The Blessing and The Curse - Part 9
#9 of The Blessing and the Curse
It's actually kinda funny, if you think about it - all that had been on my mind last weekend was the creature that had spied on me when I was about to take my own life. What it was, why and how it persuaded me to hold off on my self-destruction. Then Gregory arrived, and suddenly all of my attention was being spent on him and his own curious behavior.
It never occurred to me - not for one second - that Gregory and the creature could have been connected somehow. But as I walked home from Gregory's house, it all started to make sense. Such an enigmatic figure, Gregory was. Both in personality and physicality - after all, what teenager has naturally white hair. It was only logical that he and the monster that saw me last week were related.
I knew that I was essentially walking into a trap by returning to Gregory's house the next day. Promise or no promise, it was obvious that his desire for me was becoming too strong for him to hold back. I even started to rationalize what he was going to do as I walked to his home again. Fine, I thought, he'll give me a kiss or two. The guy deserves a little relief. Just as long as he doesn't cross the line with it, it'll be okay - and then when he's nice and satisfied, I can start questioning him about what he really is.
I stood at the doorway to his house for what felt like a month, debating whether or not to knock on the door. I must've looked like an idiot to his neighbors, but I had to spend those last few moments making sure I knew what I was doing.
My knuckles thumped loudly against the door.
I waited for a few seconds, wondering if Gregory had already left like he said he would if I didn't return. But sure enough, the door opened, and there was Gregory's smiling face to greet me.
"Welcome, Nick," he said, ushering me in. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you decided to come back."
I took the same seat on the sofa where I had been the day before as Gregory went into the kitchen. "Would you like a drink?" he asked from the other room. I gave no answer. "I did get some soft drinks for you last night. I don't drink them as a rule, but I know you enjoy them." He came back into the room with a glass of water in one hand and a can of Coke in the other.
I still hadn't said a word to him.
"Nick, are you all right?" Gregory finally asked. "You seem distracted."
I sighed. This was the first time I had the opportunity to find out the truth about him. "You said yesterday that you would answer any question I asked you truthfully, right?"
Gregory nodded. "I did."
"Well, then - what are you?"
Gregory looked silently at me for a long moment and sighed. "Would you prefer that I told you the answer, or showed you?"
"Show me."
Gregory nodded. "Very well. Follow me."
I got up from my seat and followed Gregory into the kitchen. We stood on opposite sides of the island there, where the sink, cutting board, and dishwasher were found. "I have to warn you, Nick, what I'm about to do will be very unsettling. Are you sure you want to see this?"
"I do," I replied without hesitation.
"Very well." Gregory opened a drawer next to him, pulling out a large kitchen knife. He looked into my eyes for a second, then holding his left arm out, held the blade of the knife against the forearm.
I felt my stomach go sour.
In one slow, smooth motion, the knife sliced into Gregory's arm, deep crimson leaving a trail and flowing outward from the wound. My eyes were transfixed on the arm, now bleeding profusely and dripping onto the countertop.
"Gregory! What the hell are you doing??" I asked frantically.
There was no pain in Gregory's expression. Just complete calmness. It unnerved me for a moment, then I looked back down at his gashed arm. Like magic, the incision on his arm began to come together again. I watched in horror and amazement as Gregory's arm fully healed in a matter of seconds. He then turned on the sink and washed off all of the blood that had dried around the wound, and presented it to me. It looked as if it had never been touched.
I could barely breathe.
"You asked me what I am," Gregory explained. "I am a being whose purpose is to protect those who need protecting. Nurture those who need nurturing. Love those who need to be loved. I have lived on this Earth for over 300 years, a life that started very much like yours, until I encountered someone like what I am now. I only reveal myself to those I trust implicitly, and those I feel are worthy of my help."
He walked around the island, until he was just inches away from me.
"I am... the white wolf."
We stared at each other for a few seconds, as he let his words sink into my brain. Suddenly, Gregory's head closed in those last few inches, and his lips pressed into my own. My brain shorted out for a moment as I realized that he was kissing me. I knew that the kiss was hardly spontaneous on his part; he'd been planning to do this all day, if not longer. It was too swift, too matter-of-fact, too perfectly timed. I could feel his arms wrap around my back as he pressed his chest into mine.
I'd never given any thought to who my first kiss would go to. I was too busy dodging everyone's insults that I'd never even daydreamed about it. The fact that Gregory, this magical boy who'd befriended me when nobody else would, was doing this both made perfect sense and no sense at all. Boys aren't supposed to kiss boys, are they? They're supposed to kiss girls! They're supposed to date girls, and take them to the prom, and have sex with them and marry them and... and Gregory's not a girl! What the hell was I doing??
I pulled away from the kiss in panic, breathing heavy gasps of air. Gregory let go of me, and we separated abruptly.
"Is something wrong?" Gregory asked.
"N- No..." I stammered. "I'm fine. I was just... surprised, that's all."
"Surprised? You know how I feel about you, Nick. I just wanted to see if..."
"What? If I'd like it?"
"Well..." Gregory closed the distance between us once again. He lifted his right hand, gently stroking my chin with it. "Yes."
Our eyes locked again, just like they did when we first met in the locker room. It was if he was gazing directly into my soul, that moment, and I was doing the same to him. I could see the honesty, the straightforwardness of his desire. He wanted me, and he'd wanted me from the moment he'd laid eyes on me. And the only thing that would cause him to give me up is if I really and truly refused his advances. He wouldn't pursue it any further if I didn't want it.
But I did.
Our lips came together again, this time mutually. I was backed up against the countertop, my back arching over it. He pressed against me once more, hard but not forcefully, as he fell into me with an embrace. I opened my mouth in unison with his, and our tongues began to duel.
I felt his right arm untuck the front of my shirt, then slide ever softly up my stomach to my chest. His left arm followed suit, and I yelped in surprise when he began to pinch at my nipples, which quickly stiffened up. I lifted my arms in the air, allowing him to pull it all the way off, and we kissed again. I felt like a chocolate bar in someone's pocket, melting away into whatever form I ended up being in last. I didn't even realize I was unbuttoning Gregory's shirt until I undid the last button and pulled the two sides apart, revealing his smooth and well-toned chest. We came together, bulges quite evident in both our trousers.
"Gregory..." I panted as his kisses began to trail my neck, "Are you going to...?"
"No," he replied. "Not yet. We must wait for night to fall."
I had never wished so hard for the moon to rise.