“He’s…controlling.” To put it mildly.
Rani paused, her hand hovering over my cheek. “In what way?” she asked. “Tie you up and bend you over, or cut you off from family and friends controlling? Because there’s a difference.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Both were true but not for reasons she would understand, and I couldn’t explain. She took my silence as a red flag and put the brush down.
“Has he hurt you? Or is he threatening you? I don’t care how hot he is, I have access to a boat, and can make his body sink to the bottom of the ocean before he can say fish food.”
I smiled at her unquestioning defense of me.
“No, nothing like that.” She relaxed and reached for the makeup once more. After another minute of silence, I tried again, “He’s always there. Watching me, touching me, wanting to carry my books and walk me to class like an invalid.” Okay, that didn’t sound all that bad, but I wasn’t explaining it right. “He wants more from me than I can give him.”
“Have you told him that?”
So many times.
“Yes.”
“And?” she prompted.
Makeup finished, I got up and paced the small room while Rani cleaned up.
“And he says he’s content to wait until I’m ready to discuss ‘us.’” I grimaced, and Rani laughed, like what I said was adorable.
“Honey,” she said with a soft smile. “If he’s making his intentions known and not pressuring you to fulfill them, then I’d say he’s being downright chivalrous. Has he tried to kiss you? Or touch you in any way that can be seen as more than friendly?”
“Not since…” I blushed, remembering the last time he touched me, in this very room. “Not since our last conversation about it.”
“Then, what’s the problem?”
I groaned and threw my head into my hands. That was the problem. The more I was around him, the more I wanted to give in. Was that a bad thing? Normally, I would say no. But our situation was unique and not one I could share with my human roommate, no matter how badly I wanted her opinion. I settled on a shrug and hoped that the guilt of lying to my only friend wouldn’t eat me alive.
The party was in full swing when we arrived, but we still had time before the main festivities began. I followed Rani to the purple tent to sign in. As the last to arrive, we were assigned to one of the last missions. That didn’t bother me. I still didn’t quite understand how it all worked yet anyway. Before being released to mingle and wait our turn, we were outfitted with a Nerf gun and a bag of large marshmallows. My face must have given away my confusion because the guy behind the table laughed.
“The Nerf gun is for the zombies. Three shots equal a kill or just one to the head.”
“Then what happens?” I asked.
“The zombie has to sit out for fifteen minutes before theycan reanimate. Thirty minutes if you hit them with a grenade,” he said, pointing at the marshmallows.
With those strange instructions bouncing around my brain, I followed Rani into the trees. String lights dangled between branches, giving the whole area a fairytale glow. With beer. The kegs were hidden out here, but I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol tonight. My freedom was precious, and I didn’t want to risk it by giving Kaiden an excuse to lecture me about safety.
Speak of the devil, I saw him and his cousin making their rounds. We made eye contact, and he nodded but didn’t approach.Thatwas surprising. I thought for sure I’d have to hide in the shadows all night to avoid him. Smiling, I limped deeper into the crowd with confidence; knowing they were around and willing to protect me went a long way. A fallen log presented itself as the perfect bench, and I sat on it. There was no reason to push my ankle past its limits.
“Oh, great spot, girl.” Rani shimmied her way over, beer sloshing out of her cup. “We can watch everyone from here.”
To Rani, everyone meant the hot guys walking past to get to the keg. None of them appealed to me, and I tried not to think too hard about why that was. A few returned my roomie’s flirtatious smiles, but only one was brave enough to approach. He held two juice bottles, swiped when the sister watching the drink table wasn’t looking, I’d bet, and shyly winked as he offered one of them to me.
“Don’t worry, it’s sealed,” he said when I didn’t reach out to take it.
Iwasthirsty. I accepted the bottle and was relieved to see he wasn’t lying.
“Thanks.” I smiled and took a few sips. “I don’t know if I should be accepting gifts from a rival team though.”
His brows rose in shock. What? Did I do it wrong? Ranimade flirting seem so easy. Just when I was about to dig a hole and bury my head in it, he let out a strained laugh.
“You mean because I’m on Team Green?” His white teeth were a little too bright in this light, and it was another strike against him in my opinion. “I don’t mind helping another team win if it has such a beautiful hunter.”
Rani elbowed me when I didn’t answer, but what was I supposed to say to that? I really was bad at the flirting thing. Thankfully, a whistle blew, signaling the next mission, and our number was called. I turned without another word and started my slow limp to the clearing.
