18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Lexia

With our plan hashed out, we spend the day relaxing to prepare for what is to come. Slate is keeping his distance, even though he opened up a bit last night and early this morning. It's like it all never happened. Or maybe this time it's my fault because I pushed him away. The ball is in my court now.

After eating breakfast, we let Vesperon pick a movie to watch. He's blown through all of Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, The Hunger Games, and the Maze Runner films. He seems to have an odd—yet unbeknownst to him—addiction to book-to-film YA adaptations. It's kind of sweet.

Lumen and I bake a cake during the early afternoon. Slate and Lumen make dinner together later on. When dinner is done, the sun is just starting to go down and I decide I want to swim. Ves is snoozing on the couch, having fallen asleep to some cooking show he swears he likes. I think he's lying and is only doing it because the guys told him it was the law. Jerks. Yet, I can't help but see the humor in it too.

After Lumen and I change into our swimsuits, we're in the pool. Slate is cleaning up the mess from dinner, which he said he didn't mind doing. Lumen and I swim lazily and float around. It's still hot, but with the sun going down, it's not as bad. And being in the water is very refreshing.

The whoosh of the sliding door has me opening my eyes. I expect to see Ves coming out, since he's been napping for a while and the sun is down, but I am pleasantly surprised when I see Slate walking out in nothing but a tight pair of briefs. I snap my mouth shut after a moment when I realize it fell open.

"No swim suit?" Lumen calls with a smirk as Slate makes his way to the stairs.

"Do you not like me in this?" he asks, gesturing to what he is wearing.

I happen to like it very much, but I'm staying out of this conversation.

"Didn't say that," Lumen says.

Slate makes his way into the pool and swims over to us. I try to will away the blood rushing to my cheeks because how ridiculous am I that I can't even keep myself together while being in the pool with these two men?

Needing to keep myself busy, I seek out one of the tubes and hop on top of it, so my butt is in the hole and I'm able to float aimlessly. I close my eyes and rest my head back. It's so relaxing out here that I find myself dozing off, so I let the guys know I'm going inside. Lumen has a goofy smile on his face as I go, and I'm not sure why. Using my hands to move myself to the stairs, I hop off, grab my towel, and go inside. The air is sharp on my skin when I step in, the tiled floor like ice. I hurry to the bathroom and take a shower to get the chlorine off me. After I'm dressed, I lie on the couch with Vesperon.

"My love," he whispers when I cuddle into his side. He puts his arm around me, pulling me even closer.

"You've been sleeping for a while."

"This sun drains me," he says sleepily.

"I'm sorry we have to be here."

"Do not be sorry. I am happy to be anywhere with you."

I smile and reach for the remote. Ves's eyes fall closed again and I have a feeling he'll be sleeping for the rest of the night. That's okay though. I have no problem cuddling with him and watching a movie. I scroll for a while before deciding on what to watch. I settle on Dirty Dancing because it was my mother's favorite movie. Other than the heaviness that comes with knowing that, it is pretty fun and light-hearted. Plus, the music is great, and Patrick Swayze isn't so bad to look at.

"What is this?"

Ves's voice startles me.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, but now I am not."

"It's Dirty Dancing."

"What is happening?" he asks.

I'm only about twenty minutes into the movie, so I offer to start it from the beginning, to which he says isn't necessary. So instead, I catch him up on what happened.

Ves either loves human things or hates them. There is no in between. He hates most of our food, but absolutely loves others. He loves movies and showering. But hates the sun—for obvious reasons. He also hates clothes.

"Are you worried?" he asks when we're about halfway through the movie.

"Not really. Ready for it to be over, though."

"What will we do then?"

I frown and shift to sit up to look at him. "I hadn't thought of that. What can we do?"

Vesperon shrugs, turning onto his back. He runs his fingers up and down my arm.

"Anything you want."

I haven't thought of what happens when this is all done. Not in the way of what me and my mates will do, anyway. We're together because of this prophecy, and that's a weird thought.

Vesperon found me on his own. We did not know the prophecy at first. Our relationship blossomed naturally. Yes, he felt the mate bond, but I didn't. I felt something, that's for sure, but I fell in love with him for him. For the way he was with me. The way he talked to me.

Things were chaotic when meeting Lumen, and I feel I haven't been able to get to know him in the same way I got to know Vesperon. That is even more true for Slate, who I feel I don't know at all. I had the fleeting thought the other night that I am in love with Lumen, and maybe I am, but is it for the right reasons? Do I love him or is it the mate bond making me love him? Does it matter? Is it the same? Better or worse?

I'm probably just overthinking this, like everything else.

I don't hate Lumen or Slate. I just want to know them better.

"I'm not really sure," I say. "I guess we can talk about it when the time comes. Who knows where we will be then."

Will everyone be so willing to stay together after we don't need to be? I'll give them the opportunity to leave. And if they stay, then we will need to figure things out. We'll have to figure out how to navigate a relationship between all four of us.

Ves takes my hand, linking our fingers. "Just know you will always have me."

I smile at him. "And you will always have me."