I smiled, reaching out to press my fingertips to his hand. I didn’t know why of all the things he’d said, that touched me the most. Maybe it was that if he could be so open with the kids, that he would accept me, too. Or maybe it was just nice to meet someone who was kind for no reason other than they wanted to be.
He cleared his throat. “So, enough about me. You work in social media for people you’ve never met? That seems as foreign to me as a music school must seem to you.”
“I was a little bit of a grammar stickler in high school,” I said. “And after high school. Most of my life, really. Combine that with computer nerdery and you get this job.”
“This is going to sound somewhat rude, but when you speak…”
“I sound like an extra on Justified?” I suggested.
“I’m not sure what that is,” he admitted.
“I’m only strict about grammar for the written word. Verbally, I’m a little closer to my roots,” I said. “It’s one of those ‘do as I write, not as I speak’ things?”
“Oh, one of those,” he said, nodding before grinning widely.
I nodded solemnly. “It’s a classic conundrum. Anyway, I can’t imagine starting something like a music school or a restaurant, but I love being able to help someone find the right words to help them market their business.”
“But you’re also growing your own business, which is just as important,” he noted.
“That’s a good point.’
And on and on it went. It felt like I spent hours talking about myself, the books I’d read, the places I wanted to travel, non-traumatic childhood memories. I hadn’t been on a date that hadn’t been arranged by one of my relatives in so long that I’d forgotten what real “date conversation” sounded like. Alex didn’t care about my family or who they were or what they could offer him. He didn’t ask me what I could cook—which was good, because the answer was “not a lot.” I had serious doubts that he cared about my pack or my bloodline. He wanted to talk about me, what I liked, what I read, what I thought about interspecies politics. It was almost exhausting talking about myself that much, but a) no one ever asked me about those things and b) he was very good at dodging questions—in a way that could have been suspicious if he wasn’t so good at appearing engaged and curious.
My phone buzzed. I glanced at my laptop screen. It was almost midnight. Nearly three hours had gone by and I hadn’t even noticed! Dick and the other vampires were quietly tending to shop chores, acting like they weren’t watching our every move.
I didn’t have to look at the phone screen to know the text was from my mama. I hadn’t mentioned staying out late tonight. I’d really counted on them being distracted by the NCAA basketball tournament. Usually, when University of Kentucky was playing, they didn’t register that I was in the same hemisphere, much less not present in the same house. The Wildcats must have lost…which meant my dad would be in an even worse mood when I got home.
Shit.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m so sorry. I have to go.”
“But are you all right?” he asked again. “You seem upset.”
I hesitated before finally admitting. “I live with my parents.”
He had no reaction. I sort of squinted at his face, as if I could read micro-expressions that would tell me whether he felt sorry for me. But nothing happened, and that was almost worse. Had I shocked him into total immobility?
“Is that unusual for unmarried women of your age to still live with their parents?” he asked. “Keep in mind that when I was your age, women stayed with their families until they were married. Of course, most of them were married by the time they were sixteen.”
“Well, that’s not the case now. Most people my age live on their own, but with my parents and pack dynamics…I think I’m just embarrassed. I’m having a nice time and I don’t really want to leave.”
“And I’m assuming that you didn’t tell them that you’re out with me,” he said, the corner of his lips lifting.
“No, I did not.” I shook my head, my cheeks flushing.
“Surprisingly daring and rebellious,” he noted, wiggling his eyebrows.
“This is as about as rebellious as it gets for me.”
He stood and held out his hand. “I’ll walk you to your