Page 32 of Love Heals
Michael gave his friend a shrug. "It's not my fault he likes them blond, but don't worry about it, you know I'll share." He looked around, and then his gaze met Jared's. "I'll even share with you," he added with a grin before his attention focused back on his friends. "Anyone got spoons? Or something we can use as spoons?"
The boys and girls surrounding Michael, none of them much older than him, exchanged glances. Before any of them could speak, though, they were interrupted by a loud yelp coming from the bushes to their right. "Goddammit, that dog, I swear!"
Everybody turned to look at a boy with bright red hair who came running toward them followed by a mid-size mutt happily wagging his tail as his black fur shone in the sun.
"Did he get you again?" Michael asked, barely suppressing a laugh.
"I swear you trained him to do that!" the red-head claimed. Felix, that was his name.
"Nah, I would never!" Michael claimed, but still, he grinned as he passed the tub of ice cream to the girl standing next to him. He went down on his knees to wrap his arms around the dog, who proceeded to give his face a thorough washing with his tongue.
"Jesus Christ," Felix muttered. "I totally ruined my last good pair of pants!"
The memory faded at that point and Jared found that he could move again. When he opened his eyes, Silas was sitting next to him with a dazed expression.
"What was that?" he asked. "We had a dog?" There was a yearning in his voice that surprised Jared. Apparently, it didn't matter if Silas was a vampire now or not. He hadn't lost his love for dogs. Michael had always been surrounded by various critters for all the time Jared had known him. It was nice to see that some things stayed the same.
It also gave Jared an idea.
"His name was Drizzit," he explained. "He had a bad habit of going up to people, especially guys, and nudging them from behind while they were peeing. Your friends were convinced you taught him that trick since you were the only one he'd listen to."
Silas shook his head, but the dazed expression hadn't left his features. "It's all so... I can't believe that was real. You could have shown me anything."
"It's my memory. I didn't fake it."
"It's not what I pictured," Silas said, sounding lost. Jared felt for him. It had to be hard, trying to come to terms with all of this. Especially since it seemed Silas didn't have a firm grip on who he was—now or in the past.
Jared wanted to show him. So badly.
"Let me take you somewhere," he said. "Tomorrow night, let's go on a trip."
"Where?"
"I'd like you to meet someone."
"Who?" Silas asked, a hint of suspicion creeping into his voice.
"An old friend."
Silas thought about this. "They can't know that I'm a vampire."
"I won't tell if you won't."
Silas sighed, but didn't argue any further. Jared took that as a yes. What he had planned was a bit of a risky move, but the payout could be great.
