t want to watch more of the show?
Thoughts sped through her mind as she tried to think of a way to show him how eager she was, how needy she was for his touch. Her body took over, and she placed her hand on top of his, and their fingers immediately intertwined.
She leaned over to him, intending on whispering something clever in his ear, but instead he also turned toward her at the exact same time. With an intensity she’d forgotten could exist between two people, their mouths met with hot, desperate kisses. Their tongues collided as his free hand dove into her hair, pulling her even closer into him. A small moan escaped her lips.
“You have to be quiet,” he teased, pulling away momentarily.
“I don’t know if I know how,” she confessed, and he chuckled lightly before giving her earlobe a tantalizing bite. The feeling coursing through her veins was overwhelming, and she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from making more noise. Given where they were, she knew how inappropriate her body’s response was, but she couldn’t help it. She was pulsing with need. It had been too long since she’d been touched like this. In a way, it was like Charles had opened the floodgates.
All she wanted to do was climb into his lap, straddle him, and let her baser instincts take over, but a loud clap of the cymbal forced them apart. They flinched back to their respective seats as if they’d just been walked in on, then giggled at the childishness of the reaction.
“Sorry, I got carried away in there,” Charles apologized as they left the box after the curtain call, his arm around her as waist they walked. The ice had officially been broken, and Demi didn’t know if they’d be able to take their hands off of each other for the rest of the night.
“Don’t apologize. I don’t know if you noticed, but I was having a hard time keeping my hands to myself.”
“Oh, I noticed,” he whispered into her ear. “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get up right away, if you know what I mean.”
Demi giggled and Charles tucked a finger underneath her chin, lifting her face to kiss her ample lips again.
“What do you say we have a glass of something and, you know, discuss the show we hardly watched?” Charles asked, the confidence she’d first noticed in him completely restored. She had to admit, the question was a little disappointing to her. She’d been hoping to earn more of an invite back to his place, but maybe she was getting ahead of herself.
It’s just a first date.
He’s being respectful.
Luckily, not too respectful.
She nodded with a smile, and he led the way through the crowds toward the exit. Demi had to admit, as strange as it was to be pretending to be mortal, it felt good to be on Charles’ arm. Heads turned to stare at them wherever they went, and she knew they made quite the visual impact together.
“You mentioned at the DeLux Cafe that you were trying to focus less on work, and investing more in your personal life. Do you mind if I ask what spurred that on?” Demi asked once they’d settled at the next cocktail bar, each of them with a negroni in hand.
His face darkened, and she wondered if she’d asked the wrong thing.
It was too personal.
She’d gone in too deep, too soon.
She tried to figure out a way to backtrack the conversation on to lighter things as she savored the tastes of cherry, wine, and citrus of her drink, hardly noticing the undertone of bitter notes with the regret already strong on her tongue, but a second later he looked back up at her with open eyes as if he was ready to share.
“Well, I... I lost my parents when I was a teenager. That probably should’ve been the first thing to teach me to love and cherish those who were close to me, but it kind of sparked the opposite reaction in me. Losing them made me think that you can’t really depend on anyone else to be there for you, so you’d better make yourself as independent as possible. So, I sunk myself deep into work. Sorry, that isn’t really what you asked.”
Demi shook her head, touched by his sincerity. “No, that’s all right. I like... it’s good to hear about your background like this. I want to know everything there is to know about you.”
“The rest of it is kind of cliché, but I guess clichés exist for a reason. I got into a car accident about six months ago. Just skidded right off the highway. I was fine, obviously, but it was a close call. When I woke up in the ambulance, I just felt this overwhelming loneliness, like the only people I had to look out for me were the people on my payroll. I want to change that.”
He looked dead into her eyes as he spoke, and Demi thought she could feel her heart skip a beat.
Oh no.
I’m in real trouble now.