Rather than deny me outright, he says quietly, “You need to know that you can do this by yourself.”
Because he might not always be here.
But I really don’t think that’s what hewants, so fuck that.
And Nomi next to me,tryingto support me, gives me the emotional strength to tell him, “I don’twantto do it by myself.”
Something flashes in his gaze, too fast for me to catch it.
Doesn’t matter, not right this second anyway.
I level a finger at him and inform him, “If I only have one more day with you,you’re coming.”
Zan clenches his jaw. His bone structure is so chiseled I canseeit.
But finally, he gives me that fucking shrug again followed by a tight nod, and ducks back into his room.
Not nearly satisfied, I stomp to “mine.”
Ha.
I change course for the bathroom.
I strip and wipe myself down—no time for a bath, but I worked up a sweat yesterday—before carrying my clothes back to the room that has piles of blankets on the floor and a bed that isn’t Zan’s.
Maybe I’ll blow this one up so there’s really only one bed for me in actuality, not just, like, metaphorically.
I drop my dirty clothes on the floor.
Nomi picks them up and puts them in a basket in my room.
I frown. “Won’t that get the basket dirty?” I remember what Zan told me about the furniture.
“Not quickly,” Nomi says. “And it’s better than having a mess in your room.”
I snort. “It’s not like I’m spending any time here.”
“I see.” Nomi sits on the edge of the bed. “Do you want to put on clothes before we talk?”
“Didn’t you bring some?”
“No. I lied. It was a plausible excuse to talk to you alone for a minute.”
Ha, I was right.
“Zan won’t be fooled,” I tell her. “He knew both of us leaving his room would get your attention.”
“The point isn’t fooling him. The point is a polite fiction so people don’t feel obligated to talk about things face to face if they don’t want to.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, I’m familiar with the concept. It just wasn’t actually necessary.”
“And I had no way of knowing that,” Nomi pointed out, “but neither doyou, since you don’t actually know what I want to talk to you about.”
“You mean it’snotZan?” I ask skeptically.
“You’re really not going to put on clothes first?”
“Will that change what you’re going to tell me?”
