Under the Giant Oak

Ronnie and I were currently setting up a room for Pete and Patrick. I don't know where a bed suddenly came from, but Ronnie assured me that it was already there. I must be going insane because I swore every room in this was empty besides Ronnie's. I really am going insane.

"So, how long are they staying?" I asked while putting sheets on the bed.

"Until Pete's business in town ends." Ronnie replied trying to stuff a pillow into a pillowcase and failing miserably.

"What exactly is his business? And, give me that. You suck at domestic work." I demanded grabbing the pillow from.

"Well, I'm a dom so that's my excuse, and he works with multiple state councils doing something or other. Never really paid any mind to what he specifically did. I know he moves around a lot, but they live in Chicago. Him and Patrick would always stay with my family when they came into town."

"Were they friends with your parents or something?" I asked finishing the bed and the pillows that I had to redo because of Ronnie's poor attempts. It really wasn't that hard to do. I don't know why he couldn't do it.

"Yeah, they go way back. They all went to high school together. Supposedly Pete and my dad were like the scariest doms in town and actually hated each other, but Patrick and my mom were best friends so they forced them together. They became friends after that, but they still had plenty of friendly competitions."

"And, how long did you know they were coming into town?" I asked.

"Oh, I've known for months." He smirked.

"This was all part of your giant plan wasn't it?"

"Yep because now you have to be my mate at home too because since Pete works with the council, he could easily get you into serious trouble." He smirked more.

"I hope you have a long and painful death." I said not really meaning it, and Ronnie seemed to understand that because he slightly chuckled.

"Yeah, and you'll be the one to cause it."

"Damn straight."

We walked back down stairs, and Ronnie told his guests that the room was ready. It was about time, too. Patrick looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. They said their good nights and vanished up stairs.

"Did you get anything to eat?" Ronnie asked walking into the kitchen with me following.

"No, you have nothing to eat in this house." I replied sitting on the counter.

"Sure I do."

"Oh, really? I'm creative when it comes to cooking, but I can't make anything out of beer, blood, and random meat. That I swear if you paid more than two cents for, you paid too much." Ronnie scrunched up his face and looked in the fridge to see that I was right. He then opened the freezer and pulled out a pint of ice cream and two spoons for a drawer. He handed me a spoon and sat on the counter next to me digging into the frozen treat.

"You don't have any food, but you have chocolate ice cream?" I asked sarcastically.

"Fuck yeah, who doesn't have a constant supply of ice cream in their house? I'm surprised that I don't have any whipped cream though."

"You are so childish."

"I just have a childish side. Mine just involves lost of delicious, fattening, frozen dairy products. I'm still trying to find yours."

"I don't have one." I denied.

"Sure you do. Everyone does, somewhere." He said with a mouthful of ice cream.

"Mine died a long time ago."

"What happened to you that made you so . . . sad?" He asked looking me dead in the eye. I quickly averted my gaze, so I was staring at the floor in front of me.

"Things so bad that I wouldn't wish them upon even the devil himself." I said. Memories flashed in my head quickly, and I rubbed my face with my free hand.

"Tell me."

"I'd rather not remember it."

"Well, talking helps everything doesn't it? You really need to tell someone about it, so you can move on from it." A thick laugh came from my throat. It wasn't because this was funny at all. No, this wasn't funny. This was sad, really sad.

"It's not something you can just get over, Ronnie, and I'm not just going to tell you all my terrible memories because you asked nicely, which you didn't by the way. You need to get some manners if you plan to be my mate." I said trying to find anything to change the subject.

"You're really good at that you know."

"Good at what?" I asked. I still haven't looked at him, but I knew he was staring at me to look for any reaction. My face usually remained emotionless, so he wasn't going to get one.

"Not answering people's questions and then quickly changing the subject to not talk about yourself. Monte told me you did the same thing to him when he tried to talk to you."

"It's a skill you pick up with a life like mine, I guess."

"And what type of life is that?" He tried again.

"Nice try, but you ain't getting anything out of me that easily."

"Well, what if I guess, and you just nod or something? So, I at least get some direction about your life before right now."

"You can try. You won't succeed though." I attempted to stop him.

"I should still try. Okay so, you lived on your own because you're parents died, and you ran away from an orphanage."

I shook my head.

"Okay, what about you never knew your parents, and you got sick of where you were living, so you decided to live on your own."

I shook my head again.

"Did you run away at all?" He asked.

"Nope." I shook my head.

"Okay, so, your parents died and you had no where else to go."

"You're really bad at this." I said looking over at him, and shaking my head. He genuinely looked curious.

"Well, you aren't making it easy. Okay, another guess. For some reason you're parents had to leave for some reason, and you were left with no where else to go."

I quickly looked at the floor again. I didn't shake my head because I was a lot of things, but I wasn't a liar.

"So, I guess that's the answer then." Ronnie murmured.

"It's more like they left me to fend for myself because I was the cause of all the problems in the house." I whispered. God, I might cry for the second time tonight. I felt a few tears roll down my face, and Ronnie slipped off the counter to stand in front of me. he was the same height as me when even though I was still on the counter.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm sorry I pried. Though your parents were idiots for letting someone as amazing as you leave their life."

"You're just saying that because you don't want me to cry." I said sniffling.

"No, I said you are amazing because you are, and I don't want you to cry." He said putting his hands on either side of my neck. It wasn't in an aggressive way but affectionate.

Something flickered in his eyes that I couldn't recognize. He leaned in closer to me until I could feel his breath ghosting over my own. I knew what he wanted to do, and I didn't know if I wanted to stop him. All I could think about at that minute was kissing him, but when he leaned further I moved me head. He ended up kissing the corner of my mouth. He sighed and stood up straight again.

"Sorry. Just got caught up in the moment." He said. I felt terrible. Mostly because I wanted to kiss him and didn't, and I knew he probably have been wanting to do that for a while.

He was about to walk away, when I grabbed the front of his shirt. He looked at me for a second before I tugged on his shirt to pull him closer to me. I slammed our lips together, tangling my fingers into his long hair. He instantly reacted and grabbed my hips to pull me closer.

Our kiss was slow and passionate. I felt fireworks explode in my head, and this was definitely a good feeling. He ran his tongue across my bottom lip asking for access, which I denied. He growled lightly, and I smirked into the kiss. If he wanted it, he would have to work for it.

He caught my bottom lip in between his teeth and bit down. I gasped, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue in my mouth. He tasted exactly like chocolate ice cream. There was a short lived battle for dominance, which I quickly lost. He explored every cavern of my mouth, before my lungs started to burn.

I was the one to pull away. I tried to catch my breath, but it really just sounded like I was panting like a dog. Our foreheads were resting together, and Ronnie was grinning like an idiot. It was the same smile as in that picture on his dresser. It made my heart swell, and butterflies started to flap around in my stomach.

"I think your ice cream is melted." I whispered. He was close enough that I didn't have to use more of my breath to speak normally.

"Oh well, you taste better anyways." He said, and I swear I was redder than a tomato.