“Oh, god,” she groans, putting her face in her hands. “What did you say to him?”
“I made it very clear my intentions with you, and he told me what his reservations were. We were colleagues before I knew you, so part of him was resentful that I had pursued you behind his back.”
“It wasn’t behind his back?—”
“It was, in its own way. He didn’t know I was going along on the trip to pick up Agnes, or that I had offered you private lessons. That was a mistake on my end, and I owned up to it.”
She wraps her arms around her knees and curls up on the couch, sighing deeply. “I feel awful about our fight,” she murmurs.
“He feels awful about how he spoke to you, baby. And I think if you’d answer his calls, he’d tell you. You’re my scent match—you’re the most important person in the world to me, and I know Avery is important to you. I didn’t want to be the cause of any rift; and if I fucked anything up, I wanted to repair it.”
She’s silent for a long time, until a tiny smile forms on her face. “I can’t believe you talked to him,” she mutters.
“It was going to happen eventually. I’m in this for the long run. There’s no one else for me, ever. Only you.”
Her eyes gaze into mine, searching for something. “I feel a lot,” she says softly. “Sometimes too much, all at once. And you haven’t seen that side of me until now.”
I nod. “Feelings are complicated.”
She chews the inside of her cheek and looks away. “You haven’t seen how bad it can get.”
“I can’t wait to.”
“What? You can’t mean that.”
“Icanmean that,” I promise. “Because this?” I motion to her. “This wonderful woman in front of me? Every smile, every tear, every irrational, or rational moment? That’s what makes her up. I don’t only love parts of you, Maeve. I loveallof you. Even the scary, darker parts you’re ashamed of.”
The words slip out before I can stop them, and she gasps.
“It’s barely been a month,” she whispers. “How can you know?”
I knew she was special the second she walked into my class, and truthfully, I probably fell in love when she entered my office.
“Because my days without you are duller. Food doesn’t taste right. Colors aren’t as bright. Even the air is harder to breathe when you’re not around.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I worry about cats too much,” she cries. “I worry abouteverythingtoo much, Fang. I’ll make up scenarios in my head, and it feels real to me, but it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. And eventually, you’ll be tired of reassuring me everything is fine. Your life will be dullbecauseof me.”
The tears are devastating. She’s wrong, incredibly wrong, but I’m not sure if my words will be enough to change her mind.
I turn on the couch to face her fully, pulling my feet up onto the cushions. “Can I show you something?” I ask her quietly, and she nods wearily.
I hold out my left hand, keeping the other in my lap. I keep my palm facing down, and hold it outstretched, waiting for her to notice the slight tremor.
“You’re shaking,” she murmurs.
“That’s how much I’m feeling right now,” I admit. “Sometimes, when it gets intense in my head, it will show up in my body.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. That trip to pick up Agnes, I was twitching the whole time in the car on the way there.”
“I didn’t notice that.”
“No. You were too busy being…affected by our scents.” I grin at her, and she huffs out a quiet laugh. “But you’re not the only one that experiences things intensely. And it’s not a bad thing, I promise.”
“It is when I run out of work because I can’t handle what’s happening.”
“You know why I took up guitar, originally?” I ask, and she tilts her head, curiously.
