CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
“I wonder if my nails are dry yet?” I moved my hand in front of my face, slowly studying my fresh nails. “I’ll check—”
“You should wait!” he interrupted me.
I made the mistake of touching the paint too soon, and my fingerprint branded half of my thumbnail.
“Damn it. But still good as new.” I continued to wave my hands in the air and blow on them every few seconds. I had been dozing and was relaxed and still sort of drowsy; I could have fallen asleep if I wasn’t so hungry. The rain was steady and the heat had kicked on, blowing warm air out of the floor vents. I felt at ease.
“Remember how we were talking aboutTwilight?” I asked him, as my nails finished drying.
“What?” He laughed at that.
“I mean, not right now. Not even today, but you remember, we talked about it.”
Kael nodded, though clearly confused. “Yeah?”
“Anyway, there’s this character named Jasper who can control people’s emotions—well, not only humans’, vampires’, too. That’s his power. You know they all have powers, the Cullens, at least.” I looked down at my new manicure, then up at him, smiling with delight. I felt so happy. It was weird.
“Right. Go on.”
“Anyway, he does this thing where he can calm people, and I feel like you do that. Not in a vampire way. Obviously.”
“Obviously.”
I read the words on Kael’s sweatshirt. It said Georgia Southern on top of a picture—was it a bird? I couldn’t tell. The words and emblem were faded, the material of the lettering flaking off. It looked vintage, but not in a pretentious way.
“So, you’re a hugeTwilightfan, huh?” he asked, humor in his tone.
“Everyone is.”
He licked his lips before he spoke. “I think that’s a stretch.”
“Is it?” I questioned with sarcasm.
We were flirting, I think? I wasn’t very good at it, though he obviously was since I was grinning like an idiot and he had barely spoken.
“I mean, I wouldn’t sayeveryoneis a fan.” He shrugged. “I can appreciate it for what it is.”
I started to feel a little defensive. What did he mean by that? I couldn’t stand the condescension.
“So you guys can watch a bunch of men chasing a ball, but romance fandom is dismissible?” I asked the question, thinking about how many times I’d wanted to speak my peace on this subject.
He raised his hands. “No, no, no. Not dismissing romance at all. I just like my vampires a little more murderous? I don’t have anything againstTwilight. Put your weapon down.” He smirked. “My sister loves it.”
“What’s she like?” I was dying to know more about his family, about him.
He shifted his body closer to me as we sat together on the floor. I could tell his eyes were reading mine to see if he could trust me.Please trust me,I wanted to beg him.
“She’s . . . she’s all the things I’m not.”
I felt like he let me in, even if the door was barely cracked. I kept my focus on his face. In the tiny twitch in his jaw, I could sense his protectiveness of her, and in his eyes, the adoration for her. I was ashamed that it made me a little jealous. Not in a romantic way, not even close, but in a way that I really, really, really wished I had someone who loved me that much.
“When did you see her last?” I wanted to ask more before he closed the door on me.
“Before I deployed.”
“Wow. It’s been nearly a year?”