The Monster & The Conspiracy (BWWM)

17. The Ghost's Location

C H A P T E R
S E V E N T E E N

Julian's eyes fluttered open when he felt Lin tightening her arms around his torso. He smiled and pulled her closer. Julian never thought it was possible for him to sleep as well as he had. After everything he had been through, sleep never came easy. But the woman in his arms had brought him sleep. Lin was truly making his life worth living. He was becoming more compassionate, he was laughing more and he valued those he cared for.

Of course he still had a long way to go. Everyone knew that. Despite how vulnerable he was becoming ever since he made the deal with Lin, he wouldn't change his decision for the world. He had kissed Lin twice now. He didn't know what they were. He didn't want to place a title on their relationship, but the thought of her with another man made his blood boil.

Julian gently untangled himself from Lin's warmth. He sat up on her queen sized bed and reached over for his phone. It was 5 am. Lin and Charlie had to be awake in an hour's time. He looked down at Lin's nightdress clad body then pulled up the blanket to cover her up.

An hour gave him just enough time to shower, make breakfast and attempt to pack Charles' lunchbox. He got out off the blankets then made his way to Lin's bathroom. He looked at Lin's soaps and shampoos. Most of her hair products looked homemade like her jar of aloe vera, a spray of rice water and another jar of honey. Trust Lin to systematically label all of them. Julian groaned, of course all her soaps were feminine. He didn't want to smell like a woman.

He rummaged through her soap basket, he found green bar soap. That was a definite 'no'. That soap smelled and it was usually used for laundry. It was a last resort for people who ran out of bathing soap. He finally found a yellow bar of Dettol soap. It would have to do.

After the shower, Julian dried off, lathered on some of Charles' Nivea lotion. It was a relief that his son sometimes lived here, at least it meant proper lotion. Julian didn't have much to work with on the clothes department seeing as how he hadn't planned on sleeping over at Lin's house. Julian had started a tradition of coming over once a week to sleep at Lin's house. Of course they didn't engage in intercourse for Julian restrained himself. He wanted his first time with Lin to be special.

He grabbed his white shirt and put it on, making sure to leave the first two buttons unbuttoned.  Then his slacks went on next. He tucked the crisp white shirt into his pants. He put on his socks then slipped on his black dress shoes.

Julian made his way to the kitchen. He got out a toaster, a pan, a kettle, a teapot and some mince. He was going to try and make some breakfast for Lin and Charles.

He wasn't particularly good at cooking anything. Oh who was he kidding? Julian sucked at cooking. He always had people cooking for him, besides he never had time to cook what with travelling, expeditioning and dodging death.

But he was going to try.

°°••♤••°°

He failed.

Dismally.

Julian lay on the messy kitchen floor, sprawled and gazing up at the ceiling. What was he thinking? Trying to make such an elaborate meal of eggs and toast?! That was way too hard for him.

Julian had dropped two eggs on the tiled floors. When he had bent over to clean the mess up, he had knocked over the bottle of cooking oil that he had carelessly left opened, causing it to empty it's slippery contents onto the floor. Julian had attempted to stop the cooking oil from spilling only to slip on the puddle and fall right into it. His bottom had further squashed the eggs.