Arlo James

See what it's like to be a vulture's lunch

It was possessive of him, he knew, to tug his girlfriend closer as they lingered within that heated water. Yet, he could hardly deny that simple want for closeness that seemed to have overtaken him in the wake of that....showdown with his parents. Maybe it was a vampire thing. Hell, if he knew. Arlo simply....wanted her to be closer. The very idea that at least one person in the world tonight still seemed to like him in the wake of his parents rejection was somehow meaningful, even if he hardly dared to voice it. There was just something comforting in her presence, the feel of her, the scent of her. Arlo simply wanting only more of her tonight even if he knew at just which points his Little Bear was likely to stop him. Still, he could hardly deny that utter lack of clothing was tempting even if, really, he knew that here and now was hardly exactly the right time or place for anything more intimate then that making out they often patrook in on the sofa. He let one arm drape loosely around her waist all the same. Arlo sighing softly in the embrace of that water. The vampire mostly sure he could probably stay in here forever if he was allowed. No one ever valued how good warmth really was until it was gone. If there was any part of his humanity he missed it was surely that. Being warm. That water an artificial sort of heat in a way and yet for just a few moments it almost made him feel alive again. Yet- even that water and Abby could hardly stop those thoughts that still turned around and around within his mind. Arlo admitting, at last, he was glad Abby had grabbed that extra box of stuff. After all, it wasn't like he could ever go back.

That sudden question on groupies was nothing short of unexpected. His Little Bear, it seemed, equally as concerned with that evening and yet her thoughts lingered in an entirely different place to Arlo's own. God, his fucking sister. Explaining groupies to Abby had hardly been his plan for the night, hell, he'd never anticipated he'd ever have to explain them. The vampire well aware of just how his words seemed to fumble as he made some attempt to explain those band fans in a way his girlfriend might understand and yet, it seemed, that explanation hadn't quite achieved exactly what he'd desired it too. Abigail seeming to fear she was at risk of becoming a groupie by sleeping with him. His Little Bear so apparently of the belief that sleeping with anyone who happened to be in a band, by default, made them a groupie. Great. He'd made it worse. Where was Sebastian when he needed him!? Arlo paused once more, his features frowning slightly in some attempt to....better consider how exactly to answer that question. His second, slightly less fumbling attempt, seeming to prompt a near prolonged silence from the girl. Was that...good? Had he somehow made it worse? Did she....not know that some people had sex with more than one person at once? Christ. She wasn't going to ask him about that was she? He'd struggled trying to explain male anatomy let alone exactly how those sorts of things worked with, well, more than one person involved. Was it possible for vampires to sweat? He was mostly sure he was sweating. God.

That soft, sudden 'oh' Abigail offered seemed almost as loud as the silence that had come before it. Arlo waiting for the rest of the words he was sure were coming, his own head tilted slightly to better see her face in some attempt to workout exactly what she was thinking. That question, when it finally came, not exactly what he'd been expecting either. Did he like having groupies? Was that.....a trick question? Maybe this was one of those relationship questions where the answer was....really important. It felt like it was. Arlo's own lips parted before abruptly closing once more. The vampire biting down on those words before they could find there way free off his throat. Did he like having groupies. Right. This was.....a difficult question. Abby staring at him expectantly now. That question turning within his thoughts. Was there a right answer to that? God, what if he said the wrong thing? What if she misunderstood what he said to begin with? Relationships, sometimes, we're way harder then he remembered and yet, really, this was the first relationship he ever even really remembered. He remained silent for several minutes longer, Arlo, for once, so considering those words before he offered them. Maybe, in this, he should just be, well, honest? The vampire sighing softly once more.

"Honestly, Ab's? I didn't, not really. I mean, yeah the sex was alright, at least I think it was, I don't remember a lot of it- but the thing is it.....didn't mean anything. There was no...emotion connected to it if that makes sense. It was just something to do back then and I'm not exactly proud of it. So no, I didn't really enjoy it. For once in my life I'd kinda like to have sex with someone I actually liked, someone I felt something for, hell, I'd really like to do it at least once and have it mean something. I hear it's pretty good when that happens."

That simper of sorts found his lips then, that crooked grin tugging at his features. Maybe it wasn't the answer Abby had been expecting and yet, it was the truth. That sort of sex was, well, just sex really. Arlo entirely sure he'd never actually managed it with anyone he genuinely cared about- not the way he cared about Abby at least. That sort of intimacy with Abby would be...a first for him too. At least in some ways. How good it must be to do that sort of thing with someone you loved. It was his own efforts then to assure her that, despite the rumours, vampires were more than capable of performing just as well (if not better he'd argue and Seb would surely agree) then any living or mortal man when it came to the bedroom. Abigail assuring him near bluntly that such a thing was apparently obvious. Dorian and Sebastian so evidently proof of that. Huh. She was right really. They were married after all. They obviously had a sex-life and yet Arlo had hardly considered that other couple in his attempts at that explanation. His girlfriend's near blunt assurance bringing that grin to his lips once more if only for how ridiculous that moment was, that laughter bubbling readily from his lips then before that talk shifted to room service. If they were staying in a hotel for the weekend they might as well enjoy it right? Rich people probably ate breakfast in bed all the time didn't they? He was pretty sure. Abby readily agreeing to that idea all the same as he drew her ever so slightly closer.

It was almost taunting really, the scent of her so close to him. Arlo veritably flirting with that predatory side of himself as he pressed his lips to her cheek, the vampire letting those soft touches flutter to her jaw before trailing down her neck- only to prompt that near giggling sensation from his girlfriend in turn. Arlo unable to stop that smile finding his own features. She was just so....innocent! It was sweet really. That very sweetness perhaps soothing those more predatory sides to himself and tugging forward that far more potent humanity. Arlo ceasing those soft kisses only to rest his head on her shoulder, the man entirely aware she was likely to stop him going any further all the same. Arlo unwilling to make her uncomfortable in any sense and yet....maybe it was time they had that very talk about, well, that. Couples had those sorts of talks right? He was allowed to ask wasn't he? It wasn't like he was trying to get lucky in a bar after all. She was his girlfriend. Sex.....kinda seemed an important thing. Arlo finding himself anxious all over again as he so finally broached that topic they had never truly spoken about and yet veritably danced around for weeks. Abby's cheeks flushing red almost instantly. That colour as appealing to his vampiric side as it was to his more masculine one. Still- he hadn't expected her to appear so...anxious. Did she not want to have sex with him....ever? Her features appearing almost....confused before she finally offered that response. Arlo's eye rising near instantly. The vampire blinking towards her several more times in some effort to process those words.

Pure for her husband? Did people still....say stuff like that? He was going to have to see this town she grew up in now. This....hallwayless, mountain surrounded, hotel-without-hot tubs, virgin creating town. Marriage. She wanted to wait until marriage. That's what she meant right? He hadn't known that was still a thing. Did she really intend to wait that long? Were they still allowed to do....other stuff so long as they didnt go all the way? Did she think God or someone else would smite her with a lightning bolt if they did it before marriage? Arlo suddenly finding he had far more questions then he'd anticipated. That soft voice from the woman within his arms then readily saw his own thoughts forgotten, Arlo glancing downward as she uttered quietly that sex with him, one day, might be nice. The very implication off all those things unsaid seeming to strike him in that moment. That meant wanted to...marry him one day right? It was a striking realization. All of it. Arlo struggling for several more moments to comprehend all those things. He was hardly ready to get married, at least not yet and yet....somehow....the thought of it was not....terrifying. At least not as terrifying as it might have been before. That she thought he might, one day, be worth marrying was, well, more faith in him then maybe anyone had ever had before. It meant something that someone might have that much belief in him. The first hint of a simper tugging at his lips then. Dating without sex wasn't exactly going to be....easy but maybe.....maybe it could work? Arlo pushing those thoughts aside for now all the same.

"I didn't know people still waited until marriage, its not bad or anything I mean, its just a bit different really, but if that's something you feel strongly about then, well, then we'll wait, until your ready."

He'd been willing to wait all the same when he'd simply believed she was nervous about it all. Maybe he'd just be waiting a bit longer then he'd anticipated. Arlo offering that reassuring grin towards her all the same. This....was not going to be easy and yet how strange it was that for someone he cared so much about he was wholly willing to at least try. Weren't good things always worth waiting for? That sudden, almost teasing grin finding his lips then. Arlo shifting slightly away from Abby then to float into the center of that hot tub, that grin still in place.

"I don't know all the rules on the waiting thing but- am i allowed to try and convince you, occasionally, to change your mind? I mean, do you know what you could have here, babe?"

Arlo pushed easily back from the center of the hot tub then to rest on that far side and opposite Abby. The vampire lifting himself out of the water just enough to seat himself on the edge of the tub, Arlo lifting one leg from the water, the other left hanging within the tub before he leaned easily backward, his hands resting on the tiles around the tub, in just such a way as to make it appear as if he were almost casually lounging- with every toned muscle off his chest and stomach on display. The vampire running his wet fingers through his hair to smooth it backward in a far more groomed manner then it normally was. That playfulness clear on his features.

"Are you feeling anything right now, because I just feel like I really need to stretch."

Arlo readily lifted one arm then, the man faking that veritable need to stretch as he so purposefully flexed that muscle. The vampire unable to keep that laughter back then as he so eyed his girlfriend, a single eye raising playfully all the same. Arlo entirely content to chase away but any of that anxiousness she'd so clearly felt over admitting those very....restrictions on their relationship. Arlo proceeding to gesture to himself once more then in those entirely teasing tones, including those rather sodden swim shorts that he was certain did not add to his attractiveness in that moment.

"One day, all this could be yours."