Chapter 12 Dex
DEX
Buying a house was officially worse than selling one. That, or Dex was the problem. As he gazed out the window of a condo located right on the river, he suspected the issue was him.
The view was spectacular, with shimmering water below and the river walk along the opposite bank. The condo was directly opposite the park where Dex had met Luc for their date. Technically, it was in the South Banks rather than the Banks, but it was close enough, or so the realtor had argued.
“What do you think?” Ollie nudged him with his elbow. “You’re on the top floor, but four stories isn’t ridiculous, and we can get Dante and Ash to move your furniture with magic.”
It had been two weeks since Dex’s disastrous date, and on the surface, things were back to normal. He’d met Ollie for brunch that morning, same as last Sunday.
Today, Ollie seemed a thousand times more relaxed than the previous week, and much less distracted. He’d been evasive about his change in mood and hadn’t let Dex brush off his offer to come house hunting, even though Dex had tried.
Dex turned away from the window and inspected the open-plan living and kitchen area. “This place is all right. Not the neighborhood I wanted, though.”
“Technically, but you’re literally a river’s-width from the Banks, and the footbridge is right there. You’ll be as close to work here as your old condo.”
True, and he was closer to his pottery studio. Dex rented space in a co-op, giving him a private workroom, somewhere to store everything and dry his pieces, as well as access to a kiln. This was the best condo he’d seen. By far. If it didn’t have a view of the damn park, it would have been perfect.
“I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t downsize. One bedroom feels small.”
Ollie opened the sliding door to the balcony. “Seriously? Small? Even with indoor-outdoor flow like this? A balcony is the dream. Can you imagine sitting out here in the evenings? It’ll be great. And what do you need two bedrooms for? You don’t want a roommate, do you?”
“No.” Dex cringed. He was used to his own space.
“Then what?” Ollie shut the door. “Why is downsizing and saving the extra cash not the plan anymore?”
Dex pretended to be interested in a throw blanket on the couch, running his fingers along the stitches. “It’s still the plan. I guess this place is fine.”
It wasn’t as if he would look out the window and pine after Luc—wishing the kind man he’d met was real—for the rest of his life. Fuck. He shouldn’t be pining at all. If only this mess of feelings would leave him alone.
Ollie moved closer until they were shoulder to shoulder. “Whatever it is, you can talk to me. This must be hard. But is moving what’s bothering you? You haven’t been yourself lately.”
Dex’s fist clenched around the blanket. “How can I be myself after kissing the man who hurt you?”
Ollie went completely still. “You don’t have to feel bad about kissing Luc.”
“Why not?”
Ollie glanced around the room, maybe checking that the realtor was still giving them space and hadn’t snuck in from the hall. “Dante and I may have overreacted when we ran into you. I’m sorry.”
“What?” Dex’s heart rate skyrocketed. Was this a joke? There was no overreacting after what Lucifer had done to Ollie. Of course Dex should feel terrible for kissing the Devil.
Ollie crossed his arms defensively. “I really am sorry, Dex. I was so sure Luc was planning to hurt you, but it turns out I was wrong.”
Sorry? Ollie was sorry? Dex braced himself on the back of the couch, a weight pressing on his chest. Ollie was wrong? Luc hadn’t been planning to hurt him? “How could you possibly know Luc wasn’t going to hurt me like he did to you?”
Ollie hesitated, and Dex’s heart sank. Ollie didn’t know. He was speculating. But why? What was happening right now?
Ollie had a turn avoiding eye contact and inspecting the blanket. “Luc hasn’t contacted you, has he?”
Dex shook his head, fresh guilt for being both relieved and hurt by Luc’s radio silence swallowing him whole.
Ollie ran a hand through his messy curls. “We were wrong about Luc going after you because of me. He proved to Dante that he didn’t know we were friends. He really wanted a date with you. There wasn’t an ulterior motive.”
Dex had to be dreaming. Ollie wasn’t making sense. “Fine, say he randomly wanted to date me. That doesn’t change what he did to you on the beach.”
Ollie winced. “No. It doesn’t.” He paused, lines forming around his eyes. “Do you want to talk to him again?”
Why did it sound like Ollie already knew the answer?
Blood rushed in Dex’s ears. Ollie had guessed he was a terrible friend, conflicted when he shouldn’t be.
Ollie gripped Dex’s arm. “It’s okay if you want to talk to Luc. We never gave him a chance on the roof. But Dante did, and he doesn’t think it would be a bad idea for you to call Luc if you want to hear him out, and I agree.”
Dante wanted him to call the Devil? After growling at Luc and shoving him away?
“You agree? You can’t seriously want me to talk to someone who attacked you.”
“It’s not that simple. I hate Luc, but I can’t grasp the extent of the conflict between him and the other demons.
Not really. It’s impossible to get my head around knowing someone for four thousand years.
They hate each other now, but that could change.
Who knows what the next decade or century or millennia will bring?
I talked to Luc, and he’s sorry for hurting me. ”
Dex should want to hear this, but his blood boiled. “So what if he’s sorry? That’s bullshit. You almost died. Being sorry doesn’t make it okay.”
“Do I have to hate him forever? What if Luc can make up for what he did? Show that he regrets it enough to do better.”
“I don’t know.” Why hadn’t Ollie felt this way two weeks ago? Sure, one action didn’t define a person, but ripping someone’s throat out wasn’t a small misstep.
How could Luc deserve a second chance after that?
Ollie ran his hand through his hair once more, a nervous habit of his. “All I’m saying is, if you want to hear Luc out, do it. I did, and I’m glad I gave him a chance to talk.”
Jitters erupted in Dex’s chest. Not excitement. It was too frantic and off-putting, threatening to overwhelm him. “What did Luc say to you?”
Ollie broke eye contact. “It’s hard to explain. He’d do a better job of it than me. I don’t want to speak for him, you know?”
Fair. Though Dex would rather get a clear answer.
This was such a huge shift from the last time they’d talked about Luc.
Ollie was saying it was safe for Dex to see Luc alone, when last time, he’d been trembling with fear, dragging Dex away.
How did Ollie and the demons go from snarling about protecting him to this?
Ollie squeezed Dex’s hand. “Follow your heart.”
Could he? It was as if Ollie understood Dex’s inner conflict and accepted it. Fuck, that didn’t make sense. Dex had kept most of his feelings to himself.
His gaze was drawn to the park across the river. “I don’t understand why I can’t get Luc out of my head. I shouldn’t be obsessing over him. That’s why this condo sucks. All I see when I look at the park is him.”
Ollie’s eyes widened.
Shit, he shouldn’t have admitted that Luc had been on his mind all this time. It was still a betrayal, no matter what Ollie said about following his heart.
“You’re obsessing?” Ollie asked, his demeanor turning soft and maybe even understanding.
What?
“Is it magic?” Dex lowered his voice. Even though they were alone. “I know Dante and Ash proved that Luc didn’t trick me with an illusion, but could magic be making me feel this way?”
“No. Magic doesn’t create feelings. I got really hung up on that when I found out I was Dante’s mate, but whatever you’re feeling is all you. Luc isn’t tricking you. Magic isn’t making you think about him.”
“That’s not what you said before. You were certain he was lying to me.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m telling you to talk to Luc if you want. I don’t think he actually lied to you. I was wrong.”
So everything Dex liked about Luc was real, and not a trick?
Dex wanted to scream. Even if Ollie had been mistaken before, not everything had changed. “I get what you’re saying about the other demons coming to an understanding with Luc one day, given how long they live, but why are you on board? Luc not lying to me doesn’t erase his attack.”
Couldn’t Dante hate Luc until he and Ollie broke up—or if their relationship lasted, until Ollie went to the afterlife—then reconcile with the Devil if he’d really changed his ways?
Ollie gripped Dex by the shoulders. “I’m going to live as long as Dante. I’m his fated mate. We bonded, magically. All his problems and history will be mine too, in time. Even Lucifer. That’s why I’m on board.”
Dex couldn’t speak.
But Ollie didn’t stop there. “Bonding with Dante is what saved me on the beach, and it took me a while to understand it, but having a fated mate is a good thing. Believe me. Fate doesn’t dictate anything.
It gives you what you need to make the right choices and the confidence that things will work out in the end.
I realized that it’s fated for Luc and the other demons to work things out, and I want to be open to that, no matter what happened between me and him. ”
Dex didn’t follow. Nothing Ollie said made any fucking sense.
The front door opened. “Are we ready to view the last property?” the realtor asked with a sunny smile.
“We’ll be out in a minute,” Ollie said, and she disappeared to wait in the hallway. “Follow your heart, Dex. Let me worry about Luc’s attack. What he did isn’t okay, but I want to forgive him no matter how much time it takes.”
Time that Ollie apparently had no lack of, even if Dex did.
The last condo was a bust. Dex wouldn’t buy it if it were the only place for sale in the city.
“Want to come over for dinner?” Ollie asked as the realtor sped off in her car, leaving them on the corner.