Page 61 of Dryad, Try Again
I bite my lip, then pause when he touches my shoulder. “Your boy will be fine,” he says in a calm tone. “He’s been studying with a real dryad all semester. He won’t flunk out, I can promise you.”
I crack a slight grin. “Thanks.”
We sit and wait in silence for another minute. “We’ve got it bad for our humans, huh?” he mutters.
I snicker. “We sure do.” Niko has long since gushed about his romantic adventures this semester.
“With all this hooking up and falling in love, maybe this is the beginning of a new chapter in human-monster relations,” Niko says with a grin.
I smile. “That’s what the dean said.”
“I never thought I’d want to live in a world where humans and monsters copulate,” he mutters.
The doors open in the distance and I sit upright, watching students pour out. “I never thought I’d get the chance to beg that little kid for forgiveness. But here we are.”
“Hereyouare,” he says just as I catch a glimpse of red in the crowd. When Tanner spots me, his green eyes light up like we haven’t been dating for months. He makes his way across the lawn, and I don’t let him get to me as my feet instinctively propel me forward.
He grabs me in a big hug and spins me around. “I got a B, I got a B…” he chants.
“What?!” I pull off and smile at him as he holds my elbows. “No way.”
“Yup! B on the final means a B in the class.” His voice is filled with unbridled joy. “I’m passing this semester, which means I’m not getting kicked out of college, which means you can’t kick me out of your life yet, babe.”
We both break out in laughter, and then I lean in. I take his mouth and place it on mine —this was going to be the resultregardless of his final exam score. “I’m so fucking proud of you,” I murmur against his mouth.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he says between kisses.
“You keep saying that. Tan, you earned this on your own.”
He pulls back and smiles, and I take in his gorgeous face. Despite the red stubble and tenuous eyebrow scar, he looks just like that boy I met in the park over a decade ago. “Well, it certainly helped that I had a very sexy dryad on my side to help me study.”
I giggle and peck his lips while I hold his waist. I never want to be this in love with anyone else. I’m only distracted when Niko and his boyfriend approach.
“You guys headed to Mummy Mocha?” Niko asks, holding hands with his human.
“Yup. Drinks are on me,” Tanner says.
“What?! No I wanted to buy,” I say in protest.
“Let me pay for some coffees,” Tanner insists, dragging me by the arm.
“Aw, you two,” Shonda says, appearing at his side.
“I heard free coffee, I’m in,” Owen remarks. Rachel shoves his shoulder, and gives me a wave. We all laugh, and I’m once again thrilled that Tanner has a crew of human friends.
Soon enough, the seven of us pile into Mummy Mocha. The place is mostly empty, but we’re promptly greeted by my eager best friend. “You passed?” Seth says.
“Well…” Tanner mutters.
“The boyfriend got a B,” I say, ruffling Tanner’s hair, and he squirms with a smile. “He did great.”
“Yes! Thank monster god!”
“You just don’t want to lose your best employee,” Tanner replies. The zombie walks by and grunts. “Err, besthumanemployee.”
“That’s exactly it.” Seth winks. “Drinks are on me.”
“Hey, what? I wanted to buy!” Tanner tries to argue, but Seth wags his finger.
