Page 75 of Toxic

Josh took a few shots of us against the cityscape, occasionally glancing at the results on his camera’s screen, still with that slightly amused look on his face. Then he asked if we’d like to move over to a small cluster of rocks that appeared pretty picturesque, with some light purple moss growing on them—we agreed, though Soren still looked a bit grumpy.

The session lasted a bit longer there, and eventually, Soren started to loosen up and pose with more enthusiasm. At one point, as we were getting ready for another photo, I came up with an idea. When Josh raised the camera, I leaned in slightly and pressed my lips to Soren’s neck.

"Oh wow, that’s a hot shot!" Josh said enthusiastically, walking over to show us the result. The picture actually turned out pretty well—it was a close-up of our faces, my lips on his pale skin, Soren’s head tilted back slightly, eyes half-closed. It looked really sensual.

Soren reddened a bit, but he seemed to like the photo too. So we took a few more in a similar style. At one point, while Josh was snapping a series of shots, I let my lips graze Soren’s just for a split second, barely touching the surface. I instantly felt him stiffen up—he suddenly straightened and stepped back.

"Alright, I think we can wrap up the session," he said, his voice a bit gruff.

Josh nodded. "Sure, whatever works for you guys. Give me your contact info, and I’ll send you the pictures once I’ve worked on them a bit."

"Thanks a lot, Josh, that was a great idea. Here’s my Instagram profile, DM me."

"Okay, it was a pleasure."

After thanking and saying goodbye to Josh, the atmosphere remained somewhat tense. I could tell that this outing had crossed too far out of the comfort zone for Soren. I tried to keep the conversation going as we hiked back down, but he mostly responded with monosyllables. He didn’t mention the kiss—or almost-kiss—but I could tell I shouldn’t have done it because it threw him off somehow.

Unfortunately, the next week was marked by Soren being in a bit of a bad mood—constantly, but we still saw each other every day. In one way, nothing changed—we still had our sexual sessions; Soren didn’t seem to want to give that up, even though he was a bit sour and rather quiet.

I didn’t suggest anything for the next weekend, at least not any outdoor plans. Instead, I asked if he might want to listen to me play the violin. He made a weird face and hesitated—was that AGAIN too much in the boyfriend territory for him?

In the end, though, he slowly nodded without much enthusiasm.

So, on Saturday, I grabbed my violin, earning a quizzical look from Alvin and a raised eyebrow from Archer. They had long given up on commenting about my constant hanging out with Soren and spending so much time with him. And we were together from morning to night! Sometimes we even worked in his room, each on our own laptop. It was quiet, sure, but… being in his presence was enough for me, like I needed it to breathe.

So, I headed to Soren’s now very familiar room, and the moment I stepped in, I could feel his nerves almost filling thespace. He was acting stiff, sitting on the corner of his bed, and it made me nervous too.

"You know, I’m not as good as I used to be," I added, trying to explain myself. "Ever since my brother Storm broke the fingers on my left hand, things don’t always go the way they should."

Soren raised his eyebrows slightly. "Why did he do that?"

"Oh, you know, I had the illusion I could take on a purple alpha, especially when I got really pissed off." I chuckled.

"You must’ve been really pissed."

"You could say that. He slept with my ex."

Soren’s eyes widened, and for the first time in a week, I saw a bit of a change in him, a slight relaxation. "Seriously? That’s a low blow."

"Yeah. David and I broke up at the end of high school. We knew we were heading to different colleges, so it didn’t make sense to stay together. But Storm, who was a sophomore at the time, ran into David at the mall, and after some flirting… well, he slept with him a week later."

Soren muttered a curse under his breath. "So, I take it your relationship with Storm hasn’t been great for some time. That kind of thing doesn’t happen without a long history."

"Oh, definitely. Rain and I were always somehow ending up at odds with him, but he was able to fight off us both. So, I guess he got his revenge on me that way. I couldn’t just let it slide; it was a matter of honor. I was so angry that I actually managed to land a few punches, but he’s a purple alpha—those bastards weigh twice as much as normal people. When Storm finally had enough of my pathetic punches, he twisted my arm, and I just heard a crack. Two of my fingers were only good for a cast after that."

I waved my hand around a bit, and I could still feel some stiffness in the joints, even though it had been almost four years.

"When I was a kid, before my dad’s accident, he taught me a bit of violin. Not much, literally ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ level. But after he became disabled, I never picked it up again. So I’m pretty sure I won’t even notice any imperfections."

I sighed quietly and took the violin out of its case. "I’m kind of counting on that." My smile was rather bitter.

Even though I had warmed up a bit in my room, my nerves were still getting to me. Soren was watching me from under his eyelashes, and I hesitated.

"You know, we used to play a lot of music at home. We had these jam sessions. I often performed duets with Rain. He’d be on the banjo, and I’d be on the violin. This was one of the songs." My hands were shaking as I raised the bow. "Maybe you’ll recognize it—it’s a violin cover of a popular song from a thousand years ago."

Soren stayed silent, his lips pressed tightly together like he was in pain, and he was oddly hunched over.

I started playing slowly. The beginning was a bit unusual, but soon the melody became recognizable. I noticed Soren’s face show a hint of confusion, and he turned his gaze away from my fingers, which, surprisingly enough, were moving quite well across the strings today.

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