Page 15 of Branded
His expression gentled. “Yeah, Kay, I am.”
He knew it. He never let Hazel doubt that truth, and I knew that he would never allow Dominic to doubt that same truth. Oliver loved him, would always love him, even despite the flaws that every person had, despite making mistakes as he no doubt would, despite not being perfect or not sleeping through the night and leaving drool stains on T-shirts.
And I didn’t have that.
So, I wouldn’t let Oliver waste it.
A squeeze of his hand before gently peeling back his fingers. “Bed, Ollie,” I murmured. “And give them a hug and kiss from me.”
He nodded, stepped back.
Then stopped. “Kailey?”
“Yeah?” I murmured.
“I know that the social stuff is hard for you…”
Immediately, my stomach began knotting, clenching and rolling, and winding tighter and tighter.
“…but”—he moved over to me, the motion so smooth no one would have ever known he’d lost his leg after a horrific on-ice hit not long ago—“you’re really cool, yeah? The team, any one of us you want to let in, would be lucky to know you.”
My lungs expanded.
“No pressure,” he said softly. “Just if or when you feel ready, yeah?”
Lungs tight again. My tongue glued to the roof of my mouth.
But I managed to nod.
Then I turned for the door, slipped through, and walked into the cool night air.
I turned on the taps of the bath, dipping my fingers into the stream of water, waving them around to ensure the temperature was right before plugging the tub.
It was late.
I’d spent too long with the new update, flying around in my virtual dragon form, pillaging enemy villages, and saving the villagers under my protection. By the time I’d finished with my quest, it was after midnight, and I’d increased my gold hoard to the point that I’d needed to upgrade my den.
Plush carpets, an oversized fireplace (because dragons liked it hot), and plenty of storage for my shiny trinkets.
My virtual world was expansive, and I wished that I could speak as well with my mouth in real life as I did with my fingers in that online life. They moved fast and of their own accord, not needing the awkward pauses, the over-analyzing. Just type out a response and go.
If only my freaking mouth would work as well in real life.
In fact, the only person that I had that with—and it was still a bastardized copy of my online self—was with Oliver.
We’d talked online so much over the years and about work so much recently, that a lot of the awkwardness had dissipated. I was still…Kailey. Still paused too often, avoided eye contact, felt uncomfortable in my own skin.
But I could talk.
It was a little weird at times (but that was me). It took me a bit to relax (also me).
But it was as normal as I got.
Books. Coding. Playing my game. Those were all easy. Soaking in a bath until I turned into a prune. Even more so.
A big, bearded man with a penchant for loud plaid, an infectious smile, and a sudden interest in me?
Uh…yeah, that was definitely not natural.
