Page 26 of A Single Soul

“How is that sluttier?” Andras demanded. “It’s… for fuck’s sake, man. It’spurple.”

“What the hell is wrong with purple?” Matt’s voice was full of exasperation. “Don’t tell me you’re also the Angel of Toxic Masculinity.”

I smothered a laugh, especially at the sputtering rage coming from Andras. “I am not an angel of anything!”

“That’s not exactly a denial about the toxic masculinity part.”

Whatever Andras muttered in response, I didn’t catch. Raziel said something, too, and it was Matt’s turn for a muffled mutter. I pressed my lips together, trying desperately not to laugh. As much as this was all stressing Matt out, itwashilarious at times.

There was some movement, and then the squeak of a hanger moving on the rack. More movement, followed by a sharp “No” from Matt. “I’m gettinghisopinion first.”

A second later, the door swung open again, and Matt stepped out. He wasn’t wearing the purple Henley anymore. Instead, he had on the khaki one, with two of the three dark brown buttons open below his throat. I’d grabbed that shirt as an afterthought, thinking he’d prefer the blue, the dark gray, or even the purple.

He had absolutely no business being that sexy—that spectacularly fuckable—in that shirt.

I gulped. “Oh. I… wasn’t sure you’d like…” I looked him up and down, pretending to appraise his outfit instead of just drinking him in because I wanted to. “That looks… amazing on you.”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “It does?”

“Yeah.” Where was my breath? “That color…” I cleared my throat and smiled. “That’s, uh… That’s definitely a keeper.”

“Oh.” He looked down at himself as some pink bloomed in his cheeks. “I wasn’t sure about it, but once I put it on…” He trailed off as he picked a phantom piece of lint off the shirt. Then he smiled at me. “Great. Finally found a winner.”

“Definitely a winner.”

We exchanged smiles, and as he disappeared back into the dressing room, it dawned on me that the shirt would probably look even better on someone’s bedroom floor.

Onmybedroom floor.

But that isn’t going to happen, so just stop torturing yourself with—

“I approve,” Raziel declared.

“Aye,” Andras agreed. “It ain’t slutty, but it’ll do.”

“Are you serious?” Matt sounded completely stunned. There was silence, but I assumed they were nodding or otherwise expressing their agreement. Then Matt huffed a quiet laugh. “And here I thought I’d never find anything you’d both like that I was willing to wear out in public.”

An intrusive thought almost came tumbling out of my mouth:Don’t wear it in public—wear it at my place.

I sank back into the chair and wiped a hand over my face. Staring up at the ceiling, I wondered exactly what I’d done in a past life to deserve this. Assassinated a king, maybe? Lit the fire that burned the Library of Alexandria? Or maybe some way-back ancestor had earned the family a generational curse by screwing over a fae?

In the dressing room, Raziel chirped, “You know, perhaps we should find you some better underwear, too?”

“Better… underwear?” Matt’s disbelief was almost palpable. “My underwear is fine. What do—do I even want to know what that means?”

Andras barked a laugh. “Somethingslutty!”

I closed my eyes and groaned.

Thanks a lot, great-great-great-great-grandancestor.

Matt ended up leaving that store with two bags containing several shirts and a couple of pairs of pants. We were still going to check out a few more places, including getting him some shoes, but fortunately, our next stop was the food court. I was starving, and I also needed a break from, well, everything.

From the way Matt’s jaw was working on the way out, I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one. I couldn’t tell if he was getting hangry or if he’d just had it up to here with Andras and Raziel, but lunch would resolve both of those problems.

The food court was about as depressing as the rest of the mall. About a third of the restaurants were shuttered, and those that remained were staffed by employees who looked like they were a hundred percent done with humanity. I understood that; I’d done my time in food service, and I was grateful that was over.

Matt and I both ended up ordering smoothies and sandwiches from the same place. He insisted on paying, and the twenty he dropped in the tip jar got both of the weary kids behind the counter to smile. That was to say nothing about what it did to my pulse and my balance.

---