When he got to the end of his leash, I looked over at Emma and she shrugged at me.
CHAPTER 19
Emma
As it turned out, we shouldn’t have worried. Ribbon the ‘mountain toad’ was the hit of the dog park. He’d befriended every single dog there and was currently sitting on the back of his favorite—a Cane Corso who’d withstood his licks and slobber all the while maintaining sober regality.
I was pretty certain Ribbon was in love and wouldn’t leave the park without his new buddy, but I’d break that news to Krusk at another time. For now, we were sitting on a bench overlooking the park, our hands pressed on either side of our bodies as we chatted.
This meant that while we made the most inane small talk in the world, my pinky finger was edging closer and closer to his. And I knew he knew, because of the looks he kept shifting their way before looking away with zero grace or tact
Now I just had to decide what I was going to do about it. I knewwhat Iwantedto do, but it wasn’t what Ishoulddo. Ishouldleave him there with his toad and race to spend time with my grandma.
Instead, I was… considering. If I moved my finger toward his, I would be giving him the indication that he needed that I was interested in him. That I wanted him to continue pursuing me.
And while every logical bone in my body told me that Ishouldn’twant that, the rest of me—which honestly wasso much biggerthan just the tiny bit of logic I contained—told me that maybe I couldconsiderletting this male in who’d already given me so much. With that thought in mind, I moved my pinky finger the few millimeters left between us, breaching the space and connecting with his.
The jolt that went through my body made me think that it was more than just fingers touching on that bench. It was another connection that had been forged as well.
Without further prodding on my end, my hand was engulfed by his and he looked over with the sweetest, softest expression on his face. “Is this okay?” he asked, and I bit my lip, ducking my head and nodding.
My grandma would be so ashamed of how shy and withdrawn I was being to him. She’d always taught me to lift my chin and take challenges by the horns. But the years and weight of the world had ground me down into something smaller than I originally was—emotionally, not physically.
I knew I had to find myself again. The girl who wouldn’t allow a male she worked with to victimize her in any way. Who would stand up to the bullies of the world.
But I’d been teetering on thin ice and had been waiting until I could find a way out that didn’t involve drowning in the water below. I looked over at Krusk, who was grinning at me, thinking that he looked like a pretty sturdy lifesaver.
“I’d like to be friends with you,” I told him with a grin, and Iwatched the happiest smile spread across his face as he nodded.
“I’m going to be the best friend you’ve ever had,” he said with confidence and a peal of laughter left me.
It made Ribbon bound toward us, followed closely by his serious Cane Corso best friend. We gave them head scratches and belly rubs as their rewards. Ribbon was rolled over, his eyes closed and his tongue handing out of his mouth.
The Cane Corso was curled on his back, a serious expression on his face as he enjoyed his own attention with much more poise. Still, he couldn’t stop himself when his foot kicked in Ribbon’s direction as I got to a spot that he loved.
It sent Ribbon flying for almost a foot but he just bounded back to us, dropping on his back again as if it hadn’t happened at all. Glancing at each other, we shrugged and went back to giving them our undivided attention.
“He can’t come with us,” I explained to Ribbon as he stared mournfully at where we were leaving the park—and his best friend—behind.
I’d taken the number of the owner of the Cane Corso—whose name was King—so that we could set up some future play dates with them. Even after realizing that ourdogwasn’t quite an actualdog, she’d still agreed to let them be friends.
The tall succubus that had approached us, raising one sleek eyebrow at where her dog was being laved by our mountain toad had admitted that she couldn’t just separate them. I’d originally felt a twinge of panic when she’d moved closer to us.
I’d glanced from her tall, toned body, that would be theperfectmatch for the male next to me, compared to my short, overly curvy self, but he hadn’t even looked at her. His eyes had been on me the entire time, as if still trying to gauge whatfriendscouldreally mean.
I’d hidden my smile and offered my best greeting to her, exchanging numbers and names. I was certain that if Ribbon didn’t belong to his brother, he would have ignored the entire thing. Instead, he’d had to include himself in the conversation, promising her that he’d talk to his brother and ensure that he made the time for weekly visits.
I was grinning like a dolt down at where my hand was still tucked into his as we walked back to his apartment. The thing was, I was certain that friends didn’t just go around holding hands. That wasdefinitelysomething that was reserved for a relationship that was…more.
And we weren’t there yet. In fact, I wasn’t certain that we ever would be. I was still considering possibilities.
Ribbon trotted along beside us, happier since we’d stopped to get him a pack of roasted crickets. He pranced forward with us, more confident with the outdoors now that he’d had an official walk.
Krusk’s hand tightened in mine and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. We were a few feet away from the entrance of his building—the humongous, gleaming monstrosity that it was—and I wondered if he was getting nervous.
Andwhy. Shouldn’tIbe nervous about whether I would accept an invitation to go upstairs with him? Wait.ShouldI be nervous about that?
I glanced at him again, just as he came to a stop, my heart hammering with indecision even though he hadn’t even asked me anything yet.
