Page 16 of She is the Darke

“What?”

“She talked about her ex-husband, and she broke down in aisle nine of the Piggly Wiggly.”

“Oooh,” she said again, lower. “Well, she seems to be in a very vulnerable spot, and would probably be an easy mark for you.”

He had been clapping at a play, but stopped and tossed her a disgusted face. “I don’t need an easy mark, Demi. You make me sound like some kind of predator.”

“I mean, you dated like a hundred people in high school.”

“Mmm, now ask me why I was doing that as a young man.”

“I don’t care,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

“If you don’t care enough to know the why, you aren’t allowed to judge it.”

His words settled into her soul, and felt right. He had a fair point.

“You dated people too,” he pointed out.

“Not like you.”

“I’m not a player anymore,” he said, eyes on the game.

“Mm-hmm. How many hearts have you broken since you left here at age eighteen?” she asked.

He tossed her a look and shook his head.

“Isn’t it nice to be honest with all your dirt?” she asked. “Here, I’ll go first. I am supposed to date men from my Murder, or other crow shifters in the general vicinity, but none of them stuck. Eventually I tried to date humans, and my mom was freaking out. I was brought in front of the elders of my Murder, and had to sit through a lecture on not being a ho for humans.”

He let off a wicked laugh. “You? A ho? Yeah, right.”

“Well, that’s what they thought.”

“You’re probably still a virgin.”

She huffed a breath. “Excuse yourself, you do not know me like that.”

He relaxed back into the cushions of her couch and draped his arm across the back. “How many people have you slept with?”

She hugged her arms around herself and stared at the TV, refusing to answer.

“One?” he asked. “Was it back in high school? Was it Robert Danner on the lacrosse team?”

“Oh my God, you were obsessed with him.”

“Obsessed how?”

“You asked me about him a dozen times back then.”

“Well, he was an asshole in the locker room and I didn’t want you…”

“Didn’t want me what?”

“Forget it.” He stood and took her plate to throw away in the kitchen, then returned with a fresh beer, but not for himself. He popped the top and put it in front of her.

She took a sip, and pushed. “Robert was a gentleman with me.”

“Well, he talked about the girls he fucked in the locker room, and I didn’t want him mentioning you.”

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