Our food had likely been ready for some time, but neither of us were paying enough attention to fetch it. A familiar grey-haired man brought our lunch over instead. He recognized me from my frequent visits and the familiar macaroni Max always ate. Seeing us together, he quickly reached a conclusion and gave me a thumbs-up and a wink before returning to his job.
Max picked up his fork but didn’t eat yet. He shyly met my eyes. "Um, about the rest…"
Oh god. “You don’t have to—"
"I can’t saynothing.I’m, just, uh. I’m not in a great place right now.” Now he struggled to hold my gaze, genuine remorse on his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t—"
"Hey, it’s alright.” I reached out to reassure him before thinking better of it. “I understand. Thank you for letting me know."
His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "You’rethanking mefor rejecting you?"
Yes. And sincerely too. "If you didn’t reject me, I’d have had to reject you, so yeah, I am thanking you."
"What?” His mouth dropped open. “You can’t reject me! You like me. You think I’m hot."
"I never said I—"
"So you don’t?"
For once, no, he probably felt quite comfortable. The air in here was cranked up, so his baggy sweater was a good choice. He’d started wearing them a lot. Woefully skinny from his time as a captive and perhaps sensitive about it, he covered himself up with any hoodies or sweaters that added some weight. Or maybe he was just cold because of how woefully skinny he was, no meat on his bones. Or he just liked sweaters.
Whatever. I needed to stop staring. I refused to focus too much on his lips or expressive eyes or any other meaning of ‘hot’ than temperature-wise.
"This is a weird conversation,” I decided, voice strained as I looked around as if someone could save me. “All I meant was that if things went differently and you did share my feelings, that doesn’t mean we should start a relationship. The timing isn’t right. So we actually agree."
"Oh. Cool.” He got as far as sticking his fork into his food and bringing a bite to his lips before he gave up and set the fork back down. “I feel kinda bad."
"This is a part of freedom. Navigating adult relationships and trying to consider everything and act maturely."
"Huh.” He thought it over. “That sucks. Nobody ever told me freedom sucks."
I nodded. That was something everybody found out on their own.
Not totally screwing this up felt like a blessing. I was so grateful we weren’t parting ways. Max mattered to me and not seeing him would be painful.
It was still a little painful anyway. Because there was the professional agent in me who pointed out all the reasons romance should be avoided in a situation like this. The practical me who thought the timing could be a lot better. And then there was the stupid fragile and emotional part of me. The part that liked a guy who didn’t like him back. It hurt.
Once we parted ways, I needed some comfort and only one place came to mind. I sent a text.
Lysander: I’d like to stop by if that’s alright.
Lucas: Of course, you’re always welcome.
Lucas: Just give us 20 minutes.
Chase: Make it thirty ;)
At least some things never changed.
14.Answers to Questions You Shouldn’t Have Asked
“John” JohnMax
The supernatural was real. I belonged to the supernatural world. Evil bastards kidnapped me and planned to force me to mate with a buyer who decided I’d be theirs. After living through all these things, a guy expects nothing else can surprise him. But Lysander Temple proved me wrong.
It had been a few days since Lysander and I went to get macaroni, since he… Lysander wasn’t with me now. Actually, a different agent accompanied me on a walk. Walking without the cane was no longer a challenge, but the best method for keeping my legs strong and capable still involved, you know, using them. Chase and I did a lap around the Better Tomorrow parking lot in the late afternoon.
Chase chatted easily while I enjoyed the colors of sunset brewing in the sky and how they changed the look of grass and flowers and everywhere the light hit. If he knew what happened with Lysander and I, he didn’t show it.
