Yes, I’d sealed it, but there was only so much one could practically expect it to hold up under. We’d already been out and about for a couple of hours, held hands, and danced together. That, combined with the sheer torrent pouring down on me, was a bit too much to ask for my disguise to withstand.
While I always told myself I wasn’t ashamed of being an albino, I wasn’t readyto share that with Naomi. It was incredibly nice to just be a normal guy starting on a normal level for once, rather than being on the back foot from the drop and trying to fight to get back to zero.
So, despite the fact that I had once been a young warrior in my village, despite the fact that I could go on a rampage and likely wipe out everyone currently running for cover without so much as getting a scratch, I chose the coward’s path.
“I have to go!” I blurted so quickly that it practically came out as one word.
“W-what?”
I feltterribleas Naomi’s expression turned into one of horror, but I couldn’t risk a single second longer. Who knew what my face looked like! And what if the glue holding my wig inplace came undone? The carefully built artifice I’d put together to be presentable never seemed more flimsy.
So, I turned and ran off like many of the people around her, leaving her standing there like a total scumbag.
Iwasa scumbag.
That was all I could think as I ran. And ran. And ran. Thankfully, the weather was foul enough that hardly anyone was out, and those that were, were rushing along just as much as I was.
By the time I burst into my home and slammed my door behind me, I was soaked and quite literally leaving a puddle on my floor. Turning, I looked in the mirror that I kept by the door to make sure what I could see of myself was in order, and what I saw there was an utter mess.
The light beige color of my foundation was indeed dripping off my face and down onto my shirt, my normalcy melting to leave only absence in its wake until there was no reflection at all aside from my clothes.
“Fuck you,” I murmured at the blank space. “Why do you have to ruin everything?”
There was no answer, and I knew there wouldn’t be one. I’d managed to escape to a pretty slice of un-reality for a few hours, and now I had to come back to the real world.
The one where I was alone and always would be.
SEVEN
NAOMI
Missed Communications
“Go ahead and do your business, Bartholomew,” I informed the Australian Shepherd that had just spent a full minute sniffing a particular treeafterthe four other dogs with him had already completed what they needed to do. “I promise you, it’s the same tree you mark every Sunday I walk you.”
I swore he rolled his eyes at me, but eventually he crouched and got to work while I readied another doggy-bag. Sundays were my slow days, as I’d built up enough of a client base to support myself with just weekly work, but I had a small handful of legacy clients who I adored and had to work the weekend shift once a month.
Well, I didn’t know if four counted as a handful, but whatever, I was happy to take their little ones out while they were stuck in the office.Mostlylittle ones, of course, as the St. Bernard-Leonberger mix, appropriately named Baron, was nearly as tall as me, and taller if he stood on his hind legs. Thankfully, he was about as gentle as a dog could be. Sometimes,I had to stop him from being bullied by his brother, an opinionated Boston Terrier who went by Robo-robo and always seemed determined to be the alpha on our walks.
“That’s a good boy, Bartholomew!” I praised, as unfortunately, the Australian Shepherd would only respond to his full name.
Every.
Single.
Time.
But as much as I loved my once-a-month Sunday crew and all their quirks, my mind was very much elsewhere. In fact, it was the same place it had been ever since I’d ended up standing alone in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Why had I gone in for that kiss?I lamented inwardly as I cleaned up after the dog, then got our cadre moving again.
Ugh! I wanted to kick myself!
I knew better than to just kiss someone out of nowhere on a first date. I had thought I had a read on the moment, but clearly I was far too swept up in things, because I shouldn’t have forgotten about Rowan’s consent. Even if he was a dude, that didn’t mean he just wanted to be macked on by someone he just met.
I just... everything had been going so perfectly. After disaster after disaster of dates, I’d been so starved for a positive reaction that I’d settled for scraps with Jason. Just a couple of hours with the charming and devastatingly handsome Rowan had shown me what it shouldreallybe like and that there could be so much more than just the bare minimum. The whole thing had thrown off my normalcy meter.
Unless it was a human thing?
