My Apartment

Ethan really made it. With the help of the GPS, I managed to locate the place where I first arrived, what I spontaneously called "home" an hour ago. Of course, I had to pretend to be very familiar with this place, so as not to arouse suspicion. Once I stepped inside the door, I found myself admiring Ethan's ability to handle things even more. The comfort level was off the charts, giving off a cozy vibe as if a family of three or four were living here. I wondered; would we ever have that kind of feeling in the future?

He cast a quick glance in my direction, almost as though he needed my consent as the current occupant before initiating the tour. In that moment, feeling thoroughly impressed by Ethan's organizational skills, I nodded with assurance, offering a casual wave of my hand to indicate that he could explore the premises at his own pace.

To his surprise, as he stepped into the first room, he caught sight of something unusual: a set of werewolf handcuffs. Due to my youth and occasional lapses during full moons, there were times when I might lose control. As a precaution, whenever I sensed an impending loss of control, I would lock myself away before transforming. However, such occurrences had only taken place within the confines of Lucas Castle.

Ethan's meticulous nature led him to worry about situations like this happening to me outside, so when he prepared the house for me, he didn't forget to include werewolf handcuffs, just in case. But now that he had seen them, could he possibly misunderstand and think I have some peculiar fetish or aberrant interest?

"This is..." 

"A toy, just something my classmates gave me as a joke, as a birthday gift." 

"Well, if I were to stay here, would it bother your classmates coming over?" 

"Not at all, worst-case scenario, we can always meet up elsewhere. What's more important than saving on rent, right?" 

"Ah... That makes sense."

I succeeded in diverting his attention, momentarily forgetting about the werewolf handcuffs. He continued his tour, not as meticulously as when he was searching for treasure in the locker room back then, but still thorough. He checked the water by turning on the faucet, tested the lights, inspected the refrigerator to ensure it was functional, and so on. It was evident that he had significant experience in renting accommodations. Despite my confidence, my most anxious moment arrived when he made his final decision after completing the house tour.

YES! He agreed! I was being sly, attempted once again to persuade him to stay the night, after all, it was nearly the next day in just an hour. The expression of concern on his face about inconveniencing me was simply adorable, but in order to convince him to stay, I had to sacrifice the pleasure of admiring his cute face. After numerous attempts at persuasion, he finally agreed to stay for the night. I promised him to accompany him to pick up his belongings and move them over in the next day.

"Ryan, how do you operate this water heater?"  He asked, his tone tinged with curiosity as he glanced at the unfamiliar appliance in the corner of the bathroom.  

Oh no, I was completely clueless about this ordinary water heater. I reluctantly admitted my incompetence, acknowledging my futile attempts to master the unfamiliar appliance. As I fumbled with it for what felt like an eternity, my confidence dwindled with each passing moment. "I'm not very skilled with these things either," I confessed, my tone tinged with a hint of embarrassment. "Usually, I just wait until after practice to shower at the gym," I added, attempting to justify my lack of knowledge with a feeble excuse while at the same time hiding the fact that I never used this thing before.

"That's okay, I'll just take a cold shower," he said, attempting to alleviate the situation.

"No, no, don't shower with cold water this late, it's not good to catch a chill. Just wait a moment for me," I insisted, feeling a sense of responsibility to ensure his comfort.

I couldn't understand why I couldn't handle such a simple task and failed. Despite my best efforts, I made a careless mistake, inadvertently triggering the switch, plunging both of us into an unexpected downpour. Standing there, gazing at his reflection in the mirror, my emotions surged within me. He stood beside me, completely drenched, every drop of water on his skin shimmering under the faint light, casting a captivating spell. Driven by endless desire, I abandoned the passive observation of his reflection; instead, I locked eyes with him, intending to memorize every contour of his exposed flesh. Perhaps sensing the intensity of desire and possessiveness in my gaze, he averted his eyes, cheeks flushed, emitting a palpable nervousness.

My intuition warned me against lingering too long, fearing that I might inadvertently scare off the person that had just agreed to share the apartment with me. Luckily, the hot water arrived just in time, allowing me to graciously step aside and offer him the space to continue his shower. When I heard his expression of gratitude, I let out a sigh of relief for almost revealing my inner thoughts. I knew I had to suppress my impulses for now; after all, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future...