Page 17 of Shade
Liam looked surprised at my claim, though I had no idea why. He shrugged, looking somewhat embarrassed. "You and Diego are my friends. I just want you both to be happy."
"Thank you. I will truly cherish this gift," I promised, holding the phone to my chest.
When I first moved here, phones couldn't be used in the Sanctuary at all. But then Draven came up with this half magic, half tech device that let us get a signal from the cell tower nearest to the place we're 'anchored' in, and made it possible to use phones. Since I didn't have anyone I knew outside of the Sanctuary, I never tried to find a phone that could work for me. I'd forgotten models like these even existed, but Liam had clearly remembered.
Liam smiled, then waved toward the phone. "Diego has his lunch break in twenty minutes. Call him then. He'll be happy."
I nodded quickly, and Liam left, probably off to rescue his mate from Jacinta.
I sat down on the ground with the phone in my hands, counting down the minutes until I could call Diego. Would he be as excited as I felt?
Eight
Diego
Sitting down in myusual chair in the teacher's room, I placed my paper bag on the table, then took my phone off silent. As if I'd invited it, my phone started ringing instantly, the robotic voice announcing, "Incoming call: Unknown Number."
"Stupid scammers," I mumbled as I ended the call without answering, placing it on the desk as I opened my paper bag and pulled out the sandwich I'd packed.
"Two notifications pending. Text message from Liam. Text message from Liam," my phone chirped again, and my brows furrowed.
Turning the volume low—in case Liam mentioned the Sanctuary, his spider boyfriend, or my shadow boyfriend—I opened the messages, and the voice read them out loud.
Liam: Hey, Diego. If you get a call around lunch time, pick it up.
Liam: Trust me.
"Shit," I mumbled, glad Jess hadn't joined me today. She was eating in the class with her and my students.
My phone rang again as I was wondering if I should call back, and when it turned out to be an unknown caller again, I quickly answered.
"Hello?"
There was silence for a moment, and then he said, "Diego," in a voice filled with relief. I sucked in a surprised breath.
"Shade?"
"Yes! It's me! Isn't this great? We can talk anytime now."
"But how?" Any kind of light hurt him. Even with the brightness turned all the way down, he wouldn't be able to use a phone without causing himself pain, and I didn't want him doing that to himself for my sake.
"Liam found me a phone without light!" he exclaimed, his voice overflowing with infectious delight. I found myself smiling too, and I hoped the other teachers weren't paying me any attention because I was sure I looked like a lovesick fool.
"That is amazing. I'm so glad."
"Me too! Liam said I could call because it's your lunch break."
"It is. You have good timing."
"Shouldn't you be eating?"
"I am," I assured him, then took a hasty bite of my sandwich.
"Mmm-hmm," he murmured, clearly not believing me, and I chuckled. It was so nice to hear his voice. "How about this? I'll talk while you listen, and eat."
"Okay," I mumbled around a bite, and he chuckled, then started telling me about the residents of the Sanctuary. I'd onlyreally talked to Haruto and Zephyr so far—I already knew Liam—so I was curious about the others.
Shade told me about Keoni, a centaur who'd just reached adulthood and was one of the sweetest people Shade had ever met, which was saying something because I thought he was pretty damned sweet himself.
