Page 31 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
“You know the answer.” Kip gently placed his hands underAsh’s. “They’re a token of affection.”
“Are you sure?”
Tapping his own nose, Kip touched Ash’s. “Unfair, friend.You made me promise not to mention those yearnings of yours.”
“I’m not yearning.” It was a feeble protest.
For just a moment, Ash could have sworn his best friendlooked sad, but Kip leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Ashishishe, I’m notthe only one who talks in my sleep.”
Ash couldn’t sleep.
He lay on his stomach in the bed that took up most of hisloft, blankets askew, thoughts as tangled as his sheets. This was a mess. Amisunderstanding. Yes, Tami had given him a paperclip, but more than half thekids at Landmark had done the same. And she’d mentioned finding an acorn forKip. It was afriendlytoken. Hers was afriendlyaffection.
But something about her gift was making his instincts gohaywire.
Denying them didn’t exactly stop them. But he couldn’t acton this sudden attraction, even if it was mutual. Tami was only giving him asecond look because she couldn’t see him clearly. He looked like a labexperiment gone awry. Disfigured. Awkward. Inhuman.
He might have a handful of friends in the human world, butonly because Kip kept them in ignorant bliss. They both had to be careful.Either of them could be labeled a monster.
What would Tami think if she found out that the Amaranthineshe was so eager to welcome to Landmark Elementary were already there? Maybeshe’d be glad. But maybe she’d feel betrayed.
It’s why most clans remained in hiding. Humans andAmaranthine might be compatible, but they didn’t always mix. Ash had no ideawho his biological father might be. Or if he even knew he’d impregnated ahuman. Cyril occasionally renewed his offer to make discreet inquiries, but Ashrefused to give up any details that might help locate his kin and clan. Cyrilwas the only father he needed, and Rook was as good a mother as any.
All he could do was keep from making the same kind ofmistake.
He needed to hold off, to hold back … and to be held.
Halfway out of bed, he paused to place the blue paperclip onits center—safe within his nest. Then he dropped to the ground floor and creptinto Kip’s bed.
Putting aside his book and pulling him into a loose embrace,his best friend made comforting noises. “Why so miserable?”
“She’s wonderful.”
“Sucha problem,” Kip said seriously. “How dare she?”
Ash simply clung tighter.
Hands smoothed and soothed. “What do you want to do?”
“Things I can’t.”
Kip chuckled. “You’re a big boy, now, and I’m fairlyconfident all your pieces and parts are functioning normally.Andresponding favorable whenever she’s in the general vicinity.”
“Shut up,” he groaned.
“Seriously, Ash. She likes you.”
“She only thinks she does. The person she sees isn’t real.”
Kip asked, “Have you been false with her?”
“I haven’t been practicing full disclosure for a lot ofyears.” Ash began to relax in spite of himself, taking much-needed comfort fromcloseness. “Same as you.”
His best friend hummed. “I may mess a little withperceptions, but the personality Tami is drawn to … that’s all you.”
“But it isn’tallof me.” Ash arched his wings andbeat the air. “I’m not human.”
“Not gonna matter.” Kip cupped his cheek and spoke slowly. “OnceI open her eyes, she’ll like what she sees. Trust me on this. You’reirresistible.”
