Liam raised his head. “Yeah.” He rubbed his arm. “It’s okay, though. You don't seem like the type of human to make a big deal out of it.”
I twitched involuntarily at being called a human. Then I realized he didn’t know Iwasn’tone. He was in the apartment of another bear shifter and had no idea. I couldn’t blame him for not noticing. I did everything in my power to forget about it, to keep it pushed down. Out of sight and out of mind. But as I watched Liam sitting there, feeling utterly alone, part of me wanted to reach down and pull my bear out – to show him he was among friends.
No. It was too dangerous. I had worked too hard for all I had now to give it up just to show a lone bear shifter that I wasn’t human. I would just have to keep lying to him.
Liam was shaking his head now.
I pulled out the orange juice from the fridge and poured us each half a glass. Couldn’t go wrong with orange juice.
“Here,” I grunted, handing him the glass.
“Oh.” He blinked and took it. I noticed he was careful not to touch my hand in the process. “Thank you.”
I took a seat further away from him on the couch. I watched him bring the glass to his lips and take a sip, his face scrunched up.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
He looked embarrassed. “I don’t like pulp,” he admitted.
“Why didn't you say so?” I took his glass and marched to the fridge, where I kept an extra pulp-free container of juice for Nick when he dropped by. I replaced Liam’s drink and handed it back to him. “There you go. Just like Nick,” I muttered, shaking my head. “You’ll like pulp when you’re older.”
He took a proper swig of his pulp-free juice this time then licked his lips. “I bet I won’t.”
“Wisdom comes with age,” I said, smirking.
“You’re not that much older than me.” Playfully, he added, “Although you definitely look like you are.”
I chuckled and leaned back on the couch. “I guess running into fires all day isn’t good for my complexion.”
Liam smiled slightly, then looked away and said, “I really appreciate what you did for me today.”
“I told you,” I grunted. “It’s not a big deal. It’s what I do every day. It’s my job.”
Liam huffed. “Well, it’s a big deal tome,okay?” he barked. I fell into a stunned silence. Liam realized how loud he’d spoken and sank back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to – ”
Liam’s expression was anxious, almost fearful. I didn’t know what he was so afraid of. Maybe I needed to be gentler with him.
“It’s fine. Don’t apologize,” I said. “You’re right.”
His big amber eyes shone. “Sorry,” he said again.
“Stop apologizing,” I said. Before I knew what I was doing, I reached over to ruffle his hair. It felt powdery with dirt and ash – Nick and Dan sure didn’t do a proper job of cleaning him up – but underneath it was soft. I realized how big my hand was compared to his head. He wasn’t speaking. I realized maybe I was scaring him again, and pulled back.
“You should take a shower,” I said. “The guys can barely look after themselves. I don’t know why I thought they could handle you.”
Liam nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been feeling kind of… greasy.”
“You know where the bathroom is,” I said. “You can use the towel in there. It’s clean. I mostly shower at the station.”
Liam suddenly looked meek again.
“What is it?” I asked.
He fidgeted. “I don’t, um, have any clothes.” He gestured to his dusty shirt. “Besides these ones.”
“I’ll leave something out for you,” I offered. “Might be a little big, though.”
His eyes softened again. I noticed they did that when he smiled. “Alright.”
