The Book of Firsts

Thirty-Six

"I see the effort to keep you out of here fell through in short order."

Rin offered up that deceptive gentle smile. "This week’s challenge wasn’t one where they could gang up on me."

"I hear you were dropped into a snowdrift."

"And locked out the chalet. Some very helpful neighbours rescued me and filled me with hot chocolate until Kyou and Bran got over themselves."

"Was it worth it?"

"Absolutely."

I sat down, glad of the steaming tea since the day, while sunny, was not exactly warm.

"Do you revenge back now, or call it quits?"

"It’s rare we’ll keep going after one round. The last time we kept escalating, Bran and I ended up in a fist fight. We were only ten, and he was taller than me then, so I lost badly."

"Did Kyou goad you and watch?"

"Ha. No. Kyou likes his games light-hearted. When things get too serious, he’ll cut his losses and walk away. Or, on that particular occasion, be tremendously upset. We’ve all learned over the years not to take a joke too far."

I thought this over, sipping my tea.

"And will you leave Sirocco alone now?"

"So long as she stays away from me."

"Does she suspect you?"

His eyes narrowed with amusement. "She suspects Katerina, at least of posting that video. Bran’s double chose his filming position very carefully."

"Oh?" That made me smile. "I find Katerina the more annoying of that clique, so won’t waste my sympathy. How do you go about finding body doubles, Rin?"

"Acting agency casting call."

"If you told Sirocco you were behind it, that might be more effective than anything else at turning her off you."

"If she continues to make herself ridiculous, perhaps I will, even though it will cause some home drama for me. But I have been very blunt with Sirocco in the past, and it hasn’t discouraged her. Besides, it’s too entertaining watching her freezing out Katerina."

"I feel a little bad for them. But not enough for regrets." I finished my tea, frowning over the events of the last few months. "I’m more bothered that there’s no progress on the investigation into the attacks on you three."

"We’re waiting for another attack in order to narrow down our suspects."

"You don’t have any frontrunners?"

"A handful. Obnoxious as we can be, we couldn’t think of anyone who had a real, substantive reason to hurt us. So, we went through the list of people who weren’t eliminated by security cameras, and picked out people who had anything resembling a motive. Rivals. Poor losers. That kind of thing."

"Was there useful footage from the boathouse fire?"

"No-one went near for at least an hour beforehand, but since the police think that it was a device on a timer, that doesn’t tell us anything. The ability to obtain incendiaries and LSD is an additional factor in narrowing the list." He grimaced, and then picked up his teacup and pot and stood. "We’ve been told to leave it to the authorities, but I’m tired of double-checking everything for traps. Messing with Sirocco was only a secondary reason for our holiday switch."

For safety. I hadn’t even thought of that, and frowned as I followed Rin into the summer house. My own theories were limited, since I knew only a fraction of the students at Corascur, but I really didn’t enjoy the idea of Rin, Kyou or Bran walking into another pitfall.

Rin had obviously turned on the oil heater before making tea, and it had managed to cut the chill from the air. I sat down to warm my hands while he washed the tea set.

"Which one of you added this position? I had to look it up to even know what was involved."

"Kyou. He said we needed at least one that seemed difficult."

"It mainly looked awkward to me," I said.

"If it turns out to be uncomfortable, there are countless other things I can do to you," Rin said, with that gentle smile. "Come here, Cheshire. It’s been a month since I…kissed you."

I went willingly, walking straight in close so that we were immediately pressed together, and wrapping my arms around his neck. While Bran would always and ever have that certain something when it came to kissing, that by no means meant I didn’t enjoy kissing Rin. Up close and slowly shedding clothes was one of my favourite parts of these weekly encounters. And I liked that Rin wasn’t in an impatient mood, so we could ignore complicated positions in favour of sitting on the couch and tasting each other’s exposed skin.

"Your breathing changes when you’re getting toward your limits," I said, some time later. "That hint of rasp."

"We all have our little vocal idiosyncrasies," he said, lightly tickling me. "Are you ready to try this?"

"Almost keen."

He chuckled, then picked up one of the blankets and spread it over the coffee table. "In theory you could lie on the floor, but the height difference seemed a little extreme to me. Let’s see how this goes."

I lay down obediently, and Rin kneeled by the coffee table, moving a little closer as I hooked my legs around his waist, and then sliding his hands under my upper thighs and supporting me as I raised up so only my back and shoulders were on the table. Since his hands were occupied, I reached down to help guide him into me, working to relax myself.

"Lucky you’re so flexible, Cheshire," Rin said, looking down at me.

"I don’t know why this is called butterfly," I said. "Feels more like wheelbarrow to me."

He narrowed his eyes, and dug his fingers into the flesh of my thighs. "Don’t try to make me laugh."

"Or…?" I asked, curling my lips provocatively.

He answered me, causing me to skid slightly on the coffee table. I hastily tightened my legs around his waist.

"Okay," I said, eyes widening as he upped his tempo. "I can see some…features."

"I can see some features, too," he replied, with an exaggerated leer.

"I feel this is not a very attractive angle for me," I said, gasping a little as I struggled to maintain my even tone. It might be awkward, but it felt good.

"Almost gives you a double chin," he said. "Play with your breasts to distract me."

I considered him, lifted one hand toward my chest, and then dropped it back.

"Simon Says is a different challenge."

I paid for that. It was worth it.