“So, wait,” Jason says. “It’s like a talking stick?”
Monroe raises an eyebrow at him, and he grabs the dinosaur from me. “Why aren’t we using an actual stick?” he asks. “We’re out in nature. Do you know how many sticks there are around here?”
“Dinokins is soft,” Monroe says. “And—”
“Less plentiful?” Jason suggests.
“Morecomforting,” Monroe insists.
Jason squints at her. “You’ve had people hit each other with the talking stick, haven’t you?”
Monroe raises her voice, like she’s desperate to change the subject. “But you can’t snatch Dinokins away from Emily. Dinokins can only be given freely. Please give him back.”
Jason gives her a sullen look—hereallydoesn’t like being told to be quiet—and hands Dinokins back to me.
“I think it’s okay if Jason tells me what he’s thinking, even if he doesn’t have the dinosaur,” I say. “We’re supposed to be talking about our feelings, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” Monroe says. “One at a time. So Emily, tell me how you feel about Jason saying that he doesn’t think you’re cheating on him. I understand you had a disagreement about someone namedTate?”
Oh, god, now we’re draggingTate into this. Not that I care if I ruin that loser’s reputation or relationships. “Jason said something about me having feelings for him while I was dating my ex-boyfriendTate,” I say. “But I didn’t cheat onTate with Jason. I’ve never cheated on anyone.”
“I know that,” Jason says, and as Monroe glares at him, he groans in frustration, looking longingly at Dinokins. I toss the dinosaur to him.
“Here,” I say. “I freely give this.”
“I’m sorry I brought up what happened withTate. I get that you’re in love with me, and you don’t have feelings for anyone else, and I’m sorry. I had no reason to be jealous of Connor, and I didn’t mean to question your integrity.”
I blink.That’s pretty eloquent for Jason. Not that he can’t go on about things, but usually when he does, it’s about the challenges of a given climb or the merits of this backpack over that one. Apologies, not so much.
“Thank you,” I say.
“I think we should dig a little deeper,” Monroe says, and Jason tosses me the dinosaur.
Crap, I just spoke out of turn again.This whole dinosaur thing is really hard, and I think it’s only making itmoredifficult for us to communicate.
“Do we need to?” I ask. “I don’t have feelings for anyone but Jason. I’veneverreally had feelings for anyone but Jason.”
Monroe’s eyes light up. “Please speak to that.”
Oh, god. I don’t want to speak to that.
Jason grins at me and bites his lip like he wants to insist that I elaborate on that point, but can’t talk without Dinokins.
“I freely give this to you,” I say, passing the dinosaur.
“No, Emily.” Monroe leans forward enough out of her seat to snatch the dinosaur from Jason and hand it back to me. “I think you need to tell us about your past boyfriends. You didn’t have feelings for them?”
“I mean, I hadinterestin them. But I was never in love before. I was never as invested in a relationship.”
“Jason,” Monroe says, “how do you feel about that?”
I toss him the dinosaur like a hot potato. I’m not comfortable talking about my lack of investment in previous relationships, and definitely not with the cameras on.
This whole thing is getting more real than I thought it would, but I’m not sure how to stop it without looking uncooperative. Maybe Monroe is better at her job than I gave her credit for.
“How do I feel about her never having had real feelings for anyone but me?” he asks. “Good. Real good. I feel great about that.”
“And what about you, Jason?” Monroe asks. “How have you felt in your past relationships?”
