I couldn’t stop thinking about it as we headed to the nearest store that carried the laptop I wanted. I thought about ordering one online, but I didn’t want to wait any longer if I didn’t have to. I’d spent some of the ride to the mall on his phone, distractedly trying to find who carried one. I hadn’t even been able to muster up shock that heowneda cell phone. It looked brand new. His background image was the default one. Who called him? Just his family?
When I wasn’t processing the “mom” situation or staring at the small screen, I wondered what in thehellhe meant by “we.”
Did he really expect me to go with him?
The thought alone had me sweating.
Leaning back against the headrest, we drove by a giant parking lot with a carnival set up on it. It had a Ferris wheel, rides, booths…. My breathing made a big circle on the window that I wiped with the sleeve of Alex’s jacket. I’d always wanted to go to a carnival or a fair, but my grandma hadn’t liked crowds.
After a while, I peeked at Alex again as I forced my thoughts away from shit in life I’d missed out on. Something was up his butt.
The problem was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what.
“Why are you being weird?” he asked suddenly as he turned into a mall.
I straightened in the seat. “I’m not being weird. I was just wondering if you’re done being grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy. You’re the one staring, trying to be discreet but sucking at it,” Alex said. “Why? You worried about meeting my mother?”
How could someone be this perceptive? There was no point in me lying. “Yes.”
“Then stop. I don’t like the way it smells when you worry.”
I lifted my arm and took a quick sniff. All I caught was a trace of my deodorant. Seemed fine to me.
“It’s different than your normal smell. It doesn’t stink.”
Hm. “Is it a curse? Having such a good nose?”
He turned the car into just about the farthest spot you could get in the lot, a quarter of a mile away from the actual mall building. “It can be,” he answered. “But I’ve been training my nose to ignore most scents my entire life, so it isn’t overwhelming.”
I turned to him. Maybe a normal person would have asked what kind of training he’d endured, but that wasn’t what pressed down on my nosy soul. “Who has the worst farts you’ve ever smelled?”
He blinked before sliding me a look. “You’re really asking about farts?”
I shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve smelled some terrible stuff. I didn’t really want to go dark that fast.” I also didn’t want him to confirm he could smell when someone was turned on. That was definitely something to keep in mind.
He tilted his head to the side. “Alana’s make me gag,” he answered unexpectedly.
I laughed. “I wondered if you pooped in the first place.”
He made a noise in his throat. Was he smirking? “We do, not as often as you do. We burn through most of our calories and use it as energy.”
That explained so much. “That’s almost as amazing as being super strong.”
Alex snickered. “Let’s get this over with.”
I got out right after he did, tugging his jacket closer around my body as I waited for him to come around the side. I shivered as a strong breeze blew by, and I took a half step closer to Alex, using his body to block it. He glanced over but didn’t say a word about me being so close as we hustled toward the store.
Wait a minute.
I stopped and grabbed his arm, peering up at his face. “You’ve got contacts in?”
“I put them in when you used the bathroom.”
I grabbed the collar of his jacket and tried to tug him down.
He went, lowering his head willingly, his eyelids widening overdark blueeyes.
