Paying the cashier with Miller's credit card, they finally exited the store with Pumpkin still holding the squeaky toy in his mouth and Meridana holding the heavy dog food bag on her hands, carrying it like it was nothing as she walked alongside Adam.
They walked together in silence, enjoying each other's company while the night was still young. The peaceful atmosphere was soon broken by her asking, "So...where do you want to go next?" She asked curiously, glancing at him with a small smile, Do we still have plenty of time left?"
"To your home," he said without stopping a beat, "I want to..." shortly glancing at his side in embarrassment, "spend time with you." The last part was spoken quietly, causing her to blush lightly at such a request. However, she did not object to this idea. Instead, she nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's go then," she replied cheerfully.
He cannot believe he is doing this. Why does he want to share a moment of their time together when he should be heading back to Miller's house? Perhaps he is simply in need of companionship from someone who understands him on some level.
Minutes have passed since the silence befell them, unsure of what to say or do, only walking side by side with Pumpkin happily trotting between them. There was no doubt that both of them felt confused about what they were about to do, but neither wanted to bring it up.
As they arrived, they stopped in front of a small, two-story house located in a quiet neighborhood. The exterior was painted white and blue, with a small garden in the front yard. The windows were covered with curtains, giving the impression that no one was home. Entering the house, they were greeted by a cozy living room with a fireplace, a couch, and a television. The walls were decorated with paintings and photos of Meridana and her modeling.
"You were model before?" He asked in surprise, looking around the room before turning to face her. "I used to," she answered sheepishly while holding the bag between her hands. "But now I prefer to work in the brothel instead of doing it professionally," she added, smiling softly at him.
Nodding in response, they moved to the kitchen, where she dropped the dog food on the floor, causing a loud thud from the impact. "You can leave it here if you want," she offered, pointing towards the bag with her thumb. "I'll put it away later."
She then walked over to the refrigerator, opening it and grabbing two bottles of water before offering one to him. "Here, drink this," she said. "After a long walk from the store, we both deserve a drink of water," she explained, handing him the bottle of water. He gladly accepted the offer, taking the bottle and drinking it immediately.
"Thank you," he replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before his dog whined from this act, causing the two to turn and look down at his pet, who was still holding the toy in his mouth. "He must be hungry and thirsty," he said in concern.
"Don't worry about him; I'll give him some food and water after I finish putting away the groceries," she reassured him. "In the meantime, you should get some rest," she suggested at the couch nearby. "Someone like you needs to rest after a long day of work," she added, patting his shoulder gently before heading to the cabinets.
Looking back to his dog and smiling warmly at the little guy, he said, "Stay here with her, alright buddy? I'm going to be in the living room to have a rest," said the exhausted Adam, kneeling on his level and petting his fur for the last time, getting up and walking to the living room, leaving Pumpkin with Meridiana.
Sitting on the comfortable couch, he closed his eyes and relaxed, allowing the peaceful sounds of the young woman preparing Pumpkin's food to fill his ears as the owner simply laid there, doing nothing else but listening to the noises around him.
His mind wandered back to their previous conversation, thinking about how much he enjoyed spending time with her despite knowing very little about her other than the fact she was succubus. He wondered if she felt the same way about him.
Nah, the woman is a sex worker; she probably sees me as a potential client or simply a friend, the latter of which he prefers. However, he wouldn't mind being more than friends with her, especially when she seems to understand him better than anyone else. But then again, they only met once, so it's impossible to say what kind of relationship they might develop in the future.
But even if he desires to actually have a romantic relationship with her, who says that she will suffer the fate of being with him? He's a walking disaster, constantly getting into trouble and having unfortunate events in his life. She deserves someone better than him.
Suddenly, he felt something wet touching his face, causing him to open his eyes and look up at what was happening. It was no other than Meridana on all fours at his side, staring at him with a smile on her face, confusing the young man with this action.
"What are you doing?" He asked curiously, looking back at her intently. She giggled before replying, "I was just wondering if you wanted to play with me." She explained innocently, tilting her head slightly to the side as she continued to stare at him, "do you want to?"
He blinked once and then twice and said, "Where's Pumpkin?" Was the first thing that came to his mind, glancing around the room before spotting his dog sleeping at the corner of this room. "He's over there, sleeping peacefully," she answered, pointing in the dog's direction.
Adam then turned his attention back to the woman, noticing that she was now on top of him. "Hey," he said, not sure what to do or say in this situation, before sighing afterwards, "you wanted to have sex with me," tiredness was evident in his voice as he closed his eyes once more.
"Yes," she whispered seductively, leaning forward and placing her lips against his ear. "Let's play," she whispered again, licking his earlobe teasingly to the point of making him shiver slightly from this action. Feeling her hands roaming across his chest, he couldn't help but moan softly in response, enjoying the sensation of her fingers running through his hair before moving downwards towards his abdomen.
Until a vision of Lilith appeared before his eyes instead of Meridiana, causing him to instinctively push her down with all his strength, yelling at the top of his, "No!" He exclaimed loudly, eyes widening in shock as he realized what he did: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" he stopped mid-sentence when he saw that she wasn't hurt at all, only staring at him with understanding written all over her face.
Laying on her back on the floor, she finally stood up and dusted herself off. "It's fine," she said, smiling reassuringly from this action. "Do you perhaps want to take it in the bedroom?" Choosing the most logical solution to their problem
"I'm not sure," he quickly replied, shaking his head vigorously to emphasize his point. "I just had a flashback of someone," he added quietly, avoiding eye contact with her completely, "it wasn't your fault, Meridiana, it happens sometimes," answering in a regretful tone, causing her to take a step closer towards him.
"You don't have to do anything if you don't want to," she reassured him once more, extending her hand towards him. "Let's discuss this problem of yours in the bed," she suggested gently, waiting patiently for him to take her hand.
He hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly and accepting her offer without saying another word. Taking her hand firmly, he allowed her to lead him towards the bedroom where they entered, allowing further privacy for their conversation.
The bedroom was spacious and clean, with a queen-sized bed in the center of the room. There were several dressers and nightstands scattered around, each containing various items like books, candles, and other knickknacks.
They both sat on the edge of the bed, facing each other as she began to speak: "You've been through firmly holding his hand tightly. "And I know it must be difficult for you to talk about it," she continued, "but if you're willing to share, I can try my best to help you."
Remaining silent, Adam was unsure of how to respond to her words, especially when she's a demon and all, but something in him encouraged him to say the truth: "It's about Lilith, she..." It hurts to even mention her name. "She was the one who did this to me," he finally confessed, unable to meet her gaze as he felt ashamed of his own weakness.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, squeezing his hand gently, "you don't have to continue if you want, but this person, she is someone I have a strong grudge with," she confessed herself, "she is succubus, right?" He asked, looking back at her curiously. "Yes," the young woman answered simply, "and she has done terrible things to people."
"So you knew her in the past?" He questioned further, wanting to know more about what happened between them. "I do," she repeated, nodding her head slightly as she continued, "she used to be my friend at one point," the young woman explained, "but after some time, we had a falling out, and now...we are enemies." She finished quietly, glancing away from him once more.
Adam raised an eyebrow. "What kind of falling out?" That is new; he never would have expected this from Meridiana: "I believe you heard of the tale of Adam and Eve, right?" She asked instead, waiting patiently for him to answer her question.
Remembering the truth of being that person, he almost nodded until he stopped himself; realizing that Adam wasn't aware of the tale about them, he then said, "Not really; could you tell me more about it?" Choosing his words carefully as he spoke. "Sure," she agreed, smiling brightly as she began to explain what happened between her and Lilith.
"In the beginning, God created two humans: Adam and Eve," she started slowly, "they were created together and lived peacefully within Eden, but they weren't the only couple living there," pausing briefly before continuing, "there was also another woman named Lilith, who was created to be his wife," the young woman explained calmly, "however, instead of following God's will, she became obsessively jealous of the growing bond between those two and left Eden, eventually damning herself to become the mother of all demons."
The young woman then sighed deeply. "Afterwards, Lilith came back to Eden and tried to seduce Adam into becoming her lover," she said sadly, "but he refused her advances and rejected her completely, causing her to get angry at him." She paused again, "and that's when everything went wrong." She finally finished, looking down at their hands in silence.
After hearing her story, Adam felt a sense of sadness wash over him as he realized what happened between them: "Is Lilith the reason why she's so obsessed with him?" Masking his fear with curiosity, he said, "Yes," confirming without hesitation, "when I was a demon in hell, we used to be friends, and even though the both of us are naturally evil, our friendship was genuine." She admitted quietly, "but after her growing madness while I spent time with a holy man, our differing paths caused us to drift apart, leading up to our current situation."
She then released her hand from his own, turning away from him as she continued, "I learn my errors and the terrible sins I have committed, knowing now there is more than bringing chaos to the world; I've never forgotten that person who taught me the good things about mankind." Saying those words, Meridiana smiled sadly, allowing her body to fall back on the bed.
"Is that the reason why there are succubus in the brothel of yours?" He asked gently, "They followed your example of trying to be better than what they were born as." Causing her head to nod slowly, she replied softly, "Yes, it was hard for them to learn that there are other ways of living life than simply feeding on others and taking advantage of their lust." "But now, they have learned to enjoy their jobs and treat their clients with respect," she added, smiling once more as she spoke.
Adam then felt guilt building up inside him as he remembered how he treated Meridiana earlier. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, "for the way I acted before," laying on the bed at her side as they stared at the ceiling above them in deep thought.
Glancing at him, she shifted closer to him, turning and placing her hand against his chest. "It's okay," she murmured quietly. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me," she said reassuringly, "and besides, you aren't the only one who is suffering."
"Yeah, I know." Sighing deeply, Adam closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax, feeling the warmth radiating from her body pressed against his own. "Thank you," he whispered softly, "for listening to me."
Chuckling lightly, she says, "You're welcome," responding playfully, "and thank you for sharing your story with me." She added teasingly, "it means a lot."
"You're welcome," he repeated back at her, opening his eyes and meeting her gaze once again. "Can you do me a favor, Meridiana?" His question caught her off guard, causing her to blink in surprise. "What is it?" She asked curiously, patiently waiting for the answer.
"Can you take care of Pumpkin for me?"
