AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maybe his loneliness was finally starting to make him realize he didn’t want to live that way the rest of his life.
Shiloh snapped out of his thoughts as Sarah reached out and pulled the paper sack with the elephant ear pastries Dom had given him close to her. “Help yourself,” he said flatly.
“I will. Thanks. I have to steal because he’ll never spoil me the way he spoils you,” she said with a sniff. She nibbled off the edge of one, then dabbed her finger at the corners of her mouth. “So did you pick out a costume yet?”
Shiloh felt his face erupt into flames. “Oh. Erm. Well…”
She looked far too gleeful. “Brilliant. What is it?”
“A secret,” he muttered. He put his hand over his eyes again so he could see her better. “Has Dom told you about his?”
Sarah shook her head, rolling her eyes. “No, the fucker. Said it’s a surprise.”
Shiloh deflated a bit and shrugged. “You’ll see at the party.”
“You’re both so mean to me,” she moaned, stuffing her face with a larger bite. “Can you at least tell me whether or not it’s Tim Burton related? Like, has Jules managed to finally convince you that we should do a theme?”
“That did not happen,” came a voice from behind them, and before Shiloh could react, Sarah squealed and jumped up from the table, throwing herself into her lover’s arms.
Shiloh adored them both, but he was in no mood to sit and watch them kiss and make heart-eyes at each other. He was still feeling too fragile. He stood up and gathered his things to the sound of lip smacking, then turned when they were quiet. “Text me later, yeah?”
Sarah frowned. “You don’t need to leave. We just—”
“I actually have a meeting with a student before class,” he lied smoothly. He offered the rest of the pastries out to her, and she took them before pulling him close, kissing his cheek. He held her tight and rested his lips near her ear. “He loves you exactly the amount you deserve to be loved. Don’t worry. But if you want more, tell him that. He’ll burn the world for you, darling. So let him.”
* * *
Shiloh staredat himself in the mirror, terrified to keep looking but terrified to glance away. His eye lids were smeared with something dark—blue, he was fairly sure. His lips were lined and plump with a color he couldn’t place, but the title on the cheap tube of lipstick said it was called Cherry Blossom.
Maybe it was soft pink like spring petals. Maybe it was something richer like fallen autumn leaves. He’d never really know, and he didn’t even know why it mattered because he couldn’t see the paint on his face. He couldn’t tell if he’d done it right. It was just different shades of the same color, like everything had always been.
And yet, this felt different.
He felt…soft.
Delicate.
His heart beat faster as his fingers brushed along the silky fabric lying on the counter, then onto something a bit rougher and full of holes. A dress—the tag told him it was red. Dom had always said red was spices, and heat, and warmth. Next to that, fishnet tights in black—a color he did understand.
He wasn’t brave enough to put them on. Not yet. But he’d have to be soon enough since Dom had officially agreed to be his date at the party. Not just as his costume partner but more. At least, that’s the way Shiloh wanted to see it, even if Dom never would.
He startled when he heard the thump of the front door, which meant his dad had come in from feeding the goats. Grabbing a flannel, he quickly poured on a heavy dollop of soap and began to scrub his face until it looked clean. He had no idea if it was, but if his dad saw him dressed up, he didn’t think the man would care. Or at the very least, he wouldn’t stop loving Shiloh, and he supposed that’s all that mattered.
Tucking the makeup, dress, and tights under his arm, Shiloh darted into his room, shoving the costume into his wardrobe before hurrying to the kitchen and taking a seat at the table. The vegetables were waiting for him, and when he was sure his dad was washing up, he got to work.
It was nice. It was quiet and mindless, and it was exactly what he wanted. He could sink back into the memory of his painted face, even if it made him feel lost and bereft because he could never have it the way he wanted.
‘Has one of the chickens died?’
Shiloh blinked up at his father, ripped out of his thoughts by the man’s waving hand. ‘What?’
Benjamin repeated his question, a tiny smile on his face.
‘No,’ Shiloh answered back, dropping a bean back into the bowl. His heart ticked up. Had something happened?
‘One of queens go missing from the hive?’
Shiloh’s lips flattened into a thin line. ‘Why are you asking me this?’
