Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 17

"Sure," Gabriella agreed, garnering Serenity's attention again. "And I'm fine with taking the time to work things out. We probably won't completely agree on how we'd like things to be, so I think it's important to keep an open mind on ideas and compromise where we're willing."

Unexpectedly, I recalled that Gabriella actually had a bit of a crush on my housemate, suddenly wondering if that was what she was referring to. It wasn't necessarily that I'd forgotten, but I'd been so focused on Serenity possibly changing her mind that I hadn't even thought about it. However, the idea was affecting me now.

"Shit," I hissed, gray already peeking out of my shirt collar.

"Kai?" Serenity said in alarm. "What's wrong?"

"Different subject please," I managed through my teeth, trying to keep my mind focused on parking.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gabriella exclaimed sincerely. "Umm, umm, fuzzy pickles?"

I put the car in park, turning around to look at her in confusion. "What?"

She shrugged. "Fuzzy pickles. It's random. Did it help?"

I sighed heavily, sitting forward again, trying to focus on the task at hand. "Umm, yeah, I guess it did."

"Cool," Gabriella said cheerfully. "Then let's go in and find out what's in the box! Err, or the vault, or whatever its in."

"It's a deposit box," Serenity clarified, only to focus on me hesitantly. "But Kai...if you don't want to say right now, that's fine. But I really don't understand what just happened. What did she say? Or was it something I said?"

I shook my head. "Later," I replied simply, deciding to pop my door open and climb out. "Sorry," I added over the top, after she climbed out and stood up too, shouldering her black leather purse.

She gave me a reassuring smile. "It's fine, Kai. I'm just glad I know now." She sighed. "And I'll do most of the talking once we're inside. You might just need to sign for it."

I nodded in agreement. "Thanks," I said sincerely, giving Gabriella a small smile as well when she got out.

As we started walking, Serenity took the lead, allowing me to walk side-by-side with my girlfriend, technically fiancé, prompting her to speak to me quietly.

"Hey, just FYI, I think my senses are getting a little stronger. I can hear things I've never noticed before, and you also smell amazing. Way more amazing than any cologne I've ever smelt."

I nodded. "Probably not the best subject right now," I whispered.

"Of course. Sorry. Just figured you should know."

I gave her a small smile and a nod, focusing on Serenity as she held the door open for us. I then held the next door open for the two of them, waiting until they were both through to follow.

Gabriella stopped just on the inside, while Serenity went right on in to get in line. However, it wasn't until I focused on the other people in the room that I realized we suddenly had a problem, my nose tipping me off before my eyes actually focused on the issue.

There was only one teller helping those in the building, with another woman at the window taking care of those in the drive-thru, though the line was still short.

Only three people in total.

The problem was, I recognized one of them.

A very attractive blonde middle-aged woman was standing in line, waiting on a frustrated older man to finish being helped, and just behind her was an even more beautiful blonde girl who I knew by scent alone, having sat beside her every day at lunch for the last two years, never mind the few classes we had together where she often sat in the same row as me, often right behind me.

Avery was extremely thin, with a lean athletic build, minus her surprisingly busty chest, which was about a size bigger than Serenity's C-cup breasts, likely a D-cup. Her fitted gray t-shirt left little to the imagination, her slim shoulder blades clearly visible between her bra straps, never mind the tight skinny jeans that hugged her ass and thighs like a glove.

It was obvious she got her figure from her mother, who was similarly very thin, despite her above average size up top, being just a tad bit bustier than her daughter.

And just like I noticed her, she also noticed me right away, her eyes drawn to the entrance due to the door's chime.

"Oh, hey Kai!" Avery called out cheerfully, her bright blue eyes suddenly excited as she waved at me.

I'd always tried to avoid examining her too closely, keeping my eyes off her body as much as possible, for fear that I might transform if I liked what I saw. However, having sex with Gabriella must have made me less cautious. Either that, or it was our conversation about whether or not the girl that sat with me at lunch was attractive, because I forgot to be careful.

I found myself scanning over her busty chest, ridiculously thin waist, and slim juicy thighs before I realized what I was doing, quickly focusing on her bright blue eyes, which unfortunately weren't oblivious to my gaze, given that her eyes seemed a little wide in surprise.

After all, I'd never paid her much attention before, aside from when I had to.

Giving a half-hearted wave, I replied. "Hey Avery," I said simply, trying to keep my tone normal. However, when Gabriella peeked over my shoulder, I suddenly realized why seeing her gave me pause.

Because my fiancé couldn't afford to get jealous right now -- not without potentially exposing that she wasn't normal anymore.

Not wanting to seem awkward, but knowing there was no avoiding it, I swiftly turned around to speak in a low voice to Gabriella. "You might want to wait in the car," I whispered. "We can't risk you getting upset."

She straightened slightly in response, quickly putting two-and-two together. "Wait, that's her?" she whispered in surprise. "I thought you said you weren't sure if she's pretty?" she continued in disbelief, her tone becoming a little sarcastic. "Kind of hard to not be sure about that."

"Because I can't focus on that kind of stuff in public," I reminded her. "Definitely not at school. And she doesn't have even a hundredth of your scent," I added. "No one does."

Gabriella nodded slowly. "Well, I'll be fine. You have to put up with guys gawking at me, the least I can do is put up with some hot chick who has a thing for you."

I hesitated briefly, before inclining my chin, knowing we'd talked for too long. Serenity had stopped about halfway and was waiting uncertainly, as if she wasn't sure if she should officially get in line or not. She was just turning more toward us when I turned around and continued walking casually, giving her a reassuring smile.

Serenity hesitated until I reached her, before turning to get in line.

Unsurprisingly, not only did Avery look confused, but her mom was eyeing us too, considering my delayed hello quickly turned into hushed whispers. Wanting to try to dispel the awkwardness, I spoke up again, intending on coming up with an excuse, followed by introductions.

"Sorry about that," I said directly to Avery. "Seeing you reminded me of some homework I forgot I had to do. I was just mentioning it to my girlfriend, since it will probably mess with our plans for tomorrow night."

Avery's expression instantly dropped at the word 'girlfriend,' failing miserably to hide the devastation it caused her.

It was bad enough that it made me sincerely feel horrible, prompting me to quickly try to move the conversation along, gesturing to my housemate. "This is Serenity..." I began, only to hesitate.

Shit, Avery really wasn't handling this well. It was like I'd shattered her world.

Why in the hell was she even so attached to me? Seriously?

She was looking like she just found out her entire family died or something crazy like that. Like, her expression was almost worse than Serenity's last night, when she found out that Gabriella and I had slept together.

I cleared my throat, hoping to do anything to appease her some, focusing on Serenity. "This is Avery, my friend from school. The one I normally eat lunch with."

Thankfully, Serenity immediately picked up on the undertones of the situation, even though I'd only mentioned her a couple of times at most. "Oh! Of course! Avery, it's finally nice to put a face with a name. And wow, you're so pretty." She paused. "And who is this with you? Your older sister?"

Avery's mom laughed at that, introducing herself as Michelle -- Avery's mom -- the person I knew she was.

Although, when Serenity apologized, the woman commented that people made that mistake all the time. It took me a second to realize that the reason why I was so confident that the youthful blonde woman was Avery's mom was because I knew my classmate didn't have any siblings, and I also knew that her mom was in her mid-forties.

I supposed it was hard not to learn a few things about her, just from being around when she socialized with others.

It was obvious Avery's mom was trying to help dispel the awkwardness too, because she immediately became super chatty with Serenity, more than happy to do all the talking for our little group of five.

"So you're a police officer, aren't you?" Michelle asked, revealing that Avery must treasure every little piece of information she could get from me, since I'd only mentioned that one time -- two years ago. And it also indicated that she likely talked about me at home more frequently than I would have initially thought.

"Detective," Serenity corrected her, beginning to share a little about her job.

I stopped listening pretty quickly though, because a well-dressed guy came in then, the scent of his hormones rising as he approached to get in line. Knowing Gabriella was kind of hidden behind me, and very visible to this man, I stepped to the side and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a brief hug, before slipping behind her. She was obviously really confused that I was showing any kind of affection in public, especially under these circumstances, considering the gesture didn't go unnoticed by Avery who was kind of angled away now. However, one look at my expression tipped her off.

That, and her seeing the guy in the corner of her vision as he walked up.

Certainly, there was nothing I could do about the guy's gawking, but after our bad experience in the mall, I wasn't wanting to take the chance of this man getting too close to Gabriella, pretending like he didn't notice he was almost touching her.

And even though I didn't look at him at all, since I could hear and smell him, he seemed to pick up on the slight defensiveness in my posture, because I began smelling faint agitation as well. It only lasted a few seconds though.

He had a great view of Serenity, Avery, and her mom, all of them hot enough to be models.

How in the hell had I ended up surrounded by such attractive women anyway?

Just luck?

I mean, it obviously had to be luck with Serenity, but now I was wondering if my hypnotic eyes had anything to do with Avery's attraction toward me, despite the fact she'd never seen me transformed. Because she was objectively the hottest girl in school, even if she didn't hang out with what was considered to be the 'popular' crowd.

Like, she was in track instead of being something like a cheerleader, though I wasn't sure how she ran with those huge tits -- probably a really tight sports bra. And she'd also refused any advances to date guys who might have otherwise propelled her to the pinnacle of popularity.

Popularity for high school, at least.

I was well aware that no one gave a shit about that kind of thing in the real world -- outside of a school setting. Unless someone was choosing a career as a politician, musician, or actress, no one gave a fuck about something like popularity.

And as far as I could tell, Avery knew that too, not seeming to care about how popular she was, even though she undoubtedly had a shit ton of friends. Or at least had a shit ton of people who wanted to be her friend, minus most of the cheerleaders and the girls who thought they were the hottest.

Really, they were the snobbiest and most shallow.

Thankfully, we didn't have to wait much longer before the older guy was finally satisfied, the teller looking relieved to have him go. However, when Michelle realized it was her turn, Avery didn't budge, seeming to finally work up the nerve to turn more fully toward Serenity and Gabriella, a pleasant smile on her face.

The guy behind me was still shamelessly looking them all over, but I did my best to ignore him, staring at the wall so that it seemed like I wasn't engaged in the conversation.

"So," Avery began, her tone sounding more cheerful. "I'm not sure I caught your name?"

"Gabriella," she replied politely. "And I think Kai forgot to introduce me," she added, briefly giving me a chastising look over her shoulder, though I suspected it was for show.

"It's nice to meet you," Avery continued, sounding sincere. "What high school do you go to? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Even if I didn't already know my classmate was a genuinely nice person, it was obvious from her tone, expression, and overall demeanor that she was being genuine. She'd always been like that, always wanting to make others feel welcome.

Honestly, I was certain there wasn't a mean bone in her thin body.

Granted, she didn't necessarily go out of her way usually, like she did with me, but when forced into an unpleasant situation, like if a group of cheerleaders tried teasing her, she was always nice. Although, in this particular situation, she didn't have to talk to us. She could have just gone up to the counter with her mom...

Which made me suspect that her obvious obsession with me, and curiosity about my life, were pressing her onward.

To get any opportunity to be near me, even if that meant socializing with my girlfriend.

Shit, what would she think if she realized Gabriella was actually my fiancé?

Gabriella had hesitated briefly, before responding, actually seeming a little timid. Which surprised me, even though I knew she'd previously claimed to struggle being confident around strangers. So then, I supposed I was seeing a new side of her.

She cleared her throat after a second. "Umm, well, I'm actually not in high school. I graduated two years ago."

Avery's blue eyes widened in shock, her expression instantly dropping. "Oh. Then..." She seemed to be struggling to continue. "Are you in...college? Like a sophomore or junior? Or something?"

Damn, I hadn't even considered that Gabriella was old enough to be a sophomore in college. It kind of made her feel older than two years for some reason. Maybe because I still had the perception that college girls were a lot older than me, even if I was old enough to be starting college myself.

Gabriella quickly shook her head. "No, I have a cosmetology license. I work at a nail salon."

Avery regained her composure some, perking up a little. "Oh, which one?" she wondered, sounding interested now.

Normally, I wouldn't have cared too much if Gabriella shared, but the guy behind me had slowly drifted more to the side, giving him a better view of all the women. And the last thing I needed was for him to learn where my fiancé worked and decide to stop by.

Call it paranoid, but I had reason to be.

Gently, I rested my fingertips in the middle of Gabriella's shoulder blades, as if I was just going to rub her back a little, prompting her to stop midsentence as she began with, "Oh, over on--"

Avery immediately noticed, focusing up at me with wide eyes, though I kind of wondered if the expression was due to the fact that I was finally making eye contact with her again.

I gave her an apologetic look. "I'll tell you about it at lunch on Monday. It looks like your mom is done."

And thankfully, she was just about done, not seeming to have needed much of the teller's time, already accepting what looked like a deposit slip receipt from the woman. Avery continued to hold my gaze for a couple of seconds too long, before slowly nodding. She didn't even bother verifying that her mom was really done, seeming to trust that I was being honest with her.

"Okay," she whispered, only to clear her throat as she focused on Gabriella and then Serenity. "Umm, it was very nice meeting you both."

"Nice meeting you too," Serenity agreed cheerfully. "Hope you have a nice day."

"You too," Avery replied, giving her a small smile. She then gave Gabriella another nod before turning around, just in time for her mom to do the same.

"Ready, sweetie?" Michelle wondered, her tone slightly sympathetic.

Avery only nodded, looking almost like a deer in headlight's now.

Serenity gave the mom one last wave when they made eye contact, before giving her focus to the teller as she stepped up. Gabriella followed suit, and thankfully the guy stayed put at a reasonable distance.

The woman greeting us had curly brown hair, and brown eyes that were somehow a world of difference from Serenity's eyes. It wasn't the first time I'd noticed that fact, that Serenity's milk-chocolate brown eyes were comforting and attractive, seeming to somehow be different from every other person with brown eyes. But for some reason, it stuck out to me now.

Likely because this woman had almost the same shade of brown eyes as Serenity, and yet they were flat. There was no depth to them, no comfort, and no attractiveness. The woman had a plain face, plain appearance, and overall made my friend look like a goddess in comparison.

Serenity spoke up as soon as she got to the counter, reaching into her leather purse to pull out the envelope from earlier. "We need to withdraw the contents of a safety deposit box," she explained, pulling out the letter and handing it over.

The woman looked it over for a few seconds, before focusing on me. "I presume you're Kai Ashworth? May I see some ID?"

"Yep," I said with a nod, pulling out my wallet.

She accepted my Driver's License and placed it on the counter in front of her, before beginning to type some information from the letter into the computer.

"One moment please," she said after a few seconds, sliding my ID back to me, while moving the letter further away. She then proceeded to make her way around a corner, disappearing for about half a minute. When she came back, she held a pitch-black wooden chest no bigger than my hand stretched out, having a tiny combination lock on it, as well as a worn envelope.

She then proceeded to print out a slip of paper that was essentially a receipt for the contents of the bank's safety deposit box, literally just listing the tiny wooden chest and letter. No indication of what was inside the chest, if anything.

After that, she printed out another receipt showing the balance of a special account that had been used to pay the yearly fee for the space inside the vault.

"The remaining deposit left is yours," she explained. "Do you want me to move it to a different account, or would you like a cash withdrawal?"

Glancing at the receipt more closely, I saw there was only a few hundred dollars left over, which was probably enough to keep the lockbox available for a few more years, depending on how much it cost. "My checking account is fine," I replied, focusing on the black wooden chest again.

Despite the tiny lock's size, it was a four-number combination, prompting me to wonder if the code was in the envelope. I decided to ask.

"Oh, and is the lock combination in here?" I wondered, gesturing to the paper.

She shrugged. "I would presume so. Though a wooden box like this really isn't secure to begin with. Someone could just take a hammer to it and get it open."

My brow furrowed as I considered that, realizing she was right. Maybe my parents just didn't want bank personnel to get curious and peek inside, since obviously damaging the chest would be a huge 'no-no' for them.

Once the lady finished the transfer of the few hundred dollars, she handed me yet another receipt slip, and asked if we needed anything else. I glanced at Serenity just to make sure and she confirmed that we were good.