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“Avery, I wasn’t trying tolieabout anything. It was a dumb mistake, I knew you’d figure it out eventually. I just didn’t know how to bring it up after I put the pieces together.”
Her hands fall to her lap as she leans back, a slight frown marring her face. “Marcus, you should have known I wouldn’t care where you live. We’ve talked about money before. Yeah, it’s nice to have but neither of us is a millionaire and we know it.”
“So you’re telling me you wouldn’t have thought less of me if you found out I was living in an old lady’s tiny—and I do mean tiny—garage apartment?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t have thought less of you. But maybe… yeah okay, it may have affected something.” She sighs and rubs a hand down her face.
“Exactly. I wasn’t totally in the wrong—” The look she gives me stops that thought, I swallow around the thickness in my throat before continuing. “I hate that I didn’t give you the whole truth, but please know it was so I wouldn’t lose you. Even though it seems to be doing that exact damn thing right now.” My voice is shaking.
She looks taken aback, hurt. The bird in me is screeching and clawing to shift, wanting to get to her and make up for the stupid human’s—my—missteps.
“You’re… you’re wanting to end this? Us?” There’s pain in her words.
“What? No! Never. I… I lo—”
“You two decide what you want to eat?” The waitress asks as she lays our drinks on the table between us.
I’m convinced it’s some cosmic conspiracy that waiters and waitresses are required to come up and ask questions at the least opportune time as can possibly be imagined.
Avery looks at the woman and nods. “Sure, yeah I’ll take the patty melt and side salad. Blue cheese dressing if you have it.”
The waitress smiles and takes Avery’s menu, then looks at me. “I’ll uh, I’ll take the buffalo chicken sandwich and fries.”
Once the woman is out of earshot Avery asks, “What were you about to say Marcus? That you love me? You know you said it on the phone the other night, right?”
I feel heat creeping up my neck.This is not going at all how I thought it would.
I inhale a huge breath, blowing it out on puffed cheeks. “Yeah, I was going to say I love you. And yes I know it’s entirely too soon. But for shif… for me it’s not.”
I may not know much about my shifting side, but I do know it makes all my emotions more intense. I love harder, hate harder, sadness hits more than in humans. Shaking my head, I reach a hand across the table, asking for hers in turn. Slowly, she raises her hand to meet mine and lets me wrap my fingers around hers.
“Avery, I love you. I want to be with you. Forever.”
“There’s no way you could know that. We’ve only been dating for two months!”
“But it feels like we’reit, right? Like we’ll just…befrom now on?” I prod.
A smile is growing on my face as I see one creep up on hers.
Gently nodding her head, she says, “Yeah. It really does seem like we’reit.” She laughs. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have shown up today after seeing you at Laney’s yesterday.”
I let out a heaping sigh. “Well thank fuck, I don’t think we’d be okay without you at this point.”
“We?”
How many times can you mess up during one meal, Marcus?my bird echoes in my head.
“Did I say ‘we’? My mistake.”
“Well after dinner you’re taking me to your place, mister. We’ve been to mine plenty of times now.” The look on her face hints that I may get to know her better than ever before.
I nod and reach over to run my fingers down her cheek. “You mean so much to me, just always know that.”
Our food is soon delivered and the rest of dinner is spent with her sending light jabs my way and getting to know one another in a new light. I tell her about my parents and why I live with Laney, all while leaving out the one other thing I’m still hiding from her.
Chapter4
Avery
