“Oh,” Ralph said, squeezing Kayzer a bit. “Well, sounds like we’ll just have to make the best of the time we have then, huh?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Kayzer replied, though it still wasn’t a great option. Kayzer wanted to keep Ralph. He didn’t really want to settle down with just anyone, especially not after what had happened last night. He really liked Ralph, and he didn’t think some dragon that his parents picked out for him would be anywhere near as good as Ralph was.
“I’m sorry it can’t work out. I would keep you all to myself if I could,” Ralph said, giving Kayzer a kiss. “I’m sure your parents will pick out someone who is great for you, though. I don’t want you to get all hung up over this, okay?”
“Well, I’ll have a hundred years to get over you by that time i suppose,” Kayzer said, though still wasn’t exactly happy about it.
“Oh wow, then you’re pretty young for a dragon, I guess? Still, by that time I’ll be dead and gone. Humans only live for about seventy years or so on average, at least where I’m from,” Ralph said. Dragons sure did live a long time. . .
“Then we should be able to be together until then… it’s not fair,” Kayzer said, as he knew he would regret it if he didn’t experience these things. Once he went back home he wouldn’t see the human world again, and possibly never see Ralph again. He would want to though. He wanted to get to know him more and spend more time with him, it just wasn’t fair that they shouldn’t see each other, especially since Ralph wasn’t even going to live for very long, or not long compared to a dragon anyway.
“I know. But, I don’t know what we could do or say really. I mean, it’s not like I can just come in and change your entire tribe’s way of life,” Ralph said, holding Kayzer tightly. “I’m sorry. Maybe it would just be better for you to just forget about me when you get to your tribe? I don’t want to make things hard on you.”
Things already were hard now. Kayzer didn’t want to forget, he didn’t want to feel all torn up inside like he did now. But, it seemed Ralph thought that was the best option and was standing by it, so Kayzer wouldn’t argue.
“I suppose we better just get moving then, no point hanging around,” Kayzer said, though no tone of joy was present in his voice.
Ralph could very plainly tell that Kayzer wasn’t happy, but he didn’t know what he could do, so he just agreed. “Yes, of course. That’s for the best,” Ralph said, getting up and getting dressed, then handing Kayzer his clothes. Kayzer took his clothes and said nothing more. The good feeling he had woken up with had now completely vanished, like a good dream being washed away by reality. Kayzer’s head was just full of sorrowful thoughts, he didn’t even know if there was much point savouring their time together now, since it just seemed like it wouldn’t mean anything once the week had passed.
“Kayzer, come on now, don’t be like that,” Ralph said softly, putting his hand on Kayzer’s shoulder and rubbing it a little bit. “I know the whole thing is kind of sucky, but let’s not leave on sour terms, okay?”
“But why did you make me feel this way if you were never going to see me again after this? Or is that just a human thing? Take what you want and then move on, cause yous don’t live very long.” Kayzer asked, though he wasn’t sure if Ralph even understood. Dragon’s tended to mate for life, or at least the ones in his clan did. They would only move on if their partner had died, and sex was merely for procreation. So, this one night stand was something that Kayzer just couldn’t get his head around. He just didn’t understand why they would do it if it was just going to mean nothing.
Ralph felt like a bit of a dick right now, and he wasn’t sure what to say. He had taken advantage of an innocent, and relatively young person. Maybe not young by his standards, but certainly young by dragon standards, so he felt terrible. “Kayzer, I didn’t mean it to hurt you. I just thought it would be fun for both of us. I mean, I didn’t try to ‘just take’ from you or anything, I asked you if you were okay with it, and you said yes.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just different for me than it is for you, but it doesn’t matter now. Let’s just get moving,” Kayzer said, finally getting up off the sleeping bag and just rolling it up so he could put it away and they could leave the cave behind them. Kayzer didn’t want to just forget about everything that had happened, but he knew if he kept thinking about it this whole thing would just hurt more. He hated himself for becoming so quickly attached, but he just had to cope as best as he could for now.
“All right, let’s,” Ralph replied, grabbing the backpack he brought and putting the leftover meat from last night into a container so they could eat on the way. It would be another long and hard day, and he had no idea what Kayzer would do come tomorrow, but he wasn’t going to push anything else on him.
The terrain on the journey was getting a bit more rough, and it was an exhausting trek, but Ralph kept pace so that they covered fifteen miles, though at that point, he wanted to just settle down and find a place to sleep.
“Should we look for another cave, or just stick to a clearing in the woods?” Ralph asked as he said down on a rock for a bit of rest.
“A cave would be safer,” Kayzer replied, speaking for the first time in quite awhile. He’d hardly spoken on the journey today, unless it was to answer a question or state a direction. His mood was pretty unchanged from the morning, but he figured there was little point in changing it. It wouldn’t be long before he reached the mountains, and then it would be as though none of this had ever happened. It would all just turn into a distant memory. Kayzer didn’t want that, but he didn’t have much of a choice.
“All right. Let’s take a little break, though. I’m beat,” Ralph said, taking a drink from the canteen and just breathing deeply afterwards. This was pretty physically taxing, but he had to keep making good ground, because he didn’t like leaving his mom by herself. Not to mention, the sooner they got Kayzer home, the sooner he was safe.
“I'll go look for a cave then,” Kayzer replied, just trying to keep his distance. He didn't mind walking more, sure his feet were sore but he could manage it.
“If you don’t mind, go ahead,” Ralph said. He just figured that Kayzer had more endurance, what with him being a dragon, so he wouldn’t fight it. After all the walking they’d done, he was happy that Kayzer volunteered to find a place for them to sleep. Kayzer left without another word and explored the area until he found a suitable place to make camp for the night.
It took about twenty minutes but he found a decent location and came back to Ralph. He was starting to feel pretty tired now, but they needed to grab firewood and then they could cook dinner and get to sleep.
“I found a place, it’s about ten minutes walk. We can collect firewood along the way,
“Sounds good,” Ralph replied, hopping to his feet and following Kayzer as he led that way back to the cave they would be staying for the night. On the way, Ralph picked up a few smaller logs and light kindling, but he kept that to a minimum of what they would need, because he didn’t have the energy to exert any more force that what was strictly necessary. He barely had enough energy for that alone.
Once they were in the cave, Ralph set up a fire pit and got everything ready for a fire, but he didn't start it get. He wanted to make sure that they didn't waste any wood, so they would go hunting first.
“Let's get ourselves meat before we start the fire, kay?” Ralph said.
“Is there nothing left from yesterday’s hunt?” Kayzer asked as he put down the wood he collected and looked over at Ralph. He wasn’t sure if they had used all the meat for the lunch or not.
“There's some, but we ate most of it at lunch and breakfast, along with what we ate on the trail. If you want, we could finish it off, but we'll have to hunt in the morning,” Ralph said. It might be the easier option just to defer the hunting until morning, considering they were both wrecked. Ralph didn't mind either way.
“I’ll hunt in the morning. I need some rest. We can cook whatever we
have left, and have some of the berries. That will do until sunrise,” Kayzer said, sitting down by the firepit and getting the fire going with his rocks. He was too weak to turn into a dragon for a simple fire, so this would do for now.
“All right. That sounds good,” Ralph replied, and proceeded to get all of their stores food out and skewer it so they could put it over the fire. He took care of the cooking while letting Kayzer take a break. He certainly needed it, and cooking was easy enough anyways.
Once he was done, he brought the food to Kayzer and sat down, starting to eat as well. “This tastes so good,” he remarked. After a day of nonstop travel, sitting down. For dinner was much appreciated. Kayzer didn’t say anything to response to that, as he wasn’t really up for talking. He just ate the food he was given, munching it down and finishing it off before going over to the fire and making a place for him to sleep. To start off with, he brushed the rocks and twigs away from the ground then curled up by the fire, resting his head against a moss covered rock and trying to relax as his muscles enjoyed their well deserved rest.
“What's wrong, Kay?” Ralph asked when he saw Kayzer making a bed for himself. That blew Ralph away a bit, though perhaps his naivety was to blame for that. Kayzer didn't mince words when he said how upset their one night stand had made them, but he wished that he could at least keep Kayzer from being antisocial and just being mad at him.
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just going to sleep,” Kayzer replied, as neutrally as he could manage. It would hurt too much to sleep too close to Ralph. Already Kayzer felt enough heartbreak, and if he just continued to try and get along with Ralph, and feel how he did before, it would only be more painful to let him go. didn’t want to feel anymore pain, not like that.
“I mean, you didn't say anything during the whole meal and you just go and make yourself a bit without another word. I don't want you to be mad at me, okay?” Ralph said softly.
“I’m not mad. I’m just sad. I don’t like feeling like this,” Kayzer said, as he wasn’t mad at all. He was just upset that he had grown so fond of someone, and they were just going to leave his life as though they had never been in it to start with. It wasn’t any easy thing for someone like Kayzer to cope with.
“I'm sorry. I wish that I knew what to do. I really don't though,” he said. He felt terribly that he had made Kayzer feel like this. He didn't mean any of this to happen from just a simple one night stand.
“You don’t have to do anything, Ralph. It’s just easier if we don’t get along, it means we can just forget and move on, just like you wanted,” Kayzer said, as that was how he understood the situation, and also understood it was the best outcome as well seeing as there was just no way they could be together. It didnt seem like a big deal to Ralph anyway. He and the other humans probably did this kind of stuff all the time. What did it matter? He could just find someone new when he went back to his human clan, and Kayzer would just have to forget.
“But I don't just want to move on with my life and never think about you again. I really love spending this time with you, and even if we can't be together together, I want to remember you as a friend,” Ralph said softly, trying to get Kayzer to see that they didn't have to start early hating one another like this.
Kayzer did listen to what Ralph had to say, and if he was honest with himself, he really didn’t know how to respond. He would have wanted to have stayed Ralph’s friend, but he didn’t know if he could stop caring for him like he did now. He wanted to stop caring, so it wouldn’t hurt, but there was only so much he could do about that.
“We won’t really get to see each other though. How can we even be friends?”
“Well, friends in memory. I don’t want us to dislike each other or anything. I want to have good memories of the time I’ve spent with you. I don’t want to think that I just spent a week making you absolutely miserable,” Ralph said. “Maybe I’m being selfish, though? I want us to get along, but if you dont want that, then I can’t force it,” he said with a sigh. Ralph didn’t know why this was such a big deal to Kayzer if he was honest, because he just thought that it was good fun, but Kayzer didn’t take it that way.
“I don’t want us to dislike each other either. I care about you, but I feel like it’s just going to hurt more if I keep caring about you,” Kayzer explained, as he wasn’t used to these types of emotions or feelings. He was completely innocent up until their one night stand, though you could probably still call him innocent now.
Ralph hadn’t thought about that, and he felt bad for putting Kayzer through this sort of emotional turmoil. He hadn’t meant to. It wasn’t his intention, but now they just had to find some way to persevere. Kayzer couldn’t help but sigh a little though, as he wasn’t sure if Ralph knew where he was coming from, so he would explain just so they were on the same page.
“I don’t know how it works for humans, but we don’t just have sex for fun. It’s purely procreational, at least for my clan that’s how it works. When we pair, we usually pair for life, so this has just confused me. I am willing to put this behind me, as it’s probably best my parents don’t find out about it anyway, but I’d like it if I could maybe come down and see you. You said you lived on a farm. It wouldn’t be difficult for me to fly down there and stay for a little while before flying back home. I could even help with the work if you needed it. I’d just like to keep seeing you, is that too much to ask?”
Ralph listened to what Kayzer had to say, but honestly it kind of blew him away that Kayzer’s kind only had sex for the purposes of procreation. How much willpower did a species have to have for that?
Regardless of what Ralph thought about this oddity of the dragon clan that Kayzer came from, he did feel terrible for putting the poor guy through so much emotional turmoil. He didn't deserve that. “As long as you're careful, and no one sees you as a dragon you could come over to visit. I'll tell my ma something about who you are, and you can stay as long as you like. I don't want to be responsible for making your whole world topsy turvey,” Ralph said. His denying Kayzer would get him nowhere, and not serve any end. Though, he worried for Kayzer’s safety, he wouldn't be so cruel as to say no to his only request. Granted, Kayzer was actually surprised that Ralph said yes. It certainly perked him up and grabbed his attention as he looked over at his friend, rendered speechless for a moment.
“You-You mean it?” Kayzer asked, stuttering a little as he was hit with a spot of anticipation for the answer to come. He was honestly expecting Ralph to come up with an excuse, some sort of weird human thing where he would just stop Kayzer from seeing him, but it seemed he was actually willing to make something work between him. Maybe Ralph did care?
“Of course. As long as you’re careful not to be caught by anyone, I don’t have any problems with you coming to visit. I’m just concerned something will happen to you and you’ll end up in another carnival like you did with Barnabus. But if that happens, I’ll just have to save you again,” Ralph said with a smile. To see how happy the permission to see him made Kayzer filled Ralph’s heart with a warm and fuzzy feeling.
“I’ll be careful! I promise!” Kayzer replied, then soon got off his feet and went over to Ralph. He was completely unable to stop smiling as he just wrapped his arms around his friend and refused to let go. “I’m sorry for being such a grump with you today, I didn’t mean anything bad by it. We’re still good, aren’t we?”
Ralph smiled, and when Kayzer came over to him, he just wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him tightly to show there were no hard feelings. “Of course we’re still good. I’m happy as long as you are,” he replied, and clung fast to Kayzer so he couldn’t go anywhere just yet. Ralph wanted to hold him for a little while after spending the entire day not speaking to him at all nearly.
“Thank you,” Kayzer whispered softly, sitting himself down as he snuggled into Ralph properly, resting his head against the man’s shoulder and just closing his eyes to savour the moment. Well, at least now he didn’t have to worry about s
leeping on a cold hard floor, but he wasn’t too sure where he stood with Ralph. Would they still be engaging in the fun activities they explored yesterday? Or were they simply going to just be friends, without such physical contact? Maybe it was a matter left for the morning, as they were both exhausted from their travels.
“Shall we get some sleep now?”
“We can get to sleep if you want to,” Ralph said, running his fingers through Kayzer’s wild hair gently and playing with those long locks. In his mind, he was wondering where they would go from here. He was just as unsure as Kayzer was about where he should take their relationship. Would it be better for them to just be friends, or should they try instead to rekindle their relationship? That was just something that Ralph couldn’t answer for himself.
There was just a yawn as Kayzer’s initial response. He was too tired for a long winded discussion, sleep was definitely the most important thing on his to do list. They just needed to set up the sleeping bag and go. So, Kayzer gave Ralph one last squeeze before parting from him and heading to the ruksack. He sifted through the items and got out the sleeping bag, unwrapping it and laying it out on the clear floor before stripping down and getting in, snuggling up inside as he turned his attention to Ralph.
“You going to join me?”
Ralph smiled at that and walked over to the sleeping bag, then he got himself cozy. Tomorrow they could talk about what their relationship was going to be like. Tonight, they sleep.
“Night Kay,” Ralph said softly, and wrapped his arm around him without even giving it a second thought. Kayzer was certainly glad to have the cuddle. He was quick to just snuggle into Ralph’s chest and just close his eyes, embracing the warmth from the man’s body and just cherishing his presence as he slowly drifted to sleep.
AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN FICTION: BWWM ROMANCE: Billionaire Baby Daddy (Billionaire Secret Baby Pregnancy Romance) (Multicultural & Interracial Romance Short Stories) Page 128