Real Shadows - M.E. Clayton Page 0,33

down the computer before standing up and walking towards him. “Because now that I’ve got a car and a job, it’s time I find a place to live,” I said, leaving the ‘duh’ out of my answer, but letting it be implied.

“You don’t like living here?”

Okay.

I was not expecting that.

“That’s not the point,” I replied, a might bit confused. “This was a temporary arrangement, or did you forget? The plan was that I’d move out once I got settled, Xander.”

Something passed in his eyes and, suddenly, things didn’t feel that simple anymore. “You’re wrong, Fallon,” he said. “The arrangement was that you’d move out once I felt it was safe for you to do so.”

I was standing in front of him, blown away by his words. “What? What are you talking about?”

“The agreement was that you’d stay here until I felt it was safe enough for you to move out.” He straightened as he shrugged a shoulder. “It’s only been a few weeks,” he pointed out. “I don’t feel…uh, comfortable with you moving out just yet.”

I stood there not sure what I was feeling. He couldn’t be serious, could he?

I shook my head to clear the muddiness his word had created. “You don’t have a say, Xander,” I replied. “You…it’s not up to you, contrary what your alpha man mind may think.”

“That was the deal, Fallon,” he argued.

I wanted to be a jerk and tell him again he didn’t have a say, but I quickly realized Xander wasn’t being a macho alpha. I think he really was concerned about me leaving. Sure, we’ve been living together for a few weeks, but it wasn’t as if we’d become friend-friends. We had been…easy roommates; nothing more. So, his concern was a little…well, concerning.

“Xander, I…I can’t live here forever,” I whispered. “The whole point of getting a job and…all this, is to finally meet this situation head-on. I can’t do that if I’m living here.”

There went that tick in his jaw again. “Why not?”

“Because that’s the coward’s way out, Xander,” I replied. “This is my problem. I need to…deal with it myself.”

He looked pissed. “It’s not cowardice to accept help from friends.”

I didn’t want to be a jerk, but I wasn’t going to sugarcoat this conversation either. “Xander, we’re hardly friends,” I pointed out. “And even if we were, accepting help from a friend is different from putting them in harm’s way. Why do you think I don’t hang out with Karla as much as I’d like to?”

Xander stepped to me, and a small part of me almost stepped back, but I stood firm and held his gaze. “What are we if we’re not friends?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets like they’d be safe there. “For fuck’s sake, Fallon, we live together.”

“You let me stay with you, Xander,” I corrected. “That’s not the same as living with someone. And, with that, I’d say we’re more roommates than we are friends.”

“Oh, really?” The irritation was plain as day in his voice.

“Yeah, really,” I said with just a little bit of bite. He was being ridiculous. “I can count on one hand what I know about you, Xander. I know your name, what you do for a living, that Trevor is your best friend, and that you’re single. Four things, Xander. I know four things about you.”

He gave me a tight nod, but he looked upset. “Yeah, well, you want to know what I know about you?” He didn’t let me answer. “I know your name, what you do for a living, that Karla is your best friend, and that you’re single. But I also know that you’re not a morning person. You prefer tea to coffee. You’re neat and clean up after yourself. You like to read murder mysteries. You can cook, but what you really like to do is bake. I know you have a smile for everyone you meet even after what you’ve been through and are going through. I know you hate to wear shoes and prefer to be barefoot or in socks. I also know you’d wear pajama pants all day if the world would let you.”

His rant was like a kick to the chest. This entire time while I’ve been doing my best to stay out of his way while I got my life on track, Xander’s been paying attention.

Paying attention to me.

“Xander-”

His hands came out of his pockets, and he reached out to cradle my face. “Go to dinner with me, Fallon,” he commanded instead of