“I don't mind Disney.”
“Of course you don't. You're like a real life version of one of those princesses.”
I scoff a laugh. “I'm not a princess.”
“You look like one.”
“I have eyes too large for my face and a waist disproportionate to the rest of my body?”
He chuckles, the sound low and deep on the other end.
“No, your eyes are the perfect size for your face, and I happen to really like your proportions.”
I lean back against the pillows on my bed, and laugh. A little too loud. A little too eager to hear him keep talking.
“So I'm not a Disney princess.”
“Maybe not. But you're definitely beautiful enough. And Gwen is just as obsessed with you as she is with letting it go.”
“I like her too.”
“I'm glad.” He suddenly sounds serious. “I told you that she's a big part of my life now. She and my mom both. When classes start back up again, I won't have much free time left between those, work, and my family.”
“Are you saying I might have to help babysit if I want to spend time with you?”
“Not always.”
“I wouldn't mind. I like your family, Wilder. I like your life.”
A beat of silence stretches between us and then he asks, “I know you said you're estranged from your sisters. But do you have any other family? Parents? Cousins? Aunts? Uncles?”
I've got a tremendous amount of family, really. I mean my sister muses are the closest ties by far, but all the gods are connected to each other in some way. But it's been a long time since I've seen any of them. The only ones who still walk the Earth are my sisters, the furies (who are also dependent on humanity to satisfy their need for justice and punishment), and the watchers, the sons of Argus.
I suppose the fates might still be here too, but they've never been the type to mingle with humanity. They were always isolated … from everyone and everything. There are descendents, too. But the bloodlines are so watered down now that there are unlikely to be any mortals out there with significant ties to deity. Oracles, perhaps, might be the rare exception. I've never met one myself, but I heard rumors of them long after the greater gods withdrew from the world.
“Kalli? Are you still there? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.”
“No … no, it's fine. I'm sorry. I got a little lost in my thoughts. And to answer your question … it's just me. I don't see any of my family anymore.”
He's silent for a long time on the other end. Maybe waiting for me to say more. Or perhaps unsure of how to reply. Other people never are. They usually apologize or offer sympathies or attempt to pry. When Wilder does reply he only says, “I wish you were in my arms right now.”
“Me too,” I answer without thinking.
We stay on the line a little longer, not really saying anything. But I can hear him breathing on the other end, and it somehow helps with the emptiness I always feel when I think about my sisters. A part of me knows that we would have had to split up eventually, even if things with Mel hadn't gone so wrong. We couldn't have all lived and gone unnoticed together in the modern world. But that doesn't mean I don't miss them, that I don't feel the barely there tug of our intertwined fates behind the larger more vibrant thread that I'm currently feeling with Wilder.
“I should go,” I finally say.
“Okay.”
“Can I call you tonight? Before I go to bed?”
He pauses for a moment, and I imagine him smiling.
“I'd like that.”
After we hang up, I text a few people in the group again, trying to see if anyone has any free time or is working on anything interesting. No one is available. I didn’t text Jack yesterday since he was the last person I had contact with as a muse and I’m trying to space them out, but I’m desperate enough to see Wilder, that I text him anyway.
He replies almost immediately. He has tomorrow evening off. And he wants to know if I’d pose for him again.
I waver, knowing that Wilder probably wouldn’t like the idea if his reaction to Jack on Christmas is any indication. But I don’t have much of a choice. And besides … that was before we talked, before I made my decision. He knows now how I feel. And really, Jack isn’t even remotely a threat to him. No one is.
I text him back, yes. And we make plans to meet the following evening at his apartment.
Chapter Eighteen
Wilder
Kalli calls late that night while I’m going through some files for work. I smile when I see her name on the caller ID, and I start packing up my work as I lift the phone to my ear.
“Hey you,” I answer.
There’s a long silence, enough that I pull the phone back to make sure I didn’t accidentally hang up or lose the call.
“Kalli? Are you there?”
“I’m here. Sorry.”
Her voice is soft. Warm. It reminds me of caramel for some unfathomable reason. Christ, this girl turns me into a total idiot.
“How did your work go?”
“Um. Okay. I’ve got some more that I need to do tomorrow, but I think I could take some time off the next day.”
I run through my schedule in my head. That’s a Monday, and I’m working through most of the day. And I think Mom has a night shift, so I’d have to be at her place that night to keep Gwen, but I could swing something in between.
“How about dinner?” I ask. “I could pick you up around six-thirty?”
“You got your car back okay?”
“Yeah. Mom took me by to grab it. So, six-thirty? We good?”
She hesitates again, and I wonder if she’s trying to keep me away from her place. I don’t have the slightest clue where she lives. “We could meet somewhere if that’s easier?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that would be great.”
“Any requests on where or what we eat?”
I can almost hear her shake her head on the other end. “How about you take me to one of your favorite places.”
I rack my brain for a moment, but come up empty.
“I’m not sure any of the places I frequent are good first date material.”
“I don’t care. This hardly counts as a first date anyway. And I’d rather go somewhere that will teach me about you than a first-date-appropriate restaurant.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I don’t want either of us to feel like we have to impress each other or be something we’re not. I’d rather skip over all that posturing and just get straight to what matters.”