Chapter 15
“ I t’s not that difficult, Wylen. Just pick one.
” Never in a million years did I think I’d be standing in the middle of Bellview Market with a fae royal trying to decide which type of underwear he wanted to buy.
And yes, I had decided that Wylen must be of royal blood because he certainly wasn’t used to making any kind of decision for himself.
“But they are different. See?” He held up the briefs in one hand and the boxer briefs in the other. “How will I know?”
Embarrassed by this conversation and knowing there was a group of ladies that kept circling back, I tried to keep my patience in check.
“Wylen, it’s simple. Do you want underwear that come up to here?
” I ran the sides of my hands along the middle of my thighs.
“Or here?” Pointing to my bikini line, I hoped he understood.
He pondered that for a moment and then put the boxer briefs back. I sighed in relief until he asked, “What size?”
The ladies giggled and covered their mouths when I gave them a glare.
He’d been holding a package of the larges.
Looking at him and trying to compare him to Tris, I quickly switched it out for the extra larges.
Another snicker from the peanut gallery made me blush, and I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from this section with the clothing vendors .
“Okay, we have a couple of shirts, another pair of jeans, and now you have some undies. What else?”
“Shoes?” he asked in a childlike voice. It almost made me like him again. Almost.
“Yes. Shoes.”
It took an hour. Wylen loved the ability to try on different styles, especially since he hadn’t been able to do that with the underwear.
After talking him out of a pair of leather boots (too hot) and a checkered pair of loafers (too young), he finally settled on a nice set of sneakers that wouldn’t draw too much attention his way.
As we stood in line to check out, I couldn’t help but notice the way he kept eyeing the ball caps displayed near the register. “Do you ever wear hats?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. But not like this.”
Deciding for him, I grabbed one of the nicest team hats and stuck it on his head. It fit him perfectly, and I swore he could have signed a modeling contract right then and there. Damn him for looking so good in everything.
“Wolverines?”
“It’s our chosal ball team.”
“Chosal ball?”
“I’ll let Tris explain that one to you.”
The cashier couldn’t take her eyes off Wylen as she checked us out.
Even when I pulled the hat off his head and his fine hair stuck out with the static, she just kept on smiling.
Wylen seemed oblivious at the time, but when we grabbed his bags and made our way out toward the market exit, he leaned over and asked, “Do all of the human women offer themselves up so freely?”
“What?”
He handed me a piece of paper. It was his receipt, but on the back, the woman had scribbled her name and phone number. “No, Wylen. We aren’t all like that.”
He seemed…disappointed to hear those words, but he didn’t look back. Instead, he balled up the receipt and tossed it in the ne xt trash can. “Something smells like pancakes,” he said, sniffing the air like an animal.
Embarrassed again, I hit his arm to make him focus on me. “It’s the food vendors. Are you hungry?” We’d been in the market for several hours now, and I just noticed that my stomach was starting to churn.
“Yes.”
“Well, let’s eat something.”
“I would like another milkshake.”
Smiling, I wrapped my arm through his and pulled him to the left. “How about the real thing this time?” As I escorted him through the crowd and past all the burger options, I proudly waved my hand in front of us when we reached the ice cream counter. “You can have any of these.”
A few teenagers in front of us turned and gave Wylen a strange look. I raised my brows, daring them to say something. The two boys turned back around, but the two girls just smiled up at Wylen.
“Chocolate chip is my favorite,” one of them said to him.
“No, you’re not a chocolate chip kind of guy,” the other, taller one cooed. I couldn’t believe she had the guts to flirt with someone like Wylen. “You seem more like a cookies and cream man.” They both giggled, and Wylen looked down at me in confusion.
“You can try both,” I said.
With a few more giggles, the girls followed their boyfriends to the counter to place their order.
It wasn’t lost on me how the tall one conveniently bent forward to look at all the flavors, giving Wylen an eyeful of thigh.
Her shorts were already up her butt, so it left little to the imagination of what might be lying underneath.
Wylen looked at me and raised his brows in question. The smirk on his face helped me know exactly what he was thinking.
“We’re not all like that,” I reiterated.
“Okay, Sosasia Raine Westwood.”
Wylen ordered two servings that combined chocolate chip and cookies and cream. He got a cone, so it was already dripping down his wrist by the time we found our own table. He was licking it in a way that all the ladies found delectable, and I did my best not to comment.
“What is that again?” he asked me.
“A root beer float. Do you want to try it?” I’d grabbed an extra straw because I knew this was coming.
Wylen’s eyes lit up, even under the shadow of his ball cap. He gently peeled the paper off the straw and then took a giant sip of my extra-large dessert. Almost instantly, he slapped his hand across his forehead and squished his face up in pain. “Ow.”
I tried not to laugh. I really did. “When are you going to learn?” I mused. “I thought you were smarter than that.”
“I am smart. We just don’t have cold things like this in my world.”
Fair enough. “Tell me about it.”
“About what?”
“Ashtabulah.”
His smile brightened. “It is more beautiful than anything you can imagine.” He licked his ice cream a few more times before continuing.
“We have trees for miles. And not like the trees I’ve seen here.
Our trees are large, and old, and wise. They watch over the forest creatures and keep the peace between all that passes by. ”
“What else?”
“Our cities. We do not have this concrete and road like you. No cars or bikes or fuel. Everything is natural. Made from the land and returned to the land when finished.”
“Do you live in a city?”
He nodded and smiled again. “I do.”
“What about the water? Do you have oceans?”
“Water is everywhere. Some of it for use, some of it for the trees. And some of it only belongs to the fae who live within them.”
“It sounds wonderful,” I whispered, truly believing it. How nice would it be to live in a world free of cars and pollution ?
“It is.” He took a few bites of his cone before adding, “And I miss it.”
“You haven’t ever left before, have you?”
He shook his head, a bit of sadness peeking out from under his hat.
“So, you didn’t help make any halflings?”
Almost choking on his ice cream, Wylen took a few moments to compose himself before answering. “No, Sosie. That would be highly…improper.” His eyes met mine and I didn’t miss the way they settled on my lips.
“Are there a lot of us?”
He shook his head. “Not so much anymore. Centuries ago, it was more common. Our worlds overlapped more easily back then—similar in their design and fewer metallic things. The fae would often go between. Some did it for the adventure. Some did it because they thought they could find better fortune.” He looked up at me. “Some were even ordered to do so.”
“Ordered?”
“By our rulers. It was once thought that the fae could conquer both realms. Humans were weak and sick and always fighting with each other. They were seen as an easy target of manipulation.”
Swallowing the final gulp of my float, I sat back in my chair and waited for him to explain some more.
“You see, if the fae could breed with humans, it would expand our domain. None of the other creatures from Ashtabulah could cross the border?—”
“But the halflings can’t, either, right?” I interrupted.
“That is a complicated question. A halfling could cross into our realm, but they would not do well on the other side. And that’s if they could get there in the first place.”
“I met one. A halfling. She’s been to Ashtabulah.”
“And?” Wylen was watching me like a hawk, and I was disturbed by the way he knew I was hiding something.
“And…she’s a little strange now. ”
He smirked and nodded his head. “Yes. Halflings do not always survive the trip home.” He tapped his head. “Up here.”
“Why?”
“We do not know exactly. Maybe because they aren’t pure, they are susceptible to the food and drink. Or maybe it’s the air they breathe. Or maybe it’s just based on what they see. It can be too much.”
I sat in silence for a little while, digesting his words. “What about Gil? Why did he leave and come live with the humans?”
“That is an answer only Gilanders could give you.” When I raised my brows, he continued. “Gilanders…Gil is a somewhat special situation. Not many fae of his status are allowed to leave. It isn’t common.”
“Did they know about me?”
“Not at first. But after we got word of his disappearance, they learned of you.”
“Do they usually send someone to search for a missing fae in our realm?”
“No.”
It was clear he didn’t want to elaborate anymore. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure I needed all this information right now. I mean, don’t get me wrong, my bullshit radar was blaring warning signals in my brain, but something in my gut told me that I shouldn’t press too hard.
“What happened to you this morning? Why did you show up in my bathroom?”
Wylen bit his lip and then quickly stopped when he saw me watching. “It was an accident. It won’t happen again.”
Bullshit.
I glared at the fae, and he gave it right back. There was something going on with him and his ability to teleport, and I’d be damned if I didn’t find out what it was. So many secrets swirling around right now.
My phone buzzed with a message from Tris. “He’s on his way to the shop,” I told Wylen. “We should get going. ”
With a nod, Wylen stood…and a whole group of women and teenage girls stopped talking. Yes, Wylen was tall. Yes, he was pretty nice to look at. But if they only knew that he wasn’t human and that he was kind of an asshole, they might stop drooling. Maybe.
Wylen definitely noticed their attention, and as we walked by, he gave them a heart-stopping smile and a little bow of his head. They…swooned. I’d never used that word before, but that was exactly what they did. Swooned. Over a damn fae who was still wearing my ex-boyfriend’s sweatshirt.
My days had once been normal. Now I suspected they would never be the same again.