Well, that wasn’t true. I’d gone to a therapist for a couple of years, but I’d only talked to her because she wasn’t someone in my life; she wasn’t someone who cared about it. It’d helped, but I… I didn’t like burdening my family with my shit.
My past wasn’t easy, and I…
I really didn’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole. Not now. Not when I was pissed at my dad, worried about our case, and getting ready to go out. All I needed was to start crying and end up with runny mascara.
But… Ker was right. I could talk to him about anything.
And this whole thing with Roman, this crush that kept growing and growing, was something I needed to talk about. And I should talk to my best friend about it. If not with him, then with who?
So I took a deep breath and said, “Sooooo… I kinda maybe have a little itty bitty super small teeny tiny minuscule crush on Roman.”
Keryth squealed so loudly I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad’s guards came crashing into my condo to make sure we were alright. It made me laugh.
“Oh my Scales, Ker, shhhhhh.”
He squealed again, but much quieter. “Holy crapola, I knew it!” He pointed at me. “You have a huge crush on Rome! Eeekkk!”
“Pretty sure I just said it was a very tiny one.”
He laughed. “Denial, my friend. I could see your crush from a mile away. It’s ginormous. Like bigger than the tower huge.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
He waved me off. “Oh, come on. You know what I mean.”
I sighed. “Okay, fine. I… kinda really wanna lick him.”
Ker stared at me for a beat, then burst out laughing. “Holy crap, that was hilarious. Your face.” He chuckled. “Oh man… lick him? Really?”
I shrugged, ignoring how badly I was blushing. “Dude, have you seen him? I mean, I know you’re with Anton and everything, but you still have eyes, don’t you?”
He laughed. “Yeah, I do, and yeah, Roman does seem particularly lickable.”
“Right?” I laughed and gave him a push. “But you’re not allowed to lick him. That’s reserved only for me.”
He rolled his eyes and pushed me back. “Ew. Stop. I don’t want to picture that anymore.”
That made me laugh. “You’re picturing it? Ewwww… you perv.”
He laughed again, shaking his head. “You keep saying it! What do you expect?”
I stuck my tongue out, playing with my piercing for only a second before I made a loud, obscene licking sound.
“Mother of All! Stop it!”
We were both laughing so hard, we had tears in our eyes.
When we caught our breath, he said, “Holy crap, I’m so excited for you. You must’ve been in heaven the past two months, spending all that time with him.”
With a sigh, I sat on the bed beside him. “It was fun playing house with him, if I’m being honest.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. He’s… really sweet. And caring. I’ve never…” I cleared my throat. “I’ve never had anyone want to… take care of me. He’s always cooking for me and even, like, cutting up fruit to give me as snacks, and making sure I have a blanket when we watch TV, even though I’m a dragon too and run just as hot as he does. He’s just been so…” I shrugged, unsure of how to finish that sentence. I honestly didn’t even know what I was trying to say.
Ker was smiling so wide it was almost verging on creepy territory. “That sounds amazing, and I know exactly what you mean. Living with Anton, and even the other vamps, has been… really amazing. I’ve never had help taking care of the girls before, and I definitely never had anyone else trying to look after me, you know? Now that I have it, it’s so… comforting.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” I sent him a fond smile.
