Turning, I squeaked at the sight of him standing in the doorway. I was beginning to recognize when I’d done something he’d really liked by the color of his ears. Watching me put jeans on over my sleep shorts was about a six in his book. The palm kiss had been a seven. I wondered how he would react when I did something that ranked higher. The thought didn’t upset me. In fact, I kind of wanted to find out.
Dangerous territory.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” I said, edging past him. “Don’t give my room away while I’m gone. I might need it again tonight.”
Outside, I took a deep breath and smiled. Maybe it was the good night’s sleep. Maybe it was knowing I had another day where I didn’t need to leave the safety of Tolerance. Or maybe it was Thallirin’s now flattering attention and my resolution to be nicer to him. Whatever it was, I felt alive and happy.
Smiling even bigger, I started home. I’d only made it a block when I spotted Zach coming my way.
“If you’re headed home, don’t,” he said.
I took in the dark circles under his eyes.
“They didn’t stop?”
“Not yet. Next time you have a bright idea in the middle of the night, come get me, too,” he said.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“Like anyone could sleep through that. Uan’s a machine. There were like fifteen-minute breaks, at most.”
“Have they come out of the room yet? Did you make sure Mom was okay?”
He gave me a disgruntled look.
“Yeah, Uan came out to make me breakfast because Mom was sleeping. He was bare-assed while making me waffles. Like I was going to eat his pube waffles.”
I was laughing so hard I snorted.
“He made enough for you, too. You should go check on Mom.”
“I’m good,” I said between giggles. “What are you going to do today? Want to come back to Uan’s? Well, not Uan’s. He gave it to Thallirin because Uan’s officially moving in, I guess.”
Zach’s expression vacillated between horror and confusion.
“I’m not sure what’s getting me more. The idea of listening to Uan and Mom go at it like rabbits every night or the idea of you willingly hanging with Thallirin.”
“Har-har. Thallirin didn’t understand what was going on before or why what he was doing was so abrasive. Now that we understand each other a little better and he’s not trying to boss me around, he’s pretty nice. He tried making me pancakes this morning.”
“You know what? I think I’m going to go see what Garrett’s up to today. He has a house to himself. Maybe I’ll crash there tonight, too.”
I cringed at what he was hinting at.
“You think Mom and Uan will be at it the same way tonight?”
“I don’t see it changing any time soon. Not the way they look at each other.” His humor fled, and he looked down at the ground. I knew where his head had gone, and I gave his arm a comforting squeeze.
“She’ll always be our mom,” I said. “But she needs this, Zach.”
He nodded.
“It just feels like the family is falling apart.”
“No. It’s going through an awkward growth phase. Enjoy your freedom at Garrett’s while you can because Mom’s going to put her foot down and demand you come home as soon as she figures out what you’re doing.”
“What about you? Are you going to risk staying at Thallirin’s again tonight?”
Staying at Thallirin’s didn’t feel like a risk at all. In fact, the idea of waking up and seeing him again tomorrow morning appealed to me far too much.
Chapter Eleven
“I’m going to enjoy my freedom, too, while I have it, and I’m eating all of Uan’s junk food while I’m there.” I shivered and looked in the direction of our house. “I’d planned to go home to shower and change, but I’m not sure I want an eyeful of Uan. Let me know if there’s anything going on today. Two days in a row watching movies is going to get a little boring.”
“Will do. You do the same.”
“I will.”
He walked off toward Garrett’s, and I turned around to head back to Thallirin’s. If I was lucky, I’d find something else to wear at his house. The fey were known to collect women’s clothes in hopes that they’d catch a female for themselves as if we were wild rabbits just running around waiting for their snares and cuddles.
Thallirin opened the door for me before I even reached it.
“Hey,” I said. “Hope you don’t mind I’m back so soon.” I stepped inside and removed my jacket. “Turns out Mom and Uan are still having sex. You wouldn’t happen to have any spare clothes here, would you? I was hoping for a shower and a clean change of clothes when I went home.”
“Go shower. I will find you something and put it in your room.”
“Really? Thanks.”
I closed myself into the guest bathroom and stripped down. Because of the supply runs, I didn’t usually shower in the morning. It was too cold to have wet hair while guarding the trucks. And I’d skipped my shower last night because I’d assumed I’d have one this morning—it being a no-supply-run day. After going for days at a time without bathing post-quakes, I ensured I got my daily showers when I could.
Testing the water, I ducked under the spray with a sigh and washed my hair. I didn’t linger long. Just long enough for my skin to turn pink and my fingers to prune. Okay, I took my sweet-ass time and loved it.
When I finally got out of the shower, I dried off then wrapped the damp towel around my torso to cross the hall. A set of clothes waited on my bed as promised.
“Thank you,” I called as I dropped the towel and picked up the underwear he’d set out for me. They were mine.
Frowning, I looked in the bag on the chair and found that everything in it was mine.
I turned toward the bed again and froze at the sight of Thallirin in the doorway. He was gripping the frame, and his head hung low like he’d been punched in the balls. He wasn’t looking at the ground, though. He was looking at me with tormented eyes.
As I watched, the darkness consuming the tips of his ears spread to his face and down his neck.
“Are you okay?” I said softly.
“Forgive me.”
He straightened and stepped into the room.
My pulse skyrocketed, and I retreated a pace.
He didn’t follow, though. He reached for the knob and pulled the door closed so I could dress in private. I exhaled slowly and wondered how I felt about what had just happened. Sure, my pulse was pounding in fear, but there was something else there, too. Something terrifyingly unexpected. Disappointment. But was it because he hadn’t chased me or because I’d retreated from him and likely hurt his feelings?
I hurried to dress then left my room to look for Thallirin, unsure if I needed to apologize or thank him. He wasn’t anywhere in the house, though. Figuring he might need some time to cool off, I went to the snack cupboard to look for something new then put on another movie.
It took Thallirin an hour to return, and he wasn’t alone.
“Bundle up, Brenna,” Zach said, in greeting. “Garrett and I had an idea.”