Poison: Devil's Rose MC #4

Chapter 25: Dakota Knight

Antonio squeals in delight as I play The Princess and the Frog soundtrack, instantly singing along to the lyrics. Even I have to admit that this is a good one. I turn to him, singing the lyrics to "Almost There" louder than what's necessary. 

He doesn't seem to care though, instead, he matches my energy and tries hitting the long note at the end at an octave I had no idea his voice could go to. I burst out laughing, the sense of freedom holding me like the warm wind that flows through the car.

After our needed crying session, something between us changed. I have never felt closer to him, to anyone, than I do right now. For the past couple of hours, we've been having the most fun I've had in my entire life, Disney soundtrack after soundtrack. 

I never realized how much I do love them. And I never knew that it didn't matter what we listened to as long as Antonio doesn't stop laughing and smiling like that. His whole body seems to glow with joy. He's such a kid, a fucking golden retriever, but I love him. 

I truly, deeply, unconditionally love him. 

I don't know what to do. I don't know how to function now that I know this information, and I'm too fucking scared to tell him. It's beyond anything I've ever faced. I've never loved anyone like this.

I don't want to love anyone else besides him.

"What?"

"What?"

"You keep looking at me."

"You're gorgeous. I can't help myself."

"Shit, I want to be the passenger. I wanna stare at you."

"I said I would drive."

"No, sweetheart. You aren't driving when I'm around."

"I'm gonna have to drive somewhere at some point."

"But not when I'm around."

I roll my eyes teasingly but decide it's best not to argue over this. If he wants to drive me everywhere, I'm not going to say no to that. Why would I?

As the music continues to blast through the speakers, I swivel my head to look out at the passing landscape. 

About an hour ago we took a pitstop at White Sands and spent about two hours exploring the place. I mean, the beauty in it was indescribable. There's just this overwhelming sense of freedom and adventure that I got. 

I was sweating like a pig too, but I don't know, it was like there was something beyond the human realm I guess. That sounds spiritual and shit, but it was almost as if the human world was meeting with a universal power beyond what we know. I sound dumb, I know. That's what I felt though.

Antonio hasn't said shit about where we are going exactly. I know he has some sort of structure in Lincoln National Forest, I'm clueless about how and why, but that's all the information I got. I swear though if I have to hike with my bags in practically the middle of the night, I'm going to fucking lose it. 

Because it took forever to get to the national forest, our trip was ten hours. I don't think I've ever spent more than five hours with one person before, and now, we're spending a week together. A week together...alone in the forest. I have some ideas.

As we pull up to the main gate to get into the forest, Antonio stops the car, puts it in park, and climbs out of his seat. He jumps the fence before reaching into his pocket and taking out a key. 

I watch him with my eyes wide and mouth open as he goes into the little hutch and opens the gate. What the actual fuck is happening? How? What? Why? In what world? Does he just have a key to the thing? Who gave him that? I'm so utterly lost.

"Sweetheart? You okay?"

"What is going on?"

He chuckles, pressing a kiss to my temple.

"I'll explain everything in the cabin."

He starts the car once again, rolling through the gate slowly, and I turn around to see the gate swinging closed behind us. I shake my head as I face forward to see him turning off on a side road that does not look safe enough to drive in the middle of a dark night. 

I try not to panic and decide to stare up at the moon instead of wherever the fuck we are headed. At least the road isn't bumpy. How is the road not bumpy? Why does he own a cabin in the middle of a national forest? If he's a hunter, I'll be hunting him.

"We're here."

I cannot believe what I'm seeing. He has like an actual nice cabin in the middle of the fucking woods. Who is this man!? I hop out of the car, unable to stop myself from wanting to get inside for multiple reasons. 

One is to explore this place because it looks ridiculously luxurious for where we are. Two, I want to know what this place is. Three, I need to sleep desperately. 

I could pass out just about anywhere right now. Not outside because I'm sure there are bears and shit, but I would be willing to risk sleeping in the car without him there. It's hard to fall asleep to Hercules.

He lays a gentle hand on my back, guiding me inside while explaining that he'll grab the bags while I look around. He knows me so well. I watch his veiny hands unlock the front door, and he has the shimmy it open for a second before it opens completely.

"I haven't been here since last summer, so the door might be a little stuck 'cause of the expanding wood, but it should be fine in a couple of days. I could always sand it if needed."

"It'll be harder for bears to come in, I'm fine with whatever."

His breathless laugh fills my ears and the space as we step inside. 

Just as he said, he leaves me to get familiar with the space and gawk at the allure and aesthetic of the place. The design is an open floor, the only walls separating anything are the house frames, separating the outside from the inside. 

But with one of the walls made almost completely out of glass, even the walls feel as though they don't exist. It's like you are outside. I can see why he would want to spend time here. It's fucking amazing.

I glance around the living room, finding a couch with a fluffy and brown faux fur blanket folded on a couch that faces the window wall. That's what I'm going to call it now. I kick my shoes off to feel the wood beneath the feet, soaking in the warm wood. 

The kitchen is gorgeous and large, filled with everything you could need, including a waffle maker. I mean, a person could live here full time. We aren't far from Alamogordo, so it wouldn't be difficult, except that there aren't many people around. 

I need human contact at least once a week.

The library is filled to the brim with books ranging from Franz Kafka to Rick Riordon to Julia Quinn. I could spend a whole day there. I honestly might. It would be so incredibly fun to lay around there all day and do nothing but read. I don't think Antonio would mind me doing that. The bathrooms are astounding too. 

The half bath is perfect, but the bathroom attached to the bedroom is insane. The bathtub in there is circular and you look out across the meadow as you clean yourself. The shower is clean glass with one of those rain shower heads. This place is so fucking fancy. I need to know why he has this place.

I open the door to the bedroom to see a California king laying in there. Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to fall asleep in that bed. I don't care if it's the only one in the cabin. The bedroom walls are windows, allowing a person to wake up to the flowering landscape and fall asleep to the stars in the sky. 

I see a tv hanging on the wall, but I'm sure I'm not going to need to use that often. This place is amazing and as much as I want to keep looking around I need to sleep.