He Doesn't Look Like a Monster to Me

The second story of the house was just as lavish was the first. Through the center of it was a large hallway that was lined with more paintings. It had three doors on the right and two on the left

James led me to the first door on the right which turned out to be a bathroom that looked more like a bathhouse. Instead of just a normal shower and toilet, there was a bathtub that I could probably swim in, and the shower was huge, too. I bet five or six people could fit in there comfortably. The toilet looked top of the line, which sounds really odd. But when I used it, it was so comfortable that I almost didn’t want to get off.

Instead of taking a bath, I decided to take a shower. Thinking ahead, I also decided that I was going to shave again. You could never be too careful. Plus, if you’re with someone who has super-senses, you HAD to be too careful.

After my shower, I dried off my body and got changed, leaving my hair wet. I walked out of the bathroom and stood in the middle of the hallway, glancing around with a blank look on my face. I had no idea which door James was in, and I didn’t feel like being nosy and opening each one.

After standing for a few minutes feeling pretty stupid, I heard soft music coming from the first door on the left. It sounded like a violin, and it was absolutely beautiful.

I tried to tip-toe my way toward it and opened the door as quietly as I could. It opened into a room that was breath-taking. There were a million windows in this room, too, and the view was amazing. There was a wide space of lawn that was covered in white, and beyond that was a wall of the tallest trees I had ever seen. Across from the door was a large piano surrounded by shelves that were covered by what looked like sheet music. There were several guitars around that were in stands, and a HUGE drum set to the left.

But what really caught my eye was in the middle of the room: James, holding and playing a gorgeous violin. I stood listening for a bit. The song James was playing sounded so familiar, though I couldn’t put on my finger on what it was.

But then it hit me.

“That’s the song you sing me!” My eyes widened and I slammed my hand over my mouth. I had wanted to listen to the song more, but I had interrupted him. Uhg, stupid!

James stopped pulling the bow over the strings and looked over at me. He was smiling that perfect half-smile, and I swooned.

“Yes it is, mon amour. I was waiting to see if you would be able to recognize it. Then again,” he stooped to put down the instrument, “I would not be surprised if you could not. You are always half asleep when you hear it.”

I grinned.

He smiled back, and in less than a second James had crossed the room and I was in his arms. The wind was knocked out of me, and I gasped, “James, I can’t breathe!”

“Oh!”

His arms dropped from around me and he set me down.

James smiled at me sheepishly.

“I guess I get a bit carried away when it comes to you,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat and I wrapped my arms around him.

“Je t’aime,” he whispered into my hair.

“I love you, too,” I mumbled quietly in reply.

****

I giggled happily as we walked through the woods. It was around one in the afternoon, and earlier James suggested that we go on a walk.

I’m so glad he did.

The snow had stopped, but everything was blanketed in white. It was absolutely beautiful. The bare trees with snow on their branches looked almost sad, yet gorgeous in their own way. And I could see footprints of little animals that had gone down the same path we were.

I was walking in front of James even though I had no clue on where we were or where we were going, but of course that didn’t stop me. I jumped when snow suddenly fell off of a branch of a tree right above me. Some landed on my head and I laughed loudly.

“James!” I cried, whirling around. “I love it here!”

He beamed at me with a heart-breaking smile and my breathing stopped for a minute.

He sighed.

“Breathe, Victoria.”

I inhaled sharply and started to giggle.

“I feel so bad for every girl in the world that’s not here.”

James looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face.

“And why is that?”

“Because! This place is so beautiful, and you’re here! What more could someone want?”

Smiling, he took me into his arms.

“Well, I guess I could say the same for all men; I have never been surrounded by such beauty myself.”

I flushed and looked up. James looked down at me. I went onto my tippy-toes and kissed him. I could feel him smile against my lips as he kissed back.

****

I was shivering as we reached the house. Because I’ve never lived in a place where it could get so cold, I didn’t have the best clothes for snow weather so I had severely under packed.

“I will start a fire,” James said quickly. His brow was furrowed and he was moving a lot faster than usual. He sounded and looked so stressed... I wasn’t that cold.

Okay, that was a lie.

After lying in the snow making snow angels, and after throwing snow into the air above me, and after staying out so long, I was chitter-chatering so bad that my teeth had started to hurt.

Once we were in the door, James instructed me to take off my wet clothes and he ran upstairs. I undressed by the door, taking off my jacket and pants.

“Victoria,” I heard him yell from the top of the stairs. “Come up here.”

I started walking toward his voice, but I was confused. There was a fireplace down here. Why would he want me upstairs? But, I followed him anyway. As I’ve mentioned, if he asked me to do something or go somewhere, I’d do it.

I walked up the stairs in just my underwear and a long-sleeved shirt, shivering badly. I was hoping that I wouldn’t get a cold.

When I reached the last step, I saw James standing in front of the second (and last) door on the left.

“Come in here,” he said gravely.

Uhg, why was he so worried?

I nodded and did as I was told. I didn’t want to speak, though; I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to get much out. I stepped into the room and looked around. It was a bedroom, and a very large one at that. But, then again, what wasn’t large in this house?

It was stunning.

There weren’t as many windows in this room. Only one wall had some, and they were covered by black curtains. That makes them sound almost gothic, but they weren’t. The color was for matching purposes more than to block out the sun.

The walls were a deep blue that got darker as I looked up, and the carpet matched the top of the walls which were a blue so dark that it almost looked black. The wall to the door’s left was mostly covered by the biggest sound system I had ever seen besides in a store. I could be wrong about that, though; I don’t really remember ever seeing one as big. The stereo was not only built for C.D.’s, but for cassettes and A-Tracks, which I had a hard time believing, and it also had a turntable. It was flanked on both sides by huge shelves that were filled with what ancient-looking vinyls and CDs from artists I had never heard of. The selection was so extensive it shocked me. Never in even in the biggest music store I’ve been in have I seen such a collection.

In almost the center of the room was a gigantic four-poster bed. It looked like it was constructed out of the same material as the stairs; a light-black colored iron. The sheets were the same color blue as the bottom of the walls, and even though I hadn’t touched them, I could tell that they were amazingly comfortable.

But none of that attracted my attention as much as the roaring fire across the room from me. James was standing in front of it. The room was pretty dark, and all I could really make out of him was his silhouette.

I had my arms around my chest, trying to keep what little body heat I had left. I walked forward, and from his outline I could see James look up at me. He held out his hand and I almost ran forward to retrieve it. When I reached him, we stood hand-in-hand in front of the fire.

“Would you like to sit down?” he asked softly.

I looked down and noted that we were standing on a rug. I nodded and sat, not letting go of his hand. James laughed gently and sat down as well.

We were sitting for what felt like an eternity until I realized that I was not only dry, but almost unbearably hot. I drew my face up in thought. I didn’t know if I could get away with it, but it was worth a try.

Letting go of James’ hand, I reached for the bottom of my shirt with both hands and lifted it above my head, throwing it to the side. I leaned forward towards James’ stunned face and kissed him.