Page 17 of Ghosted AF
I didn’t blame him. Growing from an egg to the size of a toddler in a single day took a lot of energy.
“How big will he get?” Rylee asked, stroking the back of his hand along the bird’s neck.
“Depends. He’ll be at least twice this size before he’s finished growing.” Resting my hand on his nape, I squeezed gently. “Let him sleep. Dinner is getting cold.”
“Yeah, okay.”
He gave the phoenix one last stroke before retreating back into the apartment.
A few minutes later, we settled down on the sofa with plates of red snapper, roasted vegetables, crawfish mac and cheese, and warm yeast rolls. The food tasted amazing, made even better bythe company, and we talked about regular, everyday things as we tucked into the meal.
Rain had been forecasted later in the week, and Rylee looked forward to it. He didn’t like thunderstorms, but he did enjoy a good downpour.
I told him that Lucius would be by sometime the following day to fix his bedroom door. He seemed pleased by the news, and I had to fight back a wave of jealousy at the way he smiled when I mentioned my brother’s name.
“Tomorrow is my day off,” he informed me before shoveling a forkful of pasta into his mouth. “We should do something.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Do you want to go to the zoo?” He started shaking his head before he had even finished asking. “Never mind. That’s lame. We can do something else.”
I took his hand, rubbing light circles over the knuckles while I waited. Sure enough, he wasn’t finished.
“I think they still have those concerts in the square going on. I can check. What kind of music do you like? If you don’t want to do that, I can see what’s playing at the cinema. Or…we could…”
He finally seemed to run out of words, his voice trailing away with a defeated huff. Gods, he was a fucking disaster, but he was my disaster, and I found his flustered rambles ridiculously adorable.
“I haven’t been to the zoo in years. Do they still have that train that goes around the park?”
His head shot up, and he stared at me with wide, hopeful eyes. “Yes and no. The train is gone, but they replaced it with safari buses. I also heard on the news that one of the female rhinos recently had a baby.”
“Well, now we have to go,” I said, smiling at his cute giggle.
“You’re not just saying that, right? I mean, if you think it’s stupid—”
“It’s a good idea.”
“Okay.” He inhaled deeply, the breath expanding his chest, then released it slowly. “I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m trying.”
I felt my brow wrinkle as I tried to work out what he meant. “Explain that.”
His cheeks pinkened, and he glanced away, no longer able to meet my gaze. Now Ireallywanted to know.
“I’ve never been in a relationship before,” he confessed. “I mean, I’ve dated, but nothing that lasted longer than a couple of months.”
“And being mated is a pretty big leap from casual dating,” I interpreted.
“Yes.” He whipped his head around, his eyes flaring as he shifted closer to my side. “I really am okay with it, though. Yeah, it’s kind of intense, but it feels right. Does that make sense?”
“It does,” I said before he could get himself worked up again. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“I don’t know. I feel really comfortable with you, and the thought of you not being around makes my chest hurt. I’m just worried I won’t be very good at it.”
“At being mated?” I checked.
I expected more rambling, but he pressed his lips together and dipped his head.
“There’s no rush. We can take things at our own pace and figure it out as we go.” I squeezed his hand and brought it to my lips to brush a kiss across the knuckles. “Just keep being exactly who you are, and I promise, you can’t screw it up.”
