48 Chapter 48

When I finally regained some feeling in my legs, I headed for the dining room and kitchen. I used up the dining room table, all the counter space, and a lot of the floor when I pulled all the supplies out of the storage space I had put them into. While I had stored everything, I hadn't really looked at any of it. This was the first time seeing what they had bought. I was surprised in both good and bad ways. They included the normal things you have to have in case we get cut off from the rest of the world; water, food, clothes, and toilet paper. Unfortunately most of the food was of the junk variety.

I was hardly an outdoor enthusiast, but even I knew that seven boxes of Little Debbie cakes weren't what they should have been focusing on.

"Those are for Bryan." Heather said grabbing the boxes of cakes and pushing to the side of the piles.

I just shook my head unsure what to say.

"It's not that bad." Bill commented looking everything over. "We have enough food to get us through a couple weeks. By then we should have a better idea of what is going to happen."

I nodded despite not agreeing. I was thinking I needed to make a store run of my own. While having a bunch of normal food in the house was good, I personally wanted to stock up on stuff that will last for a while. With my spatial storage we would have any issues with space, and it wouldn't hurt to have more supplies on hand. Just in case.

It took awhile but everything found a place in either a cabinet, the pantry, or in the stacked against the wall in the study. With that all finally done Karen gave me a meaningful glance.

"Shouldn't we awaken everyone?" I asked as Courtney, Grace, and Megan started to set up ingredients for dinner. I really wanted to grab Karen and take her down stairs, but I also knew that we had to prepare for the future too. This was a moment I truly hated having to act like a responsible adult.

Everyone seemed to pause what they were doing then looked from me to Micheal then to Bill.

"No." Caly answered when no one else spoke. "Dinner first, then we can awaken everyone before bed. That will give their bodies plenty of time to adjust to the changes."

"Adjust to the changes?" Tracy asked from where she was sitting at the dining table with her phone in hand. She sounded a bit worried, but I wasn't sure if that was from the idea her body would need to adjust, or the fact that she still hadn't gotten a hold of her husband or brother in law.

"When you first awaken your body will go through a number of changes to make it more suitable for channeling mana." Caly explained. "For some it is quick and hardly noticeable, for others it can take hours, so it's best if you do it when you have somewhere safe and comfortable."

Well that explained why I was out all day and Grace was up and about in ten minutes. Not really fair, but what was?

Karen brushed past me while running her hand across my back. When I looked at her she gave me a sweet smile then turned and headed out of the room. I looked around, but no one was paying any attention to us anymore. So I did what any straight intelligent man would do. I followed the pretty girl.

Caly caught up to me at the top of the stairs. "Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" she asked me a bit heatedly.

I thought for just a moment then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close before kissing her full on the lips. I took a few moments to really enjoy the taste of her, which reminded me a bit of a combination of strawberries and raspberries.

Caly melted into my arms as she returned the kiss enthusiastically. Her hands wrapped around my neck and held on tightly. I slipped my own hands down to cup her shapely ass and pull her tighter against me. Caly moaned into my mouth as our tongues danced together.

After several enjoyable minutes Caly was forced to come up for air. When she finally let me go she had a bit of a dazed expression on her face, but it only lasted for a moment, to be replaced by a big silly smile. "Good boy, there seems to be hope for you yet." she chided a bit breathlessly.

I gave her a smirk then gave her another quick peck to her cheek before I turned to head down the stairs. It was only as I was looking down the stairs did I realize the absurdity of the situation. I had just given Caly a passionate kiss right before heading down to have sex with Karen. I turned to look back at Caly unsure how she felt about all of this.

Caly giggled then leaned forward and gave my cheek a quick peck. "Go, have fun, I don't mind. We can talk about it later tonight if it makes you feel better."

That just made me even more confused, but I wasn't going to argue with her.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs I swept my gaze over the game room just to be sure, but I didn't see Karen. I hadn't expected to, I just wanted to be sure. I headed for the bedroom I had claimed earlier, despite not having stepped foot inside.

The door was unlocked, and I found a pile of Karen's clothes on the bed. I quickly closed and locked the door behind me. I could hear water running in the bathroom so I quickly stripped out of my shirt then dropped my pants before heading toward the bathroom door. For a moment I wondered if I was overthinking Karen's interest in me, but then I remembered how she teased me on the couch. I grabbed the handle only to discover that it was locked, that stumped me for a moment and made me doubt myself again.

"Who is it?" Karen called out from inside.

"Me." I replied quickly and maybe a bit desperately but I won't admit that.

"Me?" she asked with a playful giggle that settled my nerves immediately. "Oh, you must mean the slow poke."

I snorted but before I could decide between pleading for her to open the door and just breaking it down, the door unlocked and opened to reveal Karen in a very skimpy string bikini.

While the bathroom had already begun to steam up, Karen was still dry. "Waiting for me?" I asked with a smile as I enjoyed the view. Karen was a slim woman with an even slimmer waist which she maintained with her love of dancing. Her skin was lightly tanned with every inch of her being flawlessly smooth. While she wasn't the largest of the girls around me, she still had an impressive bust which was either a large B or a small C. They were pert and firm as they stood proudly on her chest under the thin and unsupportive bikini top. Her hips flared out a little from her waist giving her some pleasant curves but not enough to describe her as having an hourglass figure. The only real question I had then was, where the hell had she kept that swimsuit?

Karen smiled back. "What kept you?" she asked.

I didn't want to ruin the mood but I wasn't going to lie to her either. "Caly wanted the kiss she earned." I replied.

Karen's smile faded a bit. I stepped into the bathroom and gathered her into my arms while closing the door behind me with my foot. Then I reached back and locked it.

"You alright?" I asked her seriously. While I wanted nothing more than to peel the bikini off of her and finally consummate this relationship she had been teasing me with. I didn't want her to feel forced. That would only sour things later on.

Karen nodded then gave me a smile and kissed me gently. "I'm fine." she told me then put a finger over my lips as I was about to protest. "Really Daryl. Caly and I have talked. While I don't like her as much as I do Megan, she is a part of your life now and she will fight tooth and nail to stay by your side."

I frowned, we hadn't even known each other for a day yet. How could she want to stay with me so bad.

"Stop it Daryl. You can ask her later. Right now is our time." she told me.

I nodded but I still hesitated, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't alright with all of this.

Karen chuckled then slipped out of my arms and walked over to the bathtub. It was one of those big soaker tubs which she had been filling with water. She bent over to turn off the water giving me a fantastic view of her shapely ass. When she stood back up and turned back to me she had a very serious expression on her face before she marched back to me. "Daryl Wallous, you are going to sweep me up into your arms and take me to bed where you are going to make passionate love to me, then we will soak in that tub and relax together." she told me sternly.

Well when she says it like that. I smiled down at her then reached out to unlock the door before I swept her up into my arms.

"I love you Karen." I told her as I opened the door.

"I love you too Daryl, but we both need this right here and now. I don't care how many other girls want to put a claim on you, right now you are mine and mine alone." Karen told me.

I gently laid her on the bed before I crawled up over her my lips seeking out hers. I braced my arms so I wasn't putting my weight on her as our tongues sparred. She tasted like cool mint which made me smile against her lips as I imagined her popping a breath mint into her mouth before I came down.

Karen didn't seem to like the fact that I had been briefly distracted. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist to pull me down onto her before she shifted her lips to start kissing up to my ear. "Make love to me Daryl. I need you inside of me."

With great difficulty I paused and pulled back so I could look into her eyes. She frowned up at me and whimpered a bit as she ground up against me clearly intent on getting what she wanted.

"Last chance Karen." I told her very seriously.

Karen frowned up at me and even looked a bit angry but I didn't let her say anything. "I love you, I want you, but if we do this that is it. You are mine and I will not let you go."

Karen blinked up at me. She seemed surprised for a moment then she smiled up at me. "Then we better get to it." she told me.

I nodded then leaned back down to claim her lips. She had made her choice and would have to live with it from now on.

I might have seemed wishy washy and too concerned about unimportant things. I was sure that others would think that I should just nut up and go for it. She had clearly made her interest known. The only problem was Karen wasn't just another girl, she was my dream girl, and my best friend. I didn't believe in the fairytale happily ever after. If there was any chance that she would back out later, then I couldn't take that chance. The hole she would leave in my heart would be far too big and while I would heal and eventually get over it, but I would never be able to trust another woman the same way.

Karen moaned against my lips which sent a shiver down my spine. I pushed all the other thoughts out of my mind, it was time to claim her as mine.