Chapter 160: The Thing She Did

"I came to retrieve my tunic."

The words hung in the air between them. For a moment, Sophia thought she’d misheard him. Of all the things he could have said, that wasn’t even in her top hundred.

Her brows pulled together. "Your... tunic?"

Orion leaned back in the chair, utterly composed, as though sneaking into her home at night was the most natural thing in the world. And he looked so relaxed like he owned the place. "That’s right."

She stared at him. "What do you mean, your tunic?"

"I mean exactly what I said," he replied, voice low. "You took mine when you ran from my house this morning. I’m here to retrieve it."

Sophia blinked once. Twice. Then the words actually sank in. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"What..." she began, then stopped, eyes widening. "I..."

But even before the words left her mouth, realization hit her first. The oversized shirt she’s been wearing when she snuck out of his home earlier this morning, at dawn, the one that had smelled like him,, the one that had hung too low over her shoulders and covered her down to her knees. She should have realized that it wasn’t her dress.

Her heart plummeted.

Oh gods.

Her mouth fell open from bothe the shock that she had escaped his home wearing his tunic and the fact that perhaps he had seen her making her great escape.

Mortification burned its way up her neck until her entire face was aflame. She buried her face in her hands, groaning softly. "I didn’t... I wasn’t... I didn’t even realize..."

Orion’s chuckle rolled through the room, "Of course you didn’t?"

Sophia dropped her hands just enough to glare at him, though her blush betrayed her. "Why didn’t you say something earlier?"

He rolled his eyes at that. "You do realize I tried to speak with you but avoided me right? You ran away at any chance you got when I was near and even if I had finally gotten to speak with you, would you have stayed still enough to listen?"

Sophia knew the answer to his question. She would have run away without looking back because that’s what she had been doing since this morning.

"No." She told him truthfully.

"Exactly."

Sophia huffed, exasperated. "Fine. You came for your tunic. I’ll get it." She turned to retrieve it, eager for the conversation to end, but his next words stopped her in her tracks.

"I came for something else too."

Her steps faltered. Slowly, she turned to look at him, her expression wary. "What?"

"The tunic can wait," he said, rising from the chair. The candlelight caught the lines of his face, sharpening them, deepening the shadows. "It’s not the main reason I’m here."

Sophia frowned, confused. "Then what is the main reason?"

Orion met her gaze. His expression was unreadable. It was calm, yes, but there was a strange weight beneath it too. Something she couldn’t place.

"You did something to me last night," he said simply.

Sophia blinked, startled. "I...what?"

He took a step closer, the movement slow, deliberate. "Something happened. When we were together."

Her mind went blank.

"Something?" she repeated dumbly.

"Yes." His tone stayed quiet, "Something I can’t seem to get rid of... though I don’t want to get rid of it."

She stared at him as if he had grown extra heads like the Trihydra. "What are you talking about?"

Orion’s lips curved faintly, though it wasn’t really a smile. "I can’t let you avoid me, Sophia."

Her confusion deepened. "Okay, that’s..." she blinked rapidly "...that’s not an explanation, Orion. That’s you being vague and weird. Are you drunk?"

"No."

"Then are you okay?" she asked, stepping closer, scanning his face like she expected to find a fever there. "Because you sound... not okay."

He huffed a laugh, low and amused, and shook his head. "You’re right. I’m not okay. I just told you that you did something to me that I can’t quite get rid of, Sophia. Obviously, I’m not fine."

Her mouth fell open, her words tangling on her tongue. "What...what does that even mean? Did I..." she hesitated, her mind racing "...did I hurt you? Because I don’t remember doing anything to hurt you when we were together and you were perfectly functional throughout."

That earned her a raised brow and a fleeting smirk. "Functional?"

"Don’t twist my words."

"I didn’t. I rather liked that one."

She groaned, dragging a hand through her hair. "I can’t deal with you right now."

"Oh, shorty. You can’t get rid of me that easily especially not after what you did. You are going to have to deal with me."

Before she could reply, Orion moved.

He turned his back to her as he began untying the laces at his throat.

"Orion," she warned.

He didn’t stop. The soft rustle of fabric reached her ears as he shrugged out of his tunic, the motion unhurried.

Her eyes widened. "Orion! What are you doing?"

"Showing you."

"Showing me what?"

He didn’t answer.

She yanked her eyes shut with a strangled sound. "Oh my gods..."

"Look," he said over his shoulder.

Her eyes flew open instinctively. "No!" she yelped, then immediately slapped her hands over her eyes, turning away from him.

Orion frowned slightly, hearing her movement. He turned around, the faintest edge of curiosity touching his expression. "Sophia?"

She didn’t answer.

"Are you ignoring me again?" he asked.

Still no reply.

He took a step forward, the boards creaking under his weight, and then froze because there she stood, facing away but with both hands firmly clamped over her eyes.

He blinked once. Then twice. He could not believe what he was seeing right now. Surely the gods were playing a trick on him.

For the first time that night, Orion looked genuinely surprised. His mouth parted, a low breath escaping before he found his voice again.

"Are you..." he began slowly, his tone caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief "...covering your eyes?"