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I shrugged to cover the pinch in my chest. “A concert pianist or a fashion critic who insults people on the red carpet or president… but that was back when I was little and stupid and thought I could do anything. I gave up those childhood fantasies a long time ago.” Before I was even out of childhood.
“I don’t think we have to give them up,” Moe said. “Sure, not everything will come true even if you work hard, but that’s okay! You can still dream. You can still be and do all kinds of things and keep trying new stuff!”
I was stunned. I think the last people who said something like that to me were the muppets on Sesame Street. Moe, being Moe, was completely sincere. He really believed that we could dream and become anything. But he was an adult around my age! He should know better! Somehow, the world hadn’t crushed him despite its efforts to do so.
How?
“What do you want to be?” Moe asked.
I had to think about it. “What I always wanted to be, deep down, my whole life.”
He squeezed my hand. “What’s that?”
“The good guy.” I had thought stealing magical relics would make me one by saving the world from itself. But I was just lashing out because some supes had made life miserable for me, Juniper, Ram, and my other friends at the time.
“You saved us from prison, that weird dimension, and the empty nothingness after.” Moe pulled me into a hug. “You’re my good guy!”
Chapter 20
Isatontheshop’s counter to make sure Ram rang up and paid for everything we were taking. Elliot chose a suit with green cuffs and lapels that reminded me of spring. The outfit hugged his shoulders and thighs, showing off his form better than the prison jumpsuit had. I hadn’t realized how much muscle he had on his lean body.
My hands itched to feel him from knees to face to find out what else he might be hiding. But I knew he wouldn’t want me to.
“You look good,” I said, a bit lamely.
He handed over the price tags to Ram behind the counter. “Thanks.” He half turned away from me and fiddled with his sleeve.
My heart dropped fast enough to hurt like slamming into the pavement. I couldn’t blame him for disliking me and the spell, but I wished he would just break the bond already so I could get over him.
“Do… do you want me to break the mate spell for you?” I asked, my voice softer than I had meant it to be.
Elliot fidgeted with the button on his sleeve. “I don’t know. When I was little, I believed in fairy tales. True love at first sight and all that. Then I got older and realized the best you can hope for is someone who accepts your quirks without hating you too much—at least for non-shifters like me. Then, this happened, like a fairy tale. But…”
“But maybe it’s not real,” I finished for him.
He pressed his lips together, and damn it, even now I wanted to taste them. “But it could be real if I believe in it,” Elliot said.
“Clap for Tinkerbell,” Ram said dryly.
I had forgotten he was listening in. “Go clap your dick between your hands until you learn manners.”
“That’s not your best insult,” Ram said. “Surely you can do better.”
“Your mom could have done better when she conceived you.” I inwardly cringed because that was a cruel thing to say to someone with parental issues.
Wait… why did I care if Ram was offended?
“Much better insult,” he said lightly. “B plus.”
I tried to ignore him and turned back to Elliot, but he was already walking away to the front of the shop. I sighed. “Fuck, Ram, you couldn’t mind your own business?”
He tapped his phone against the shop’s payment terminal. “I’m surprised you didn’t break the mate bond with all of them the moment it came into existence.”
I gazed after Elliot as he disappeared behind a rack of clothing, probably crouching down to see Beverly. “Me too.”
Jag strolled over from the changing rooms, his jumpsuit replaced with a black t-shirt and a bomber jacket printed in sky blue with white clouds. It was more cheerful than I expected from him. On his legs, he wore a tiny, tiny pair of white shorts. They barely covered his balls, and I eyed the outline of his cock through the tight fabric.
“I can’t find any pants that aren’t itchy,” he said. As he turned to give his price tags to Ram, I leaned forward to check out his ass. The shorts hugged his round butt like I wanted to.
