Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf
Innocent Devil's Harem | Chapter 11-1: Moving Forward with the Proposal
After the repeated interruptions, I wanted to continue from where Gabriella and I had left off, but there was still the issue of her possibly being part-succubus to consider. And, unfortunately, when she tried calling her mom, the woman didn’t pick up. Thus, when Gabriella asked what I wanted to do, I decided I’d just try to cool off and we could go with our plan to buy her a ring.
Once we were both dressed, with Gabriella wearing her long-sleeve shirt to hide the bruising that was still present on her body, I waited on her to gulp down a glass of water before speaking up again.
“Ready?”
“Yep!” she said cheerfully, only to quickly dial down her enthusiasm. “Sorry, I’ll keep it under control. Maybe what we should do is go into the store together, but then after I give you a few ideas, I can wait in the car while you buy it. That way I don’t get too excited in the store.”
I considered that for a moment. “Yeah, that could work. And then, just try to keep your mind off it until we get back here.”
Her face immediately lit up again in a wide grin. “Okay!” She then gave me an apologetic look.
I laughed, my tone playful. “Well, I guess it’s up to me to do my best to keep my thoughts focused, since it’s obvious that restraining yourself might be impossible.”
Gabriella stuck her tongue out at me, only to look at me apologetically for the third time in a row.
I chuckled as she headed back to her small bedroom to grab what she needed for the night, just in case we decided not to come back here for some reason. Then, once she was ready, we headed back out to the car.
Once we were on the road, she brought up another subject, seeming hesitant.
“So just wondering…” Her voice trailed off.
I glanced at her, trying to understand her expression. “Yeah?” I prompted.
She grimaced. “Well, I was just thinking about that girl again – the one at school. What would you do if she did find out about your secret and blackmailed you? Like, tried to make you date her?”
I gave her a confused look for a second, before focusing on the road, wondering why this had come up. Either way, I supposed I knew my answer, but it would be nice to hear hers first. “Tell me what you would do, if someone blackmailed you with my secret, and then I’ll share what I’d do.”
She shrugged. “Oh, well I admit I would want to protect you, but I wouldn’t subject myself to that. Sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear.”
I looked at her in shock. “You’re kidding, right? Not want to hear? Of course I wouldn’t want you to let yourself be blackmailed like that. My secret’s not that important, even if that meant I had the government after me or something. You’re much more valuable to me. So please don’t ever let anyone make you do something you don’t want to, just to protect me.”
“Same goes for you,” she agreed adamantly. “So then, what would you do?”
I sighed. “Obviously, I’d kidnap you and run away.”
She laughed. “I’d really like that,” she said cheerfully. “Being kidnapped by you,” she added. She then groaned. “Ugh, the things I want to say! But I can’t right now.”
I chuckled as well. “Yeah, if you’re wanting to tease me, then it should probably wait. We’re already here.”
Rather than go to the mall, where there would still be lots of people, especially since it was a Friday night, I’d driven to a nearby jewelry store, with us having passed it on the way to her apartment. There were only three cars in the parking lot, which was encouraging.
Once we parked, Gabriella unexpectedly turned off her enthusiasm entirely, and began acting like she was getting ready to participate in some kind of business transaction – her demeaner was very professional.
I tried not to laugh again as we got out, with me holding the entrance door open for her. “Oh, one rule first,” I whispered quickly, prompting her to pause. “Don’t worry about the prices. Just focus on what you like. Once you’ve given me a few ideas, I’ll worry about how much I want to spend. Deal?”
She nodded firmly, her face twitching as she tried to conceal her resurfacing excitement. “Deal,” she replied simply.
Unsurprisingly, there were a few couples already in the store, so we were able to slip in and begin browsing without being approached by a salesperson right away. However, once an older man in a suit and tie with snow-white hair asked if we needed help, we decided to get Gabriella’s finger sized and then continued looking around at the options.
It was fun watching her emerald eyes glisten at the various rings, even as her expression remained mostly neutral, but really what I was focused on was her scent and pulse, both of which seemed like more accurate indications of what she liked most, rather than what she said.
She definitely seemed to be a big fan of marquis diamonds, but she got really excited when we came across a ring that was full of tiny diamonds instead of one single large one. Granted, it did have a bigger diamond too, just not as big as some of the others, falling more in a medium range.
The band curled around the centerpiece, with a flat circular diamond residing in the middle, surrounded by a ton of smaller ones. I suspected that she loved the way it reflected the light, with all the tiny ones making it exceptionally flashy compared to most.
And when she didn’t react as strongly to any of the others, I decided that was probably the one I would get her. However, I still waited for her to begin pointing out her top seven picks, thankful that the one I wanted to buy was one of her choices. It was also priced in about the middle range of the ones she liked, though that didn’t matter so much to me.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Does that give you a good idea?” she finally asked after she was finished pointing them all out.
I nodded, not wanting to tell her I already knew exactly which one I would get. “Yep. Ready to wait in the car?”
She did her best to hide a grin, before nodding and leaving the store. Needless to say, the man who’d asked if we needed help seemed a little perplexed, having been watching us the whole time, but stood straighter when I focused on him.
“I’m ready to buy one,” I announced.
The older man’s expression brightened. “Absolutely. And which one are we interested in?”
I pointed to the appropriate ring, prompting him to pull it out and then take it back to be resized to match Gabriella’s finger. While that was done by someone else, he then came back out to discuss warranties and insurance plans, which I fully intended on getting. Only a few minutes later and another guy dressed more casually, wearing nice slacks and a button-up shirt, came out with the ring.
The older man in the suit took a second to examine it, before addressing me again.
“Alright then,” he said pleasantly. “I just need your driver’s license and your method of payment.”
I pulled out my wallet and handed him both, using my debit card since I didn’t own a credit card.
He walked over to a computer with both of them and began completing the transaction. I was glad he didn’t say anything about my age, though I was pretty sure I could buy a ring even if I was still seventeen – I just wouldn’t have been able to get married yet, at least not without my court-assigned guardian’s permission, who was thankfully not in my life anymore.
However, just the thought made my heart sink briefly, as I thought of my housemate again, and how I would have really liked to marry her…
A part of me felt like taking this step was completely destroying the fantasy of being with Serenity, but I also knew I couldn’t put my life on hold in hopes of something that wouldn’t happen. And despite what Gabriella said about how my older friend reacted to finding out I wanted to get married, I also wasn’t about to try to confront her about it and pull out the truth.
Because what if Gabriella was wrong about that?
It was just another way I might lose my best friend forever, and felt too risky, simply because the consequence of her reacting poorly was too massive of a loss for me to handle.
It would almost be like someone giving you the choice to inherit millions, or die instead. If the decision was anything over ninety percent in favor of the money, then I suspected most people would do it, but no way in hell would I ever risk my life for money, even if the possibility of dying was less than one percent.
Because what about when you got unlucky and ended up on the wrong side of the gamble?
When the guy was done, he brought over my cards and ring with a big grin on his face. “There you are,” he said, handing me my cards first, and then putting the boxed ring in a bag with the insurance documentation and receipt. “I’m sure she’ll love it. Very happy for you both. She seems like a very nice young woman.”
“Thanks,” I replied sincerely, feeling my chest gray slightly just at the thought of the significance of this purchase.
When I got back outside, I discovered Gabriella waiting with a neutral expression, but it was obvious from her scent that she was barely containing her excitement. She didn’t say anything when I slid into the driver’s seat and closed the door, but her body was radiating bursts of pure joy and her heart was racing.
I grinned as I slipped the bag between my seat and the door, far out of her reach, prompting her to look slightly disappointed. Her reaction made me laugh as I put the car in gear and began backing up.
“What?” I said playfully. “Did you really think I’d let you see it yet?”
“I’m trying to be good, I promise,” she said just as playfully.
I grinned again as we began driving down the road. My mind was racing now, wondering how I might make this more romantic, since I fully intended on proposing once we got back to her apartment. Honestly, I felt kind of lame for asking her there, instead of someplace more special, but knew there weren’t many options that didn’t involve the possibility of me being seen.
Plus, there was always the ‘after the proposal’ part, which I was trying really hard not to think about.
Although, Gabriella still needed to get ahold of her mom…
Ah, screw it.
We’d already slept together twice, and I was clearly fine. Not to mention, obviously Gabriella’s parents slept together too, even if her mom also did stuff with other men, so it must be okay.
Plus, even if Gabriella was truly part-succubus, she was only a sixteenth, compared to her mom being an eighth. That was actually a pretty significant difference. Not to mention, Gabriella said that her mom acted like she expected her daughter to be really into men like she was, and yet that obviously wasn’t the case.
Or, at the very least, she wasn’t crazy about doing every man she saw.
So yeah, screw it.
We could have some fun after I proposed, and worry about those details later.
Unexpectedly, I caught sight of a small grocery store and decided to pull in, knowing there were certain types of fruit in season at this time of the year, making them more prolific for purchase.
Gabriella gave me a confused look. “Am I going in?” she wondered.
“Nope,” I said simply. “I can’t surprise you if you come in with me.” I grinned again. “I’ll leave the keys with you, but I’m putting the ring in the trunk. Promise to be good?” I teased.
She nodded eagerly, her red hair bouncing slightly, her emerald eyes sparkling again. “I promise!”
After climbing out and putting the ring in the trunk, I headed inside to search for ideas, with it only taking me a few minutes to formulate a more solid plan. I knew exactly what I wanted to get, and within another ten minutes, I was checking out. I then stored my bags in the trunk, to ensure she didn’t catch a glimpse of what I had, and climbed back into the driver’s seat to return to her place.
I wasn’t sure she could be any more excited, but it was obvious she was thrilled. It was also clear she wanted to ask for hints, but overall she kept her promise to be good.
Parking near her apartment entrance, I instructed her to go wait in her room, so I could slip everything inside and get things prepared while she waited.
Slipping into the kitchen with everything, I began working to prepare my surprise for her.
It was nice to finally be back behind a locked door and out of sight, allowing me to finally relax and speak more freely.
“Are you excited?” I teased from the kitchen, listening to her change her clothing in the other room.
“Umm, yeah!” she called out. “You have no idea!”
“Oh, I think I do, actually,” I replied playfully. “Heightened senses, remember?”
She paused, before responding, her tone suddenly hesitant as she changed subjects. “Hey, just wondering, but what’s your favorite color?”
I grinned, opening up a package of chocolate, now that the water on the stove was beginning to boil, another pot set within it. “Do you mean my favorite color, in general? Or my favorite color on you?”
She giggled. “How about both?”
I thought about it for a few seconds, breaking up the chocolate into smaller chunks so it would melt faster. Focusing on her appliances, which were all black, including the stove top, microwave, and refrigerator, I wondered how the color would look on her, suspecting it would really make her fair skin, red hair, and emerald eyes pop.
“Well, my favorite color is red, ironically.” I paused. “Although, I don’t think I would prefer you in red clothing. Honestly, I’m not sure what I would like most on you, since I’ve only seen a couple of outfits so far. Black would always be a safe choice, but I’m sure there are other colors I would like too.” I paused again. “The purple pajamas you wore before were really nice.”
“Why ironically?” Gabriella wondered, referring to my comment about my favorite color.
I pursed my lips as I stared down at the chocolate, suddenly realizing why I’d said that. It was because of my recent discovery that I might need to drink blood in certain situations. However, I didn’t want to ruin the mood by bringing the subject up, so I decided on a different excuse – one that wasn’t technically a lie.
“Well, because your hair is red. Like, actually red, instead of orange like a lot of redheads.” I sighed. “That might be one of the reasons I find you so attractive, other than the fact that you’re drop-dead gorgeous and smell intoxicating.”
She laughed at that, though her heart began racing at the same time. It made me wonder if I’d embarrassed her a little, in a good way.
Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf