"Ah! Charlie!"

I cried out and slammed my hand up against the headboard as he slid his hand under my rear and elevated my hips. He thrust into me harder and made me see black stars behind my closed lids.

"Is that the spot?" He breathed into my ear. "Right there? You want me right there?"

"Yes!" I exhaled raggedly and threw my head back. "Fuck, Charlie, don't stop, don't stop, I'm—"

My body went rigid for a second, but then I cried as my ōrgasm tore through me. My nails clawed down his back, drew blood and made him groan on top of me as he kept pistoning into me. My tight core squeezed him in a death grip, but he wasn't ready to finish yet.

In a whirl of sheets and covers, he rolled us over and made me lie on top of him. Breasts pressed against him, he jerked up into me.

"Char... lie..." I dug my fingers into the mattress and forced myself up on my hands, letting my upper body raise up so my breasts bounced with each deep plunge he planted inside me. He groaned at the sight, squeezed my buttocks and kneaded them in his large palms. I mewled in pleasure and slid one hand down to my stomach, resting it just under my navel.

I could actually feel him moving inside me.

"Carly," He moaned, his thrusts becoming shorter, sloppier. "Can't... hold... back..."

I took his hands from my rear and made him push them down on the mattress besides his head, my fingers lacing through his. He let out a guttural sound as I leaned down and kissed his lips until he with a final deep impale came. As always, he poured inside me generously and filled me up and made that special rush course through me that triggered my own ōrgasm. I milked him and he praised my name in breathy moans until the moment where neither of us could speak or move.

I collapsed on top of him and Charlie moaned in contentment, wrapping his big arms around my body. I hummed softly while I regained my drained energy, feeling him soften inside me until he slipped out.

It was rare that he actually deflated. By now we'd done it enough for me to know he could stay hard even through four or five of his ōrgasms before he actually ejaculated. It was incredible, but unfortunately made it harder for me to fully sate him.

That was why, as I felt him go flaccid now, I smiled happily, knowing he was finally drained, too.

And speaking of drained...

I felt him slowly drip out of me, the remnants of his climax. After the first time, there had been no condoms in play. No pull-outs. Only this, completion together.

I had basically put all my faith and hope into my birth control, knowing full and well the odds of that working on Charlie were slim. Truth be told, I was scared to find out. Scared that if they weren't, we would have to stop. It was selfish of me and I had no excuse. None other than the words I hadn't even admitted yet.

I was selfish as well as a coward.

After minutes of basking in post-coital bliss, I finally got up and slipped to the edge of the bed to grab my robe on the floor. It was early Sunday morning and me and Charlie hadn't been able to sleep. Now as I slowly donned my silk robe, I felt exhausted and ready to sleep all day, but sadly, couldn't. I was afraid I would get too addicted if I did, and Charlie was already becoming my daily drug.

"Do we really have to get up?" He said tiredly behind me, watching me tie my robe. I could feel his eyes on my back, peeling it back off me. My own eyes, however, were pinned on the picture I had developed for him a few days ago and gotten framed per his request. It now stood on his dresser, the two of us kneeling in the petting Zoo, Charlie holding the little lamb and me petting it. We were both smiling to the camera, looking happy. My heart clenched at the sight, but then I turned my eyes away.

"I'm sorry, but we have to. This can't be all there is between us now, Charlie. We said we'd keep doing what we normally do. Work out, eat, learn, then go to sleep knowing we did something else than just—"

"Have sex?" Charlie sat up and ran a hand through his bed hair. "I understand... but tonight we can do it again, right?"

I winced a little as I stood up, feeling the stickiness and the ache between my legs. I was going to be walking side to side all week. Which I already kind of had. "We'll see. Now get up. I'm gonna go take a shower and you better be up when I get out again. Got it?"

When I gave him a firm stare, Charlie grinned and stretched out on his bed, looking like a gorgeously satisfied man with scratch marks all over his chest. I couldn't even remember doing that. I guess I lost more than just my sense when he fucked me docile. "I will. Go shower. Maybe I'll join you." He smirked, his tone more warning than teasing. With good reason.

I gulped. "Nope. I'm locking the door. See you when I get back out."

And with that, I walked out of his bedroom and into my own bathroom, locking the door and praying to all that was metallic, he wouldn't bust through it once he heard the water start.

~~~

"Charlie?"

Despite him never liking to get up in the morning, he was actually good at it. That was the exact reason I was confused when I called his name from the kitchen after having showered and didn't hear his answer. It was 9.35am, he couldn't possibly still be showering.

"Charlie? Are you up?" I tried again, wondering if I should go up and check. I waited a few more seconds for a reply and was just about to abandon my task of cutting out a cantaloupe when I finally heard his footsteps. The metallic thump and the softer thud of his real foot; He was coming down the stairs, murmuring something I didn't hear. "What was that?"

"I couldn't figure out what to wear," He repeated, finally joining me in the kitchen. I heard him come up behind me, peaking over my back at what I was doing. "But then I realized I didn't have to wear anything."

"Say what?" I had barely managed to turn around before I shrieked like a school girl, then covered my mouth. "Oh my God, Charlie. You're naked."

That he was. Butt-ass naked in my kitchen, he rose a brow and then shrugged. "You said on my first morning here that when humans are intimate, they can show their private parts to each other. You and I are now intimate, so I don't have to wear clothes anymore."

"I—oh, hell," I cupped my face when he casually stepped up and grabbed a slice of melon from my chopping board and popped it into his mouth. "What I meant by that was... wait, let me start over; That morning you caught me by surprise and I ended up explaining modesty poorly to you. You didn't know about sex yet—"

"—but now I do."

"—a-and I didn't know how to say it before, but now," I took in breath when I realized I was kind of babbling. "You can't be naked around the house, even though you and I... ah..."

"Had sex?"

I knew my cheeks were reddening, but I powered through it. "Yes. Just because that, ah, happened, we can't... you know... be naked outside of the bedroom."

"Then what about what happened on that table the other day?" He said and made a head-tilt towards the dining room table where he had made me have to redo all my laundry that day. My body felt hot just thinking about it.

"That wasn't... uh... I told you that couldn't happen," I said, suddenly feeling sweaty when he moved closer, still very buck-naked. "I don't know why it somehow still did, but..."

"The way I see it, we've already been naked together a dozen times in just a few days," Charlie begun, slowly cupping my head, upturning it to meet his gorgeous glowing eyes. The purple seemed extra vibrant today for some reason. "And clothes are only necessary because of mankind's rules, but they're actually not good for the skin. The chemicals, the raw fabrics, the tightness..." Just as he said that, my legs clenched. "So I don't see the logic of wearing them anymore, which is why I think you should strip. Right now."

I couldn't remember teaching him confidence, but smart heads said that sex could give you that, and maybe that was why Charlie's hands now slowly begun unbuttoning my shirt, the same time his lips brushed against mine and his tongue slipped into my mouth. My head instantly felt lightheaded and the whole room started spinning, but somehow—and I really meant somehow—my mind snapped out of it and I pulled away.

"That was a nice speech," I said, smiling a little lopsidedly when he could tell from my voice he wasn't winning this one. "But it won't hold up in the court of law that is my home. We stay dressed in the public spaces of this house, Mister, so you better scurry on up and put some clothes on that body before you come down here and get your breakfast. Is that understood?"

Charlie blinked at me for a moment, then burst into a smile and chastely pecked my lips. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry."

I rolled my eyes when he then walked back out of the kitchen, knowing full and well how elegantly he moved and how handsome he looked from behind. Hell, how handsome he looked in general. Again, I didn't remember teaching him cockiness.

But that could definitely originate from sex.

~~~

"So, in light of getting new experiences and also in light of not staying home all day, there's something I've decided it's time to introduce you to, and more to the point, show you," I said while we were grabbing our light coats. The seasons had changed during our time together and summer had truly kicked in outside. It was beach weather, but sadly that wasn't where we were going today.

"What is it?" Charlie curiously asked, working his shoe around his mechanic foot before tying it up. "Don't tell me it's more shopping."

I snorted a laugh at his somber expression and shook my head, but then spoke up. "No, I promise it's not. This is more of a... spiritual exercise."

He slowly stood up and rose a brow. "Spiritual?"

"I'm taking you to see different religious sanctuaries today."

He blinked nonplussed for a moment, but then finally said, "You're taking me to the mankind's Gods?"

I nodded affirmatively. "While I understand you're most likely an atheist after having grown up around so much science, I still want you to explore the spiritual options that exists out there. Religion has been around for thousands of years, and even though it's never been scientifically proven that there is such an existence as a God, it's still managed to survive through faith. That's the whole concept; Religion isn't a science, it's a belief and a higher power to which we'll never get the answer to before we die. I'd like for you to at least see why so many people have found comfort in the worshipping of these different Gods and see if one of the religions actually appeal to you."

Charlie processed my words for a second, but then nodded. "Okay."

"Okay? That's it? You're interested in going to see these places and participating in the different prayers?" I don't know why I expected resistance.

Charlie nodded again and then gave me a grin. "I always like learning."

I was surprised for a moment with how easily he accepted the offer, but then smiled back, happy to know he was open to other possibilities. "That's great. Well, okay, then since we're going, I have a little gift for you."

"A gift?"

"Well, it's not really a gift. It's actually a necessity." I pulled a small container out of my pocket and handed it to him, seeing him take the oddly shaped item and look at it. "It's contact lenses. Normally you'd just wear your sunglasses, but some of the places we're going won't allow you to keep them on while inside. So, to avoid any problems, I think it would be best for you to wear these for the day."

Charlie nodded and put them in without argument. They were dark brown contacts which I hoped would hide the glow from his eyes as best as possible. After blinking a few times and grimacing at the slight discomfort, he nodded again and said he was good to go. And so off we went.

I had googled a few locations beforehand and taken the liberty to search up when the different churches, temples and mosques held their sermons. After doing that, I had carefully timed and scheduled it accordingly so that we could make it to all of them without rushing around. I wanted Charlie to have his time to ask any questions he might have, and to study the different sanctuaries we visited. All of them had their own artwork which spoke greatly of the religion itself, and I wanted him to soak it all up so he could truly appreciate the devotion mankind put into these rituals.

Our first stop was a Christian church. I had decided to only take him through the five most common religions, as sort of a start-up; First up was Christianity, then Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The rest we would go through at home, through books and videos online. If he found something he wanted to learn more about, I would take him out to another service tomorrow.

We went through a standard Christian sermon, sitting on the pews and singing the psalms. Charlie, of course, remained quiet and just listened, studied me intensely and the people around him as the pipe organ played and the choir sung. He also glanced curiously at the priest and his robe, but kept his questions to himself. He even participated in folding his hands for the Lord's Prayer, but stayed mute while the priest chanted it. I convinced him to also try the communion bread.

After church, it was time for lots of temples, starting with the Jewish kind. I had found a kippah for Charlie a few days ago online and ordered it home, and therefore pinned it to his hair before we entered. Charlie curiously patted his head to feel the circular accessory, but still didn't comment before heading inside with me, and so we quietly entered the synagogue and found a place in the back where we could watch and observe.

Hinduism was the first place Charlie spoke up when we entered their temple after taking off our shoes. When we went to go and ring the bell, he grinned like a child and asked if he could ring it again. I shook my head and chuckled under my breath as I pulled him back and waited for the Pooja to begin. When the priest finally appeared, Charlie got a surprise when the priest asked the crowd to join hands for the prayers, challenging him to hold a strangers hand for the first time; Touching another human being, besides me.

I could tell he didn't like it, but he sucked it up for the prayer and kept his respect for the rest of the sermon. We then finished off with going around the idol of Shiva, touching his feet before exiting. And still, Charlie remained quiet.

I didn't ask any questions as we went for the next place, a Buddhist temple. I could tell he was confused by all the small, but significant things one had to be careful not to do to offend or disrespect anyone. Like stepping in with his left foot first, bowing to the statue of Buddha, but unlike Shiva, weren't allowed to touch it. How to not point, as he liked to do when he had a question, and how to even be careful with where he pointed his feet as we sat down to meditate. He looked curiously at the monks who walked around us, some praying or meditating like us, but as the temple also practiced, he stayed quiet and did as I whisper-instructed him to do.

I was wondering when he was going to actually say something, wondering if he would at all. We made it to the last place on my list, a mosque where things got a little more difficult. I had wrapped a scarf around my hair where I noticed Charlie frowned a little, but he only spoke up once I told him men and women prayed separately here and that we'd have to split up.

"Why?" He begged, keeping a hold of my hand as I tried to walk into where all the women were piling in. He didn't want to let go, so I looked up and gave him a reassuring smile.

"It won't take long, you'll be fine. The Imam will tell you what to do, and if you're confused, just do what the others do. It won't take more than five, ten minutes, then it's done. I'll meet you when it's over, alright?"

Charlie looked like I was rejecting him as I urged him into where the men were walking in, all barefoot. I smiled encouragingly again, and with a last pout, he then stepped in. I shook my head and followed the women, then let the praying session begin.

Not ten small minutes later we were all pouring out, Charlie's blond head sticking up way above all the other men. He glanced desperately after me, then visibly exhaled when he saw me and rushed to my side. We both walked outside, Charlie quickly pulling me into his embrace as soon as he could.

I chuckled a little and stroked his back. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"The sermon was fine, I just hated being apart from you."

"You need to get better at that," I said, indirectly hoping he would pick up on what I was really saying. "But it's over now, we're done for the day. Now we can drive home and discuss everything we've experienced. Sound good?"

He nodded, and then we both headed for the car, Charlie never letting go of my hand.

~~~

We had barely made it into my house and taken off our shoes before Charlie exploded with questions. Somewhere in my mind I had expected this, knowing he had kept them in for as long as possible for some reason. He had been bursting to voice them all day, yet he hadn't, but now it was all coming out.

"I didn't understand any of it," He said, stunning me briefly as we sat down at the dining table. "I had to eat something at one place, had to wear a hat for another, touch the feet of a third, be totally quiet for a fourth, and lastly, you had to wear the scarf for the final one and we both had to wash our hands? Why? What are the purposes?"

"Well, you see, different religions show respect in different—"

"And all the different idols," He said, shaking his head. "An obese man with big ears, a dead man with a thorn hat on a rectangular cross, a golden statue of some other God with an even weirder hat. What is it with religion and headwear? Scarfs, circular pads, thorn crowns..."

"They—"

"And the monks were all wearing the same clothes, what was that? And we had to take our shoes off there as well. That's unsanitary. We wash our hands one place, but take our shoes off another?"

"That's—"

"And lastly, every religion preaches to praise their God's name, but only one of the religions actually called their religion by their God's name? Why call it Christianity if you're worshipping someone called God? Who's 'Christian'? And where did the other names come from?"

"Okay, Charlie, breathe," I said when he kept blabbing. I couldn't keep up. "I know you're confused—"

"I am. I really am," He solemnly said and looked at me. "They all come to their sanctuaries for answers, but I only found more questions, and for a thing that was supposed to bring all of mankind together, it sure has torn you all apart."

An angel passed through the room. The analogy was appropriate, funnily enough, as silence settled when Charlie finally had gotten all of his questions out. I took a patient breath and then reached for his hand. "Look. Religion is complicated. It usually takes a whole lifetime to understand it, and I just fed you five different religions in one day; Of course you're confused. I only wanted to show you the community and try and make you feel the mood of the different churches and temples – the sanctity of it."

"I know," He sighed and braided his fingers through mine. "But I didn't understand any of it. The logic of it was so rudimentary and outdated. I didn't say anything because these humans seemed to really believe in it. Just like they believe in us Creatures being nothing but... monsters." He paused a little and looked down. "Their minds were all set on one thing, and me questioning their beliefs by speaking up against them would only have angered them..."

I suddenly saw how we were no longer speaking about religion. I realized all day Charlie had seen something else in each place we had visited and not seen the bigger picture; all he had seen was impenetrable conviction.

He had witnessed how stubborn humans could be in their beliefs today. For thousands of years they had believed in these Gods there was no proof of, and yet as he stood before them a corporeal Creature, they were convinced he was the Devil bred in a lab. He had missed the whole point of today's exercise, thus causing himself to misunderstand the true meaning of religion.

"Charlie..." I stood up and knelt down besides him, seeing him turn his head to look at me. "You got it all wrong. Yes, people can believe in stuff we may not understand, but they still believe in it anyway, because ever so often, wonderful miracles happen. Miracles we can't explain," I smiled and lifted my hand to his cheek. "The same miracles I'd like to think is what brought us together, a higher power out in the universe deciding that this, us, you and me, were meant to meet. Religion isn't about stupidly believing something that to a scientific eye can't be real. It's about faith. About hope. About miracles in this crazy world of ours that truly makes no sense."

He was quiet for a long moment, processing my words. I took that as my cue to continue a little.

"You can also look at it this way. When religion first became a thing many years ago, it was difficult for the people to understand it. Some couldn't comprehend one faith, even declared each other's as rebels if they practiced another faith than the one their King practiced. My point is; it took time for them to adjust to believing in things that seemed new and dangerous, but today they worship these religions with a hard devotion. Maybe with time and good results, we can show them that Creatures aren't a thing to be afraid of living with, either. We can show them that you're truly just trying to find your own place in this world as well."

Charlie turned towards me and looked at me very mutely. He then pulled me up to him and situated me on his lap, and I complied as he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck, inhaling. He hugged me for a good long time before finally sighing deeply and then speaking against the crook of my neck; "You always make the world sensible to me when I can't understand it. I'm supposed to be the Eva here, but how come I feel like Wall-E?"

I hugged him back and brushed my hand through his soft hair. "Charlie..."

"I'm all alone, just doing what I'm meant to do, but then you came along and gave me a new purpose."

"I..." Damn it. My voice broke and my eyes welled over with emotions, but Charlie didn't care as he pulled my lips to his and kissed me. He was so tender, yet couldn't get enough of me, couldn't let go as he clutched me tighter and breathed against my lips.

And neither could I.

"I'll probably never understand these religions, but I do understand one thing," He quietly murmured, resting against my forehead. "Belief. I believe in you, Carly. I believe we can do this, I believe we can change the world to a better a place with time. Together."

And with those words, he made a believer out of me, too.

• • •

Thank you for all the people who helped me research the different religions I know absolutely squat about. If I somehow managed to fuck it up still, well then please excuse any mistakes and thwack me over my catholic head.