All around the walls of our room are pieces of Cassie’s artwork, hung up on display. Canvases large and small adorn nearly every corner of the room, and the ones hanging up are only the ones Cassie was really happy with. She’s been incredibly prolific, using nearly every hour she isn’t dancing at the easel.
I don’t pretend to have an eye for art, but to my perspective, she seems to be getting better every day.
Having lived so minimalistically for so long, the jolt of color in the room is something I’m still getting used to, but the more time I spend around it, the more I think I appreciate it. There’s something to be admired in surrounding yourself in the work of your own hands — or those of someone close to you, in my case.
I step closer to the bed, stripping my shirt and shoes off before putting a knee beside her and looming over her with a hungry smile. She flutters her eyes back up to me, biting her lip as she twirls a lock of her hair around a finger. There’s something in her eyes I can’t quite read, but my lust is getting the better of me as she toys with her bra strap, the gentle, subtle motions of her body on the bed just begging me to rip her clothes off her.
So my hands go to her dress, nearly tearing the fabric as I rip it off her, exposing her lithe and limber body, her breathing getting faster as she turns her neck up to me. I dive in for her as if on instinct, sucking at the sensitive flesh with abandon.
“Please, solnyshko moyo,” I hear her whisper, “please, I want to feel you all over me!”
I pause, moving my face up to hers as a grin spreads across my face unbidden. I take her chin in my thumb and forefinger and raise an eyebrow at her as her hands run up and down my hardened abs.
“Solnyshko moyo? I never thought myself very much like ‘sunshine,’ but I’ll take it. Where did you learn that one?”
Cassie turns her head into her shoulder bashfully. “Well, I asked Sonya to teach me a little Russian in our downtime, and that one was, well, I don’t know, I like the way it sounds.”
My grin widens, and I lean forward to kiss her, the warmth of our lips pressing together making my heart beat faster, and my strong hands grip her sides lovingly as I press the bulge of my manhood up against her before rolling onto the bed beside her.
“The two of you seem to be getting along rather well, no?”
“She’s nice,” Cassie answers, her eyes sparkling as she smiles at me, her face framed by the cascade of her blonde hair. “We’ve gone out into town a few times together, and we text some. I don’t think she’s very used to having people to hang out with, but I don’t either, besides you, and I think that kind of makes it easier for the two of us to feel comfortable around each other, you know?”
“It’s good to have someone to relate to,” I agree.
“It’s funny,” Cassie adds with a smile, “she’s almost a whole year younger than me, but the way she acts, she comes off almost like an older sister. I like her.”
“I’m glad,” I say, wrapping my arms around her and bringing her in close, pressing my lips to her forehead. “There doesn’t seem to be anything you can’t adapt to, printsessa.”
“Mmhmm,” she murmurs, and as she does, something seems a little ‘off’ about the look in her eyes. I pause and tilt my head, peering at her searchingly.
“What’s the matter? Something seems to be on your mind.”
Cassie opens her mouth and closes it again almost immediately, her face getting some color to it, and within a few seconds, she’s blushing furiously as she struggles to find her words.
“I don’t think anything’s wrong, it’s just…”
I sit up in the bed, looking a little concerned now. “Are you wanting for anything? Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, Cassie, you know that by now.”
“It isn’t that,” she says, twirling some bedsheet around her finger. “It’s just... I’m...I’m a few weeks late, Andrei.”
I feel my heart skip a beat, and my eyes widen as I look into hers. “Cassie…”
“I didn’t think much of it at first,” she goes on, biting her lip. I can tell that every word is riddled with fear, and I reach out to take her hand, reassuringly. “But the other day when I was out with Sonya, I...I asked to stop by a corner store and pick up a test. You know, just to be safe.”
I’m hanging on to every word now, leaning in and holding Cassie’s hand close to me. There’s a long, terribly long pause as she stares down before she lifts her eyes to meet mine, a small, hopeful smile appearing on her lips.