Page 71 of Counting Quarters

“So, while our birthdays aren’t aligned, he and Mom were born exactly twelve hours apart.”

“You inherited your mom’s Counter? Why wouldn’t the gods just give you your own?”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense. But when I’m around him… I don’t know. I wanted to ask you what it was like with you and Remy, when you realized you were bonded.”

Her back straightened as the memory returned, and she winced.

It wasn’t a positive experience. I knew because I felt it. Fear, fury, regret… it all moved through me like a tidal wave.

Storie was completely unaware of the effect she had on me. I still hadn’t told her that I could feel other people’s emotions. Admitting it to her now felt like an invasion of her privacy, though. Because while she was feeling these enormous emotions, she managed to school her expression into a mask of indifference. I realized then that there wasn’t a lot I had told my friend in the past few months. Especially since the Fire Festival. Since we’ve been so busy.

“It was so intense,” her voice finally said. It temporarily distracted me from feeling her. “We could both feel it—physically and emotionally. Whenever I was near him, it was like my body was buzzing… like it was sending signals to his that we were close.”

I thought about Kyle. How we had this undeniable connection between us. It happened almost immediately. Like, we instantly knew we could trust one another with our lives—with our darkest secrets.

But as far as I knew, there was nothing insanely physical about our bond outside of when we had sex. No vibrating. No pain. Nothing of that sort. When I told Storie as much, she shrugged.

“Remy has this theory that ours was so intense because his gift is the water element and we, as humans, are made up of sixty percent water. He thinks it was our gifts reacting to one another.”

When I blinked at her owlishly, she chuckled. “We’ve been waiting for one of the others to find their Counter, so we could compare.”

“None of this makes me feel any better.”

“Your souls have been tied together somehow. It’s not something that can be evaluated or studied, or even understood. You just kind of know. And if you’re sitting here, talking to me about it, then you must know.”

“How did you get past the permanence of it? What if things don’t work out for us romantically and we’re stuck bonded for life?” That was the part that scared me the most.

She barked out a laugh, then rested her chin in her hand. “Isn't that how every relationship begins? You never know. There's just something different about it all.”

“I guess we'll see what he thinks.” I picked at the blanket.

“You haven't talked about it yet?!” She slapped her knee.

“I'm afraid of what he'll do.”

“Give him a chance to react before you make up scenarios in your head, Blaire.”

Kyle was waiting for me as I walked up to the house. My nerves flared up upon seeing his warm, welcoming face. He looked worn and tired from the day, yet still managed to smile when he saw me. Still extended his arms toward me, pulling me into his chest when I walked into them.

It was the salve to my burning anticipation.

I hooked my fingers in his and let him lead me through my door and up the stairs. Let him wrap me in his arms and kiss me.

“I have something to tell you,” I said between kisses.

His teeth nipped at my lower lip, penalizing me for breaking the spell we were under.

“Can it wait?”

Large hands snaked around my sides and slid down to cup my butt, tightly squeezing when I tried to pull away again. A sigh escaped my lips, and I finally relented, deepening the kiss. I wrapped my legs around his waist, climbing up until we were equal height.

His tongue brushed against my lips, teasing. I raked my fingers against his scalp and tugged on his roots, tilting my head to allow him access to my neck.

He carried us into my bedroom and gently laid me down, only breaking contact long enough to pull his shirt off before he wedged his knee between my legs and leaned over me.

“I've missed you,” he said breathlessly against my lips, and I hummed. “Today was shit.”

My fingers glided up his torso, then followed the same path downward, slipping under the waistband of his jeans. He hissed out a breath when they gripped his erection, gently tugging. He hopped back off the bed and made quick work of slipping his jeans and briefs off at once, and I watched him spring upward when the constraints were removed.

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