Her golden eyes seemed to glow after his remark, not in the way that he liked.
She dragged him by his arm, crossing the street into an empty alley, and pushed him against the cold, stone wall. He recalled they had this moment before.
"That night on the river," she said. "We promised each other one thing. I promised that I wouldn't hold you back from throwing yourself into danger, which is what you do basically every day. And you promised me that I could do whatever I want with you."
"I don't remember saying that—"
"Michael!" she said his name louder. "There's only one part of that promise being honored. You're unfair, this entire challenge you made up from nowhere is unfair."
"I said once I win then you can—"
"That's only once you win! What do I have to do once you win? Watch you get hurt, watch you bleed, and watch you complain by the way I touch you!"
"That's…okay, but, running your hands down my pants doesn't mean—"
"You're missing the point, stupid!" she squeezed his cheeks together. "I don't get to have anything for myself while you get to run around happily without me crying your ear!"
He didn't know what to say. It was like his throat was being poked by thorns the harder he tried to come up with something.
She released the grip on his face. "You know what, Michael? We're both liars. I thought to myself and believed that you wouldn't even last a day without kissing me. And when that first night passed when you stopped, I thought you were joking."
He felt his eyes drift off.
"Then the next day passed, and then the next. You stopped kissing me. And I started to realize…you're serious about this, aren't you? This stupid challenge is all for a kiss, I can't believe it. Why won't you kiss me, Michael? Do you not love me anymore?"
"What—Evelyn," he stammered. "I do love you!"
"Then, kiss me. Right here and right now."
"I…" he gritted his teeth. "I can't."
"Why? Because you don't love me?"
"What about you?" he snapped back. "Why don't you kiss me yourself?"
She scoffed. "What are you talking about?"
"You know you're stronger than me, you know you can just kiss me yourself. What's stopping you from pushing my hands down and doing it on your own?"
"Because I'm the one gracious enough to let you have your stupid challenge, Michael, I'm honoring our promise. I'm letting you do whatever you want. But what you're doing is the complete opposite!"
He gulped. How was it that every time they would argue, she was always the one in the right?
"So, what's it going to be," she leaned her face closer. "Are you going to choose your stupid challenge over me, over these lives in this town?"
"Okay, fine!" Michael was turning his face away. "You win."
She widely grinned, a face from her that he never knew was possible.
"But we're not going to kiss—"
Evelyn pulled her hand back into a fist.
"Not on the lips!" he yelped in fear. "We're not going to kiss on the lips!"
"You're saying…I can kiss you anywhere but on the lips?"
He reluctantly nodded, dropping his arms from his face.
"Then what happens when you win from your stupid challenge? What was even the point?"
"I—can't kiss you on the lips. Once I win my own fight, then I can."
She groaned. "You're so stupid, Michael."
"Sorry."
She leaned her face closer again, to the point where he could feel her soft breaths on his cheek. It was actually spiraling his heartbeat out of control. Why was he so nervous? He's kissed her so many times before, how could something trivial like this feel so suspenseful?
As she pressed her lips on his cheeks and gave him a kiss, that swelling feeling on his chest washed away.
He slightly turned to look at her. She was also visibly nervous with the kiss, almost just as much as him. It was actually ironic after hearing all the times she's moaned about how much she wanted to kiss him, the both of them had cold feet.
Evelyn fixed her beautiful golden eyes into him. She looked unsure about what to do next. Michael was supposed to inch his face away, he was supposed to flail his arms around, and remind her about his challenge.
But he didn't move. He stood still, almost entranced into her eyes. Michael gulped and laughed nervously, trying to break the awkward tension between the two. Why was it even awkward? This was the least of the things they've done together.
He reached for her hand. "Are you happy now?"
She couldn't stop looking into his eyes.
"Evelyn? What are you—woah, hey!"
She kissed him again on the side of his face, throwing herself onto him. She greedily pecked him over and over, giggling with the pent up pleasure that he limited from her. There wasn't even a second that she spared for him to think.
He couldn't stop her, no matter how many times his voice tried to protest. He was being submerged in kisses from all around his face. How could she be so accurate in avoiding his lips? She was swaying his head, pulling along his shirt, tousling through his hair, and kissing him in spots that were left untouched like she was marking her territory.
Michael was beginning to become her territory.
After a long three minutes, Michael walked out of that alley like a completely different person. His shirt was wrinkled by how hard she was holding onto him, his hair was a mess, and his face was definitely coated with her saliva.
Evelyn popped beside him, expectedly cheerful and smug. She held his hand again, ready to venture to wherever he wanted to go.
Michael smiled at her with the dignity he had left.
***
They ended up spending the rest of the day hopping around the town. And before he knew it, the day turned into night. Half of his mind was still in a daze from what happened in that alley but he still thoroughly enjoyed his time with Evelyn outside.
Michael sat along a fountain, measuring the weight of his coin pouch and the damage of having a magical girlfriend with the stomach size of a mountain. How could she possibly feel hungry again every hour after the next? Maybe if she stayed as a sword, his allowance from quests would have its own time to breathe.
Evelyn leaned over and flung the cold water around. Michael shivered when some of it touched his skin. The air was already getting cold, judging they were starting to approach the end of the year.
There weren't many commoners walking around anymore so she had the freedom to mess around. Along the way, they encountered some town guards but the two didn't look suspicious enough to be pursued. But if a few more hours passed into the night, a curfew would be enforced. Michael had a little bit more time to spend alone with her.
She dried her hands on his shirt, making him jolt again with a shiver.
He tugged his shirt back. "Do you have any place else in mind?"
"I was going to ask you that."
He thought about the stores and vendors they've visited during their time in the market square. Alaris wasn't necessarily a tourist attraction because that title was mainly aligned with Aldoria. Michael just showed Evelyn around, finding and spotting the essentials of every town.
Everything seemed ordinary to him. From commoners coming home from work, stray beggars sleeping off in the corner of the streets, and hustling thieves being apprehended by the guards. He almost forgot they were sent here as a quest, not for another opportunity to settle in this town. Even then, he always liked to pretend that the two of them lived like normal humans.
There was one instance when Evelyn broke a few products while browsing through a store, due to her obsession of touching things, and they were chased off by the owner with a broom. Michael didn't pay for the accident because he was dragged away by her. The first day of this town he was already a criminal.
Even after that, he felt like she wasn't satisfied despite the amount of money he spent for her cravings. There was one place in particular that they haven't visited yet. Michael turned his gaze above, to looming sharp towers of the cathedral in the distance.
It was strangely visible in the night, almost as if the building was enticing him throughout the entire day. He wasn't religious but it always intrigued him when someone else would devote their life to worship. He also wondered about the interior of that holy place.
Evelyn followed his eyes. "You want to go inside there?"
"I…don't think it's open this late at night."
"What if we break inside?"
He rubbed his face. "Actually, how about we just head back to the inn? I'm feeling a little bit tired."
"Tired of what? Being around me?"
"I never said that."
She giggled, leaning beside him. "We can go wherever you want, Michael, a promise is a promise."
He grimaced with the memory in that alley. "Then, that still means you can help us with the quest, right?"
She shrugged with a questionable grin. "Sure."