Page 54 of The Jorogumo

Once we were in the brightly lit hallway that led to all the areas, Liam turned to look at me, his eyes scanning me from the top of my head to my shoes.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to change back?" he asked, eyeing my legs pointedly, and I smiled.

"I will, but I need to get out of these shoes and pants first, so I'll do it once we're at my place."

Liam nodded, then started leading the way, stepping through the Forest door.

We both inhaled deeply once we were inside. The night air here was so much...cleaner than outside. No pollution, no dust in the air, just a faint scent of flowers and the slightest bit of chill.

I waved at Zamir, who was sitting cross-legged on the grass with Keoni, both of them looking up at the stars. Keoni's cart sat near a tree behind them, his legs folded under him as he leaned against Zamir.

Since Keoni had hit seventeen—the maturity age for most supes—he'd started trying to read the stars, to figure out if he could predict the future like other centaurs. If his herd hadn't kicked him out, he would've been trained in the art, but I knew he could learn even without the guidance. He was one of the smartest people I knew.

Both of them smiled as we walked past, and Liam glanced over at me.

"I really like Keoni. He's so sweet and cheerful."

"That he is. He's the baby of this place, though not very fond of that title."

Liam smiled, and I imagined the two of us making this trip every evening, curling up together in my hammock every night. Nothing else compared to the comfort and satisfaction that image filled me with.

Liam

I had to rush back to open the store the next morning, and I was glad I'd only had that one drink. The day was turning out to be more hectic than I'd expected, and I wouldnothave done well with a hangover.

Even so, my feet were killing me by lunch time, and I decided to hunker down in the back office and just rest for a bit. I had lunch from the Sanctuary—they really spoiled me—and as I ate that, I thought about last night.

Despite the way our visit ended, I'd had fun at the club, and I wouldn't mind going there again. Maybe we could go as a group with some of the other supes?

After lunch, I called Mrs. Warner and told her I wanted to buy the store, but that she needed to tell me the actual price. I didn't need a discount since I'd decided to take Haruto up on his offer. It wasn't easy to do, but I had to remind myself that things were different for him. He'd been saving for decades, and he didn't care that we'd only been dating for a month. We were mates, and to him, that meant we were forever.

Not that I didn't want the same, but I didn't share his conviction. I'd had too many failed relationships for that, and I still doubted my ability to hold on to him.

Mrs. Warner was ecstatic, of course, and she rattled off a number that honestly made me a little dizzy. I decided I'd tell Haruto when I could see his face, so I'd know if he wanted to change his mind.

Diego came in just before closing time, and I smiled as the familiar tak-tak-tak of his cane preceded him.

"Hey, Diego. How have you been?"

Diego grinned widely as he came in, leaning against the counter like usual. "I'm good, I'm good. What about you? How's Haruto?" he asked with a waggle of his brows, and I blushed, remembering the time Diego had 'caught' us making out. Even though it made me feel a little shitty, I was glad Diego's vision wasn't good enough for him to notice Haruto's more…unusual qualities. He'd told me once that he had practically zero vision in places that weren't brightly lit, and could see the faintest outlines of things when he was somewhere bright.

"We're good. He, uh, he told me he loves me."

Diego's grin widened even more, his white teeth bright against his dark skin. "Liam! I'm so happy for you! Did you say it back?"

"Of course. He's amazing. How could I not?"

"I need to meet him again, properly this time. Gotta make sure he's on the up and up," he joked, and I chuckled.

"We can get together at the bakery one of these days."

"Sounds good. Just text me the time and place."

"Will do."

We chatted about books after that, and random things that came to mind, and it felt good to talk about normal things with my friend. Ever since meeting Haruto, my life had been full of magic and supernatural beings, and talking to Diego made me feel connected to the human world again.

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