Cove’s lips thinned, thin auburn brows pulling together. With a rather defeated sigh, he gave a short nod to Jeremy.
“Yeah, okay. I’ve gotta get back out there anyway.” He shot Cove a quick look—half apologetic, half amused. “We’re not done with this conversation,” he added lightly, though there was an undercurrent of insistence beneath it. Jeremy’s attention returned to me, offering a polite, if slightly uncertain smile. “I feel like I recognize you from somewhere.”
Cove piped up quietly from behind his friend, “He’s a donor.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened. “Oh, sorry! I’m a part-time volunteer, so I don’t—never mind. Thank you for your support, sir!”
“It’s quite fine,” I answered mildly. “Jeremy, was it?”
“Yes, sir. Right. Well, nice to meet you, but I’ll leave you two to it!”
He slipped past me with a smile through the doorway. The door remained open behind him for a moment before swinging shut with a soft click.
“Hello, Cove.”
Cove fidgeted with the pipettes on the table in front of him. His fingers aligned them, then misaligned them, then adjusted them again—small, repetitive movements that served no real purpose beyond giving his hands something to do with the nervous energy bubbling up inside of him.
“I—” He cleared his throat, not looking at me. “I’m sorry about the other day. I didn’t mean to, like… go on like that,”he added, words coming a little faster now, tripping over themselves in their haste to be said correctly. “I know I can do that sometimes. I just—um—I thought you were asking, and then I kind of… didn’t stop.”
I watched with a sharp gaze as he rolled his bottom lip between his teeth, then sank down into the wet plushness.
What other places on his body would look so beautiful when bitten?
I frowned at myself, not quite understanding the implication behind that. Cove was to be part of my collection, and I certainly didn’t bite my other creatures.
“For what it’s worth,” he continued, quieter now, “I don’t usually do that with guests. Or donors. I know that’s not really appropriate.”
I took a step forward.
“You misunderstand,” I clarified, eyes still stuck on the tiny indent on his pink lip from his teeth. “I did not come back here to admonish you.”
“Then…”
“I came back,” I said, “because I enjoyed our conversation.”
Confusion flickered across his expression, breaking through the careful neutrality he’d been attempting to maintain. His brows pulled together, not in distress this time, but in uncertainty.
“You… did?” he asked, before he could stop himself.
“Yes. In fact,” I added, taking another step closer, “your tendency to‘go on like that’is precisely what made it worthwhile.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Cove let out a small, uncertain breath. “I thought—” he started, then hesitated.
I waited.
“I thought I was being too much,” he finished, quieter.
“Not at all,” I assured him. “I think it’s a shame that you are so accustomed to being interrupted before you’re finished.”
The words lingered between us, and I watched the way they wormed their way into his head. He appeared not to know what to make of what I’d said.
It was silent for a moment before I continued, “I would like to hear what else you have to say.”
His gaze was uncertain, searching my face as though trying to determine whether this was genuine interest or some kind of test.
