He tilts his head, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks. “I thought you had to misdirect me.”
“That too.”
“Shut up, dude!”
“Don’t call me dude,” I respond automatically.
He smiles, small, but then he frowns. “It wasn’t your responsibility to follow me around. And Meena told me you were only supposed to have a couple of conversations with me, then leave me be.”
“I wanted to, though,” I confess.
“What? Follow me around?” he laughs. “Don’t say things like that and confuse me, Matt! And you might be the big bad wolf, but you still can’t predict another human’s actions. Also, you have a life andtwojobs!”
I pull back, his hands falling. No, this is not the direction this conversation was supposed to take. I stand and start pacing.
I'm not explaining things properly. My brain doesn’t work when he's touching me.
“You don't get it. Your life will never be the same. Maybe you’re excited about the newness of everything right now, but you will come to hate it in the future. I've seen it happen. I know how it goes. The next time you see a big guy, you’ll be scared he might shift and kill you.
Oliver stands.
“You’ll find yourself looking over your shoulder every day, trying to see if someone is a werewolf. Every corner will be a threat to you. Everyone around you will think you're a freak for worrying, but youneedto worry because predators walk amongst you. It's not a good life, andIlet that happen to you.”
“Butyoudidn’t make the world like this.” He walks towards me.
I take a step back.
“Matt, I understand. I understand all of it, and I'm not scared. I've met at least ten werewolves in the last week, and only three of them were dangerous. Even they didn’t attack me until they felt provoked. You arenotinherently dangerous.”
He takes another step forward. I don’t move.
“Will youever hurt me?” he asks.
“What? Fuck no, never!” I say, moving towards him. I force myself to stop.
“Then I'm not scared. I'm not going to look for werewolves anymore. Consider that lesson learned.”
It can’t be that simple.
“You know what? Just answer this. Is this the only reason we're not together?”
I'm stumped. “No, we just…We can't be together.”
“Oh…right.” His face crumples. “Of course.”
“No, wait, it's not you! You’re so nice. Perfect. Innocent. You don't deserve the life you'll have if you—if we’re together.”
“Well, I get to make that decision, don't I?”
“No. You don't know the facts.”
He suddenly looks angry. “I just read a one-hundred-and-fifty-page document, Matt. I know what I’m volunteering for.”
My heart beats so fast I feel dizzy.
“You know what?” His voice rises. “I’m going inside thatroom, and I'll be naked there, waiting for you. Whenever you’re done thinking whatever you're thinking, that I am stupid or can't make decisions for myself, you can either join me or leave. Your call.”
He sharply turns and stomps to his bedroom.
