My dragon had been keeping a running countdown since we drove away from Larkin's truck.
Seventy-two hours, he announced.That's four thousand, three hundred, and twenty minutes.
Thank you. That's incredibly unhelpful.
I was lying on my couch and holding my phone on my chest. Larkin's number was right there, one tap away, and I'd opened the text thread eleven times without typing anything. The last message was his from the night he'd gotten my number, and looking at it made my stomach do what I called hopscotch. It bopped up and down, before leaning over and straightening up.
My thumb hovered over the display. What was I supposed to say?
Hey, I know we agreed to six weeks of secrecy, but I haven't stopped thinking about your forearms.
I typedHeyand deleted it. ThenHi,and I deleted that too.What are you doing?made me sound like a bored teenager, so that went too.
Your fingers are moving but nothing is happening, my dragon observed.Is the phone broken?
I'm thinking.
You've been thinking for days. Try doing something.
I texted Larkin.You owe me a water bottle. You stole the last one at the barbecue.
It wasn't smooth or clever, but it was words. I hit send and tucked the phone under a cushion because I’d scream if I had to look at those three dots.
Thirty seconds later, the phone buzzed, and I tossed the cushion on the floor.
You handed it to me.
Under extreme duress. My fingers were in shock from touching yours, and I panicked.
There was a pause. The damned dots appeared, and I pounded my fist on another cushion.
That's not how I remember it.
I grinned.Oh yeah? Give me your version.
You practically threw it at me and insulted my station.
I laughed out loud which released some stress and pleased my dragon.
We texted back and forth for an hour. It started with the water bottle and drifted into other things. He asked where I grew up.
Trenton, born and raised. Lived in the same house until I moved out at nineteen.
Larkin was from upstate, near the mountains, and had moved to Danvers when he got the lieutenant position.
Just you?I was fishing for details.No family here?
Parents are still upstate. Sister a few hours away. He paused.It's just me and the crew.
Awww, he sounded lonely, but perhaps I was reading too much into it.
I pictured him in his place eating dinner and watching TV alone. My chest ached, but this was a different one than what I experienced when we weren’t together. He kept everyone else together but didn't have anyone waiting for him when the shift ended.
My parents are twenty minutes away, I replied. I told him that my alpha dad called every few days to make sure I was eating enough. And my father phoned to check if my truck was making a noise.
I'd pay good money to hear your truck again.
That response startled me, and I gulped. Was he talking about the vehicle or was that a euphemism? He said “again” so that had to be my actual truck. I decided to reply as if he wasn’t playing games.
