Come into the Water

chapter thirty five

"Your friend..." Aries said, arriving into the kitchen abruptly. "I think I had him misunderstood. You know? He's not half bad when I'm not thinking about him fucking you."

"Good morning to you too," I deadpanned, placing more cereal in my mouth.

It was the following morning, and I had quite literally just woken up. I was still half asleep, but my hunger got me out of bed. I was expecting to eat quickly then toss myself back in bed for the rest of the day and decompress. I was not expecting to hear Aries' loud and deep voice echoing throughout the apartment as he rambled in about Mateo.

Aries sat down next to me on the other barstool. His knee pressed up against mine nearly uncomfortably because of how tall he was and the man spread he had going on. I placed more cereal in my mouth, letting out a small yawn.

"I'm sorry. Good morning, Natalia," he mumbled with a soft frown. He leaned over, leaving a soft kiss on the side of my forehead. "Anyways, he's super fucking knowledgeable. I assumed by looking at him-short, average looking, that he couldn't pull any. I even assumed you only had sex with him out of pity but that man...he knows his stuff."

"You sound impressed. Why don't you fuck him?" I asked with a half smirk.

He glared at me, letting out a dry laugh. "You're so fucking hilarious."

"Thanks. I know I am," I beamed.

"We talked about you."

Silence fell over us. They talked about me? Why the fuck were they talking about me? And did I even want to know what was said?

"Good things only I hope," I said. "Were you two exchanging notes on how you made me cum?"

"We didn't talk about that," he scoffed. "If he even thought about mentioning having sex with you, whether it be past or present, he would've been dead before he even got to finish his fucking sentence."

"Oh, goody," I muttered sarcastically. "Then what were you two talking about?"

"You know...you."

"Yeah, I know. But what about me?"

"You know..." He trailed off, "like what you like. He said you like sunflowers. So I..." He mumbled the last part so lowly that I couldn't even hear it.

"What?"

"I..." He mumbled, glancing away from me. "I got some. I put them in your room." He still wouldn't look at me as my jaw had quite literally dropped. Aries had gotten me flowers? "I know you've been feeling sort of down lately because of what happened. They're in a vase...It's like...blue...You said blue was your favorite color so I thought maybe you'd like it." He rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks flushed. "And it's like the soft blue you like. Not the navy blue kind or-"

"Aries," I mumbled with a soft giggle. I placed a hand on his arm, stopping him as he rambled on and on. I knew that if I didn't say something, he would've began rambling about the design on the vase and go into further detail. He was nervous and while it was cute to watch him squirm, I wasn't that cruel. "Thank you. It means the world to me that you would get me my favorite flowers to help me feel better."

He looked into my eyes. "I told you I want to be there for you. And I know I've been kind of...different."

"Oh, really?" I asked. "I did not notice at all. The most time we spent together was last night before Silas came in. And we haven't had sex since the incident a week and a half ago. You've been there for me emotionally and I appreciate that. But I told you I wasn't made of glass and you said you understand. Yet you're still treating me like I'm made of glass."