“What? You asked how it was going, and I told you. It’s going great.”
He stared again, then let out a small vampire hiss. He almost never hissed, at least not at me, so I blinked at him in surprise.
His hiss turned into a groan. “Dain, what the hell?”
A customer interrupted us, so I rang up her items and checked her out before turning back to my friend. “What’s wrong with what I said?”
“You can not be this dense.”
I growled at him—hey, he’d hissed first—and turned away. If he was going to be an ass, then I wouldn’t talk to him at all. There. Problem solved.
Jed gently grabbed my arm and tugged me back to face him. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I was only messing with you. I was just hoping for a little more information. Like… are you guys officially boyfriends? Are you just dating or courting or whatever you want to call it? Or did you finally admit to him that you’re viramores? Stuff like that.”
I blinked at him, then shrugged. “The last one.” I turned back to the cash register and decided to clean the counter off and organize the shelves under the counter.
No, I was not avoiding talking about this with him.
I wasn’t.
“What?” Jed’s voice came out more like a screech than anything else.
I eyed him but didn’t respond.
After a few seconds, he shook himself out. “You mean… you’re viramores? Like, for real?”
I nodded.
He grabbed my arm and excitedly jumped up and down. “Holy shit, Dain, that’s amazing! I thought you guys were, but I wasn’t sure. Lanche seemed so positive, so I was hoping you were.” He did a little toe bounce thing. “Congratulations, man. Seriously. That’s amazing. I’m sure you and Lanche will be very happy together.”
Thinking about being with Lanche and staying with him for the rest of my life made a small smile pop up on my lips. It was automatic, and there was no chance I could hide it.
“Awwwwww. Look at you. You’re so happy. Gah! I love it.” Jed pulled me into a hug that I returned, appreciating him evenwhen he was purposefully driving me nuts. “Seriously, congrats, Dain.”
“Thank you.” I pulled away and offered a small smile. “It’s… really new, so we’re taking things slow, but…”
He grinned. “But you already care about him. I can see it in your eyes. I’m really happy for you.”
And I knew he meant it. He really did.
But I also knew he wished he could find his own viramore. He’d been waiting millennia for his one true love to show up, and he hadn’t found them yet.
The fact that I was only thirty-five and already found mine probably didn’t feel very good to the vamp.
So, even though it pained me, I reached over and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Jed. I appreciate it.” I squeezed him tight.I hope you find your viramore soon, my friend.
Before the two of us could continue our conversation, a sudden ache in my chest distracted me. I released Jed and stepped back, rubbing at my chest in confusion.
The ache turned into a sharp pain twinged with panic, and I glanced down at it in confusion. What the… holy shit, that fucking hurt. What the hell was this? Why was I panicking? Why was…
Oh no.
Oh my fucking…no.
It wasn’t my panic.
