“How can I not cry?” We rested our heads against the glass. “I don't want you to hurt that way, David.”
“I know.” He shut his eyes tight.
I could feel a kind of magic between us that I was sure I’d never find anywhere else in the world; it was like, even though our flesh wasn’t touching, I could feel him against me—feel him from somewhere deep within. And when he wasn't around, I felt a kind of emptiness that seemed unnatural. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to miss you for the rest of my life,” I whispered, watching the hot, steamy water run wasted down the drain below my feet.
“Then don’t.” He exhaled, and as quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone again, leaving my hand against the glass, alone.
The phone rang while I struggled, in the privacy of my wardrobe, trying to pull my light blue cotton dress over my head; it rolled up, catching on my not-quite-dry skin, and stuck halfway down my waist. I tugged harder, a rise of frustration nearly turning to tears. I didn’t want to miss that call if it was Mike ringing before he got on the plane. What if it crashed and I never got to hear his voice again? What if it—
“Hello.” David’s melodious voice filled the room.
I froze, listening.
“Yes, she’s getting dressed.”
Oh, God, don’t tell him that! He’ll freak out, thinking you’re watching me, or something. I pulled my dress down and tripped all over myself to get out of the wardrobe. “I’m here. Gimme the phone.”
David grinned, holding his index finger up. “No, no, nothing like that.”
“David,” I huffed impatiently, offering a flat palm.
“Yes. It’s all she’s talked about for the last couple of weeks,” he said, then laughed.
“Okay, okay. That’s enough.” I snatched the phone from him and, assuming I knew who he was talking to, said, “Hi, Mike.”
“Hey, baby girl. How’s things?”
“Great. You at the airport?”
“Yeah, just thought I’d make sure you hadn’t forgotten me.”
“Yeah right. It’s all I’ve talked about, isn’t it?” I poked my tongue out at David.
Mike laughed. “Well, I’ve been looking forward to it, too. And I expect the biggest hug you’ve got tucked into those skinny little arms tomorrow, Ara.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ve been practicing my squeezing,” I said.
“With David?” he teased.
“Uh-huh, but you get a different kind of squeezing.”
“Oh, fine then, I know where I stand.” I could hear the amusement behind his feigned insult.
“Still in exactly the same place as always,” I added.
“Okay, well, have fun today, and…I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
“Yep, bye.” I had to dig my heels into the carpet to stop from bouncing around like a little girl. And as the phone disconnected, severing the lines of communication to my best friend, an empty feeling swallowed my soul for a second until I looked at David. But he looked troubled—leaning back in my chair, drumming his fingers on the desk, his thoughts a million miles away. “David?”
He looked up at me—snapping out of his stare.
“What is it?” I asked.
“You’re right.” A very cheeky grin lit his eyes. “He did not approve of my being here while you were getting dressed.”
“So?”
“So, he’s overprotective. I know the sort, Ara, he will ask questions about me.”
“Can you read his thoughts over the phone?” I said as I walked over and leaned my butt on the desk.
David shook his head. “No. I can only read certain electrical wavelengths—which don’t communicate over the phone. But I’ve been around humans and been subject to their thought-patterns long enough to make conclusions from very little detail.”
“Like one of those cool detectives on those crime shows?”
David laughed, resting his chin on his hand. “Yeah, something like that.”
“And you think you’ve summed Mike up, huh?”
He scratched the corner of his brow, taking a deep breath. “All I know is it’s a good thing I won’t be here during the day. I can’t be around you if he is.”
“Why?”
“I might be tempted to kill him,” he muttered with a certain amount of animosity; my mouth fell open a little. “He thinks he has some claim to you.”
“Really?” My cheek tightened on one side with a half-smile. “You know, you’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“Ara, be serious.” David leaned forward, elbows over his knees, looking at the floor between his feet. “I don’t know, maybe I should leave now. It’s just too risky. If he gets wind there’s a guy in your room every night, you know what he’ll do.”
“Look.” I sat on the desk, letting my bare feet dangle. “You might think he’s got some weird Spidey sense that can track the scent of another male like a mother to cigarettes on her son’s breath, but I’m not sure I really care if he finds out I have a guy in my room at night—not right now I don’t.”
He looked up at me. “Ara, if he finds me in your room and we’re forced to meet in person, it will only be a matter of time before he starts asking all the wrong questions.”
“And I’ll give all the wrong answers. I won’t tell him the truth about what you are.”
“It’s not the questions he asks you that I worry about—it’s the ones he asks himself.”
“Well, will it be that bad if he figures out what you are?”
“You mean aside from the fact that he’d steal you away from me, take you across the country, lock you in a closet, then fly back here and start a pitchfork rally against me?”
I laughed, rubbing my hand over my neck where droplets of cold water dripped down from my hair. “You know, the chances are he’ll figure something’s not right, anyway. I mean, especially when I refuse to laze around and watch movies with him at night.”
“I know. But—” He reached up and wiped an escaped droplet from my chest. “Well, I suppose it’s only for two weeks, right? Maybe we’ll be lucky to fly under the radar.”
“Maybe.”
“And my being away during the day will be good practice for you.”
“Practice? You mean for being without you for forever?”