Iris opened her eyes feeling a little fuzzy. It was still day she realized as she blinked her eyes and got some sense of recognition of the world around her. After throwing up one last time, Stone made her come back to bed to get some rest and she must have fallen asleep. She raised her head to read the time on the alarm clock on the nightstand and it flickered, in huge red letters, 1.30 pm. Iris cringed a bit as her head was pounding, maybe from sleeping too much and turned on her back. Then, she stretched and stayed quiet for a few seconds trying to figure out if she was still nauseous, but it seemed like she was not. That's when she decided to get up. She pulled the covers away and sat on the bed and rubbed her face to shake the rest of the sleep away from her. Also, she realized that her head was not spinning anymore, she felt fine. Iris bent over and grabbed her lingerie and got up to put it on and then started grabbing all her pieces of clothing that were scattered on the floor. She got dressed and slid her feet in her slippers instead of her boots. She opened the door of the bedroom and heard the sound of a guitar very softly and low and she smiled. Stone was playing. She tiptoed down the stairs and stopped in the middle as she got a vision of him.
Stone was sitting on the gray carpet on the floor in front of the couch. His legs crossed with an acoustic guitar on his lap. His back against the couch, his head down looking at the strings. He had tied his hair on a ponytail so it wouldn't fall over his place and she knew he was experiment things. He was always trying new things and creating new riffs. She smiled when he clearly failed a note and shook his head all alone and then tried again and then not satisfied, he tried the same riff but on a different scale and she saw his lips open a soft smile. She smiled too, knowing he got what he was looking for. He was so persistent and inventive. She wondered many times if he knew how talented he really was. Then, he repeated the riff and smiled openly which caused her to smile again. When he was happy, she was happy. Love without compassion or empathy it is not love.
"Hey..." She finally said and he looked up.
"Hey, babe." He told her tenderly.
Iris descended the rest of the stairs and walked towards him. When she got near, she sat by his side. He let go a hand of the guitar and crossed it over her shoulders and leaned over her to kiss her temple. Iris closed her eyes as his lips touched her. She loved him so much, and though she loved the company of her friends, having that time alone with him was just perfect.
"Are you feeling better?" Stone asked when he pulled away and she nodded, looking in his green eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I'm feeling good." Iris responded, lost in his glare. He had such expressive eyes.
"I don't understand, you didn't even drink that much last night." Stone commented. "We smoked twice as much as you did..."
"It must have been something I ate." She assured him. "You were playing?" Iris looked down at the guitar and then back at him, kissing his lips softly.
"You know me..." He rolled his eyes. "Always trying to create something."
"I heard this last riff..." She smiled. "It was pretty awesome."
"It still needs to be perfected." He said and Iris rolled her eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me!" He exclaimed, kissing her at the same time.
"It sounded great, babe." She deviated to look at him again. "You are a perfectionist though."
"And yet, I chose you!" He mocked her. Iris understood perfectly well the pun in it, but she turned against him in seconds.
"I am perfection. I know it, babe." She smiled cutely and he couldn't but giggle.
"Oh..." He placed his hand on his heart and rolled his eyes. "This cross that I bear!" Stone said but not holding his sniggers in the middle.
"Are you hungry?" Iris asked him instead, running a hand over his ponytail. "I am..."
"I had a sandwich some time ago." He told her. "Would you like to go to the village? We could have something there..."
"That would be great." Iris agreed as she nodded at the same time.
Stone pulled the guitar away from his lap and put it on the couch and then got up.
"Come on." He told her, giving her his hand. When Iris took it, he pulled her up and brought her near him, gluing his lips on hers. "Are you really fine?" He asked after, cradling her cheek with his hand, and looking in her eyes. "Hum?" He pecked the tip of her nose.
"I'm fine. I think sleeping helped." Iris smiled. "Though my head is pounding a bit. I slept too much."
"You should see a doctor..." He told her. "I would prefer if you did."
"I'm fine!" Iris affirmed. "Really... I am and I am starving."
"Let's grab our coats then." He kissed her one last time and they went up to their bedroom.
Iris grabbed her black coat and a black scarf that she rolled around her neck. Instead of her CK boots, she opted for her brand-new snow boots so her feet would be warmer. Then, she crossed her purse over her shoulder and looked at Stone who was tying the knots of his boots. He had also rolled a scarf around his neck. They didn't know how it would be like down at the small village, but up where they were it seemed pretty cold though the sun had started shining meanwhile.
"I'm ready!" She told him, standing in front of him.
"Looking gorgeous." He said as he got up and kissed her. "Ok... I got the car keys..." He said checking his pockets. "My wallet... do you have keys to the house?" He then asked Iris who nodded. "Let's go then."
They left the house and entered the black van they had rented. The snow on the trees was starting to melt with the heat of the sun rays and some green was starting to appear around them, contrary to the white vision in the morning. When Stone started driving, they noticed how the roads had been cleaned but the asphalt was wet due to the dense trees' line that sided both sides of the path and didn't let the sun rays pierce into it. They were alone sliding curve after curve as they descended to the picturesque village.
"It's so quiet." Iris smiled, looking at Stone who was paying attention to the road.
"There's nothing around." He commented, feeling her hand resting near his knee. By the corner of his, he saw her turn her head to look outside again. "California..." He called and Iris turned her head to look at him. "I love you." He said, glancing at her quickly.
"Aw, babe..." Iris melted instantly. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over him to plant a kiss on his cheek which caused him to chuckle. "I love you too." She said after, coming back to her seat.
"So, Maggie and Jeff are also going to San Francisco." He commented. "They told me so this morning before they left."
"Yeah... Maggie knows my mother. Her dad is my dad's best friend. We are all very close." She explained, though Stone knew about it all.
"It's good." Stone told her. "I won't feel so out of my element." Iris understood what he meant.
"There's nothing to fear, Stone." She patted his leg. "My parents and all their friends are quite simple people."
"Still, having one of my closest friends there will help." He smiled. "You know what I mean..."
"I know..." Iris was going to say something else, but her cell started ringing as it caught some signal. She opened her purse and grabbed her phone and smiled. "Speaking of the devil..." She laughed quietly. "...it's my mother." Then, she pressed green to take the call. "Hi, mom." Iris greeted her visibly happy, Stone could tell by the joyfulness in her voice.
"Hey, sweetheart." Diana greeted her, sitting at a table of the famous Winston bar's terrace. The place where she first had had a conversation with her father. "I tried to call you sooner, but it wasn't working." She added. "I was getting worried."
"We don't have a signal where we're staying, mom." Iris explained. "Stone and I are descending to the village to have lunch and that is why I got my signal back. Sorry. I forgot to tell you this."
"How are you?" Diana asked, sipping on her Irish coffee.
"I am fine now." Iris answered mindlessly and then cringed for she knew her mother would perceive something had been wrong before. "I'm fine." She tried to corrected it but it was too late.
"What do you mean now?" Diana asked right after, confirming her suspicions, and Iris cringed again a and scratched her forehead.
"It was nothing, mom." Iris shook her head. "Really... It must have been something I ate. I was a bit sick this morning, but it's gone now." Diana curled an eyebrow, hearing her.
"Isn't it better if you see doctor, sweetheart?" She asked.
"Stone wanted to take me to one, but I am truly fine now. Don't worry, ok?" Iris told her. "Where's dad? Are you alone on a Saturday?" Diana started laughing with her remark.
"I am waiting for Pam at Winston's." She said. "They went to do boys stuff, but dad is fine. Cranky as usual but fine." Iris started laughing loud.
"You don't mean that!" Iris responded. "I don't know a man who pampers a woman as much as dad pampers you." It was true though. James was incredible with Diana even after so many years of being together.
"Well, thank you!" Stone said really low and Iris threw his tongue out at him. "I deserve some credit!" He added, and she threw him a silent kiss.
Stone was indeed very tender. She probably knew a side of him not many knew about. He was very affectionate despite his witty sense of humor. He was always cuddling her. He paid attention to her.
"I heard what you boyfriend said." Diana laughed, and Iris rubberized. "Your father said he's cocky."
"What?" Iris exclaimed.
"In a good way..." Diana laughed. She had made it on purpose just to scare her. Iris took a deep breath. "He was impressed..." She added to put her daughter's heart to rest.
"Really?" Iris smiled openly, feeling her heart beating fast. It was so important to her that her parents liked Stone for she loved him for sure.
"I am so curious." Diana told her. "Is he coming with you?"
"Yes." Iris confirmed.
"Great." Diana said. "Are you really fine, Iris?" She asked again, changing the conversation. "Maybe you shouldn't eat anything too aggressive to your stomach today."
"I won't." She nodded. "Don't worry. I am quite sure I can find a place with chicken soup. Actually, mom, to tell you the truth I have been feeling weird for the past week, but today was the worst day." Diana curled an eyebrow there and rested her cup of coffee on the wooden table.
"You've been feeling nauseous for an entire week?" Suddenly, Diana felt her heart skip a bit. "How?"
"No..." Iris told her. "Strange... mood swings mostly. But I had this really stressful week at work. I think it was that." She explained. "I slept poor hours; Thus, I think I felt my head spinning sometimes. I almost didn't rest mom. I think that was it. They even gave me two weeks off so I could get back on track."
"Did you throw up during the week?" Diana asked trying to sound normal.
"No." Iris shook her head. "Oh... mom..." She said as they entered the main road of the village. "We just got here, so I have to go."
"Wait... Iris..." Diana still called her. "Are you sure everything is alright?" She asked her.
"Yes, mom." Iris rolled her eyes showing impatience. "I am fine. Don't worry."
"Ok... call me when you can..." Diana asked her.
"I will. I love you." Iris made the sound of a kiss over the phone and her mother laughed.
"I love you too baby girl." Diana said tenderly.
"Bye." Iris said before hanging up. At the same time, Stone was parking the van. "This is so cute." She said excitedly as she looked around.
The village seemed one of these that one sees in postcards. It looked like one had immersed in centuries of history. It was rustic and romantic and a perfect reconnection with nature located at the valley of the soaring mountains that surrounded it and built on the banks of the river that crossed it. The colorful timber houses were extremely charming and so well taken cared of.
"So cute." Iris smiled at Stone who was looking at her. "You're not even looking at it!" She exclaimed right after.
"You are much more beautiful than any landscape." He said and Iris softened right away.
"You do pamper me." She told him and leaned over him to kiss him. "You really do." Iris ran a hand over his face, looking in his eyes. "I can't complain at all."
"Don't get used to it though." Stone smiled and she rolled her eyes. "Look..." He pointed to her side. "It looks like a place that has chicken soup."
" Yeah..." Iris agreed, looking at the diner. "Miss. Bellamy's Diner..." She said out loud. "Looks like the tittle of a book."
"Maybe we are living in a romance." Stone said and Iris turned her head to look at him.
"With a happy ending, I hope." She said, but she saw his witty smirk appearing in seconds.
"If it doesn't have a happy ending, then I pass it." He said, again with witticism. Iris started tapping his arm and he laughed loud,
"I can't believe in you!" She exclaimed. "I thought we were having a moment."
"And we were!" He exclaimed, holding her hands in place. "We just interpreted it in different ways." Stone shrugged putting on an innocent look that she adored but didn't buy it.
"No... don't put on those puppy eyes!" Iris narrowed her eyes and freed a hand to wave a finger in front of his eyes. "You have a very pervert mind."
"Come on!" He laughed loud and rolled his eyes.
"What?" She curled an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Thursday morning..." He told her and pressed his lips together holding his laughter. Again, she narrowed her eyes and turned her face away to leave, but Stone held her by her wrist. "No... don't go..." He insisted while Iris tried to avoid eye contact with him, triggering him even more. "Remember it?" Stone insisted for he loved to tease her.
"No." Iris said, trying to remain serious, but there was a light smile on her face. "Can we go now?" She asked, trying to escape.
"I was having a shower..." Stone began but Iris interrupted him right away.
"I don't want to hear it." She covered her ears with her hands and they both started laughing loud. Stone closed his hands around her wrists and pulled her hands down.
"No... you are going to hear it." He told her, giggling. "Remember what you asked me when you entered the bathroom?" His green eyes glittering, relishing on so much fun.
"NO!" Iris yelled, taking a deep breath to control her laughter that didn't subside.
"I'll refresh your memory..." Stone said.
"I don't want to." She still laughed.
"Touch yourself... I wanna watch,.." He repeated her words that had left him startled, but that he complied with. "Wasn't that what you asked? Or am I recalling it wrong?" His smirk to die for. "I didn't even know you liked to watch..."
"I don't remember that." Iris blushed, not because she was embarrassed, but because it had been incredibly hot. She fanned herself with both hands, remembering it. "Can we go now?" She looked in his eyes feeling her throat dry.
"What?" He cocked up an eyebrow with an incredible cocky smile on his lips. "Is it hot in here all of a sudden, California?"
"Can we go?" Iris repeated the question, trying not to laugh.
"Yep." He said with his cocky semblance and opened the door of the van. Iris stayed put and narrowed her eyes. "Are you staying?" He smiled at her. Iris opened the door and got out, and then heard him lock the doors.
"You are impossible!" She told him when he got near. Stone giggled.
"You are adorable." He kissed her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you." She told him. "And it was totally worth it that I got to work so late."
"I love us." He said. "The way we are."
"You are always pestering me." She smiled.
"Couldn't be any different." He kissed her and then pulled way. "Let's go in?" Iris nodded while snickering with his remark.
The diner was cozy and rustic. There was a wood and varnished counter in front of the door. In front of it, round black stools for the people that didn't need a table. From the ceiling, the chandeliers were made of hay and probably handmade by some local artist. On the walls, photos of the beautiful landscapes that one could see around the park. The tables were also made of wood but lighter than the counter, and the chairs were black. It was warm inside, which made them get rid of their coats and scarves and apart from another couple sitting at a corner and clearly in love, they were the only clients.
"Wanna sit there?" Stone asked her, as he rested a hand on her small back and pointing at a table near the window.
"Yeah..." Iris nodded and he held her hand, guiding her to the small table by the window.
They rested their coats and scarves on the back of the chairs and then they sat in front of one another. Immediately, they grabbed the small, plasticized carts that were on the table. Before she started reading what she could choose, she watched him and her eyes appreciated every curve of his face. The shape of his lips. She loved his lips. Her pulse increased and the butterflies in her stomach started fluttering as if it was the first time she had set her eyes on him. She remembered perfectly well the first time she had set her eyes on him. The party at Jeff's apartment. Maggie pointed at one of her friends but her eyes fell on the boy that was laughing hysterically with Jeff. She might have fallen in love with him right there, she doesn't know. All she knows is that she was never able to let go since then, and she tried to.
"Babe?" Stone called her as he saw her looking at him but completely distracted. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." Iris smiled. "I was just remembering the day I arrived in Seattle and the party where I met you." She thought he was going to tease her, as usual, but instead, Stone held her hand in his and smiled so tenderly.
"I remember that I was talking to Jeff and that I looked across his living room and I saw you with Maggie. You were wearing a black dress and a top knot on your hair." He told her, surprising her.
"You remember what I was wearing..." Iris commented, and he nodded.
"You made quite an impression..." He confessed. "When I saw you at the Crocodile the second time we met, I was determined..."
"Stone..." She looked in his eyes. "I never had another person while we were, you know..."
"Me neither." He told her. "I loved you back then, Iris. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to ruin things for us. You seemed so comfortable with the way things were..." He shrugged. "... but I wasn't seeing anyone else and I didn't even want to. I just wanted you."
"I just wanted you too..." She paused. "But I was so afraid to hurt you..."
"It doesn't matter now." He took her hand up until his lips and kissed each one of her fingers. "We're together." He smiled.
"I've never been this happy. I want you to know this." Iris affirmed.
"Same." He told her. "So, have you decided what you are going to have?"
"Chicken soup." Iris smiled.
"I'm having this burger here... sounds phenomenal." He told her, putting the cart back on the table.
After lunch, Stone and Iris came back home. When they got to the cabin, the other van was already parked in front of the house and Stone parked right beside it. Even outside, and with all the windows closed, they could hear the commotion inside the living room. Susan, who was at the window waved at them, and they waved back.
"I didn't think they were coming back so early." Iris commented when Stone got near after locking the vehicle.
"It's going to get dark soon." He told her.
Stone held her hand even if it was a short distance until the front door. It didn't matter if they had to walk a mile or a meter, he loved to feel her palm united with his. When they got to the front door, Poppy opened it even if Iris had the key pointed at the locker, making both of them jump back as she scared them.
"Are you feeling better?" Poppy asked right away, and Iris nodded still a bit shocked with her sudden appearance.
"I am fine now." She responded. "You scared me, Poppy!"
"Can we go inside or what? It's freezing..." Stone said impatiently, as Poppy didn't step aside.
"Sorry." She laughed and pulled away, giving them space.
Nevertheless, Iris heard the water of the river running down the mountain and looked back. It was just a few meters away from the house and she hadn't been there yet.
"You know what?" She looked at Stone. "I am going to see the river..."
"It's so cold!" He exclaimed, and Iris shrugged. "Really, babe?" Stone asked.
"It's not far and I really want to." She kissed his lips. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I won't take long."
"You don't mind?" Stone asked, looking in her eyes and Iris shook her head.
"Guys!" Poppy exclaimed, losing her patience.
"I'm going in." Stone smiled at her. "Be careful." He turned to Iris and kissed her lips.
"I'll be right back." Iris said, walking away.
"Chris is there." Poppy said, as she saw Stone reluctantly seeing Iris walking down the path that led to the river. Her boots screeching on the snow that resisted the sun.
"What?" He said, turning his head to look at Poppy.
"Chris is by the river too." Poppy repeated. "She won't be alone, don't worry."
"Yeah..." He said entering the house, but his heart was no longer resting.
Stone gave her a smile and took off his coat that he hanged by the door near the others, feeling completely unsure about what to do. Part of him needed to trust her, but another part of him was yelling at him to go with her. A strange feeling took posses of him in mere seconds.
"Stoney!" Mike yelled as he set his eyes on his friend. "Come play with us." He called him.
"I can see there's a fucking party going on..." He retorted as the intense scent of weed reached his nose. The environment inside the living was even a little foggy.
"Where's Iris?" Maggie asked him.
"She went to see the river." Stone answered feeling his throat going dry. His heart started beating fast, faster than usual.
"Grab your guitar!" Jeff asked him, but he was feeling his head spinning and little voices corroding him.
"Chris is by the river too." Susan then added, making his head spin even more as he sat on the couch.
Stone grabbed his guitar, but he felt his hands shake. He felt like he couldn't play a riff. His hands started sweating and he took a deep breath, not knowing exactly why he was feeling that restless.
"Are you alright, Stone?" Jeff asked him.
"Yeah..." He nodded. "I'm fine." Stone tried to shake away the emotions that were rushing through him, but his mind didn't let go of Iris and Chris together and alone. Yielding to his messy brain, he put his guitar down again. "I'll be right back." He said and got up, jumping of the couch like a spring.
"Stone!" Mike called him.
Stone didn't respond nor did he look back. He just stopped near the door to put back his coat and roll the scarf around his neck and then he opened the door and left. They saw him running down the path that led to the river banks.
Iris stopped walking as soon as the path she had taken reached the river bank. The water was low but translucid. Stones under water could be seen perfectly. The sound was amazing. A symphony that mixed the watery sound and the leaves of the trees. Iris closed her eyes and took a deep breath that froze her lungs but made her come alive at the same time. A smiled opened on her lips. It was just nature sounds around her. Then, she decided to walk a bit further and that's when she saw him, sitting on a rock. Iris stopped walking just watching him, he looked so lost in his own thoughts that she didn't know if she should interrupt him. She hesitated, but the instant that she was about to turn away without bothering him, he raised his head to look at her and Iris then walked in his direction.
"I didn't want to interrupt you." She told him when she got near him.
Chris seemed like he was freezing. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were red. His eyes bluer than ever though and his hair extremely curly due to the humidity in the air.
"I heard you coming." He smiled shyly. He just didn't say that he had heard her hearts approaching. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes." Iris nodded and sat on the rock by his side. "It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked, sticking her hands inside the pockets of her coat, and looking at the top of the trees around them. "So quiet..." She kept saying, not noticing that Chris was looking at her and not at their marvelous surroundings.
"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He whispered, knowing he was so close to touch his lips on her cheek.
An enormous will to bury his nose in her hair and inhale was almost killing him. Vampires had that need and near her all his unique traits surfaced easily. Iris felt his warm breath quite near and looked down to find him looking at her and at a tiny distance. It caught her by surprise, but he held her gaze in place. Iris felt a little hypnotized and scared at the same time. He heard her heart, not the tiny one, started beating fast and that set him off. Chris felt the blood in his veins run with incredible force. His heart started beating like he couldn't remember and an urge to make her his like he had never experienced. He cringed trying to fight his desire and his own nature but he was feeling his entire body getting dominated by a force bigger than him. A force he knew he could barely tame.
"I better go..." Iris said, straying, but he closed his hand around her wrist and she looked up at him. "Chris?" Her voice trembled, knowing something was different. Even his gaze was different.
"Don't go..." He asked her. His insides pulsing in need. His desire was burning his entire soul.
"I better go." Iris got up and set her hand free, but Chris got up too.
"Stay." Chris almost begged her.
Iris shook her head and gave a step back, knowing he was crossing a boundary that she didn't want to cross. His next move was totally unexpected. He grabbed her face strongly between his soft hands and glued his lips to hers, succumbing to a strong desire that he didn't know quite well how to control. He knew it was the vampire in him dominating him. The need to make her his. Iris glued her hands to his chest and started pulling away. She didn't close her eyes nor did she kiss him back and Chris let go immediately when he felt her resisting it so much.
"No!" She told him. "Chris..." She exclaimed, looking at him. "You shouldn't have done that!"
"I'm sorry." He told her, looking almost scared. It was as if his senses had come back in seconds and another person had incarnated in him. "I'm sorry..." Chris repeated. "Iris... I ..." He stuttered.
"Iris..." They heard a voice and Iris shuddered.
Her eyes blurred with tears instantly and she looked back to find Stone stopped on his tracks. The hurt she saw in his crushed her. Her heart shattered right there.
"Stone..." Her voice trembled.