Chapter 12
Twelve
Miles
Under the dirt and mud, the puppy was the purest white I'd ever seen. His eyes were the only dark spots on him, his nose an almost-white pink. He was weak, skin and bones, but once we'd gotten him cleaned and warmed up, he'd become less passive.
I was still going to take him to Uncle Raph tomorrow to make sure everything was okay, but for now, I figured food and rest were the way to go.
"I've got puppy food!" Mateo called as he burst through the front door, and Duckie, who'd been sitting on the couch with the puppy in his lap, glanced up, grinning the moment Mateo stepped into the room. "I got the wet stuff because I figured it would be easier to eat. I'll put it in a bowl."
While Mateo did that, I filled another bowl with water, and he glanced over at me. "Duckie seems to like the puppy."
"Yeah. We were planning to adopt one anyway. This seems like destiny," I said, and Mateo nodded, then poked me with his elbow. "You wanna bunk up tonight? Duckie and puppy can take your room."
I smiled because that was what I'd thought earlier today, minus the puppy. Sometimes, having a twin who could practically read your mind was nothing short of a blessing. Other times, it was the ultimate curse.
"Sounds good."
The puppy attacked his food with a vigor that showed how long he'd been starving. We'd given him a small portion so he wouldn't make himself sick, but the pitiful sounds he made when he'd licked the bowl clean almost made me give in.
"Don't," Mateo warned, sensing my breaking resolve, and I sighed.
"I won't, I won't. He's so... cute."
"He is," Duckie agreed with a smile, running his fingers over the once-more-tired puppy's head. "He needs a name."
I pursed my lips, then shared a glance with Mateo, knowing he agreed with me. "You should name him."
"Really?"
The surprise and joy on Duckie's face made my heart skip a beat, rendering me speechless.
Seeing that I was in no condition to answer, Mateo jumped in. "Yeah. He clearly likes you, so you should do it."
Duckie glanced down at the puppy, and his brows furrowed in concentration as his lips moved, as he tried out some names. When he found the one he liked, he nodded, then glanced up at us.
"Snowball."
A wide, delighted smile filled my face, and I resisted the urge to pull Duckie into a tight hug. Snowball was something a kid would name his first pet, and I wondered if maybe Snowball was Duckie's first pet.
Growing up, there hadn't been a lack of animals in our house.
April, Dad's familiar, and Saaya—the blackest of black cats, who could travel through shadows—Micah's familiar, had always been around.
And how could I forget the hamsters, the rogue hedgehog, and the few other small critters Papa had adopted at one point or another?
While Duckie had interacted likely with a variety of animals while he lived as a duck, it wasn't the same as having one as a pet.
"That's a great name," I said since he was watching us expectantly, and he smiled, making my heart overreact once more.
"Yup! Welcome to the family, Snowball," Mateo said, and the puppy's head tilted to the side, as if he knew Mateo was talking to him.
We spent a while with the puppy. Then Duckie took him into the backyard so he could do his business. While he did that, I went upstairs and changed my sheets and made sure my room was ready for Duckie.
Mateo had also bought a dog bed and some toys, and I placed them between the bed and the wall so Snowball could sleep close to Duckie.
When I got back downstairs, Duckie was carefully wiping Snowball's paws with a wet cloth, and I stood there in the doorway, watching him. He was such a kind soul, despite all the shit he'd been through.
It'd taken me years after our dads adopted us to open myself up to people again. I'd struggled to trust everyone who wasn't my twin, and it had taken years of the people of Mistvale showing me how good they were before I was ready to accept it.
And yet here was Duckie, who'd until very recently been committed to spending his life as a duck, not trusting anyone or anything. How had we earned his trust so easily?
Duckie glanced up, freezing when he found me watching him before giving me a hesitant smile.
"Hey," I murmured as I approached him, perching my ass on the coffee table beside a bowl of water Duckie had used to clean Snowball.
Reaching forward, I ran my fingers over the puppy's head, then slid them over his back.
Duckie sucked in a breath when my fingers brushed against his hand, and I glanced up at him, meeting his dark eyes.
His hair hung forward, framing his face and making my fingers itch to tuck the strands behind his ears.
"I don't know about you, but I'm ready for bed," Mateo declared as he strolled into the living room, freshly showered by the looks of his damp hair. His sparkling brown eyes slid from me to Duckie, and he visibly bit back a smirk. "Oops, looks like I interrupted a moment."
Rolling my eyes at my brother, I pulled my hand away, then stood up, taking the bowl of water and cloth into the kitchen to put away as Mateo told Duckie about our sleeping arrangement.
"I can sleep on the couch. I don't want to be a bother," Duckie insisted, and I shook my head. Even I couldn't fit comfortably on the couch, and he was taller than me. No way was I asking him to do that.
"Nah. Miles and I shared a room for years, don't worry. You and Snowball will feel much more comfortable in Miles's room. Trust me. His mattress is to die for."
That was true. My bed was one of the few things I'd splurged on when Mateo and I first got this place. Even after all these years, I could not sleep on the floor or a too-hard mattress without having nightmares.
Once I'd also assured Duckie I didn't mind him taking my room, he finally relented, carrying Snowball in his arms as he went up the stairs to my room.
After cleaning up, Mateo and I went upstairs as well, but it took me a while to fall asleep.
As I waited for sleep to come, I used the time to make some plans for tomorrow.
Now that Duckie was in his human form—and didn't seem to be in a rush to shift back—I wanted to make my intentions clear.
Duckie was my mate, and I wanted to date him.
I'd never been in a relationship before—at least not any that lasted longer than a weekend—but I had a lot of ideas. Mateo liked teasing me by saying I got all the romance genes between us, and he wasn't all wrong. I liked romantic movies and books, and I wanted to woo Duckie.
Duckie
Mateo had been right. Miles's mattress was heaven.
I'd had the best sleep of my life, and my head was clear, my body loose and relaxed as I opened my eyes to the warmly lit room. The sun was up and bright today, which wasn't usually the case in Mistvale from what I'd noticed so far.
Sitting up, I smiled when I spotted Snowball comfortably dozing away in his pet bed. I'd tried getting him to sleep in the bed with me—after Miles assured me he wouldn't mind—but the puppy was still a little wary. At least he liked his bed, so that was good.
Pushing the comforter off, I paused when a folded piece of paper with a pen tucked into it fell down to the floor. I picked it up, unfolding it to find a note with one simple question.
Would you like to go on a date with me?
Below the question were three options: Yes, No, and Not today.
It didn't take a genius to figure out Miles had left this note for me, and I stared at it for a few very long seconds.
I'd never been on a date before, obviously.
But I understood my feelings enough to know that I was interested in Miles that way.
He was my mate, and he was a good-looking man who was sweet and kind, and apparently quite romantic.
Untucking the pen from the note, I carefully circled Yes, then wondered if I'd have to go downstairs and hand the note over to Miles.
Before I could start to worry about the potentially awkward notion, the words on the note flickered, then changed.
A smiley face appeared on the note, along with the text: There are clothes for you on the armchair. I'll see you downstairs.
I blinked, then turned to look at the armchair placed near the window on the far side of the room. Sure enough, a stack of clothes sat on the velvet-covered cushion, a single red rose perched on top.
My smile was wide and instant, and I dropped the note on the bed before going over to the clothes. They were in my size, and I wondered when exactly Miles had gotten them since it wasn't the outfit I'd worn to Mom's. Maybe when he went to get my phone?
Shaking my head, I picked up the flower and took a sniff, humming at the soft, natural scent. Then I took the clothes to the attached bathroom, and filled a glass with water from the sink to put the rose in.
Placing the glass on the sink, I turned on the shower as I undressed, and every time my eyes fell on the bright red flower, it made me smile.
As I showered, I heard the door to the room open, then Mateo's voice as he talked to Snowball. Things went quiet after a moment, and I figured he'd taken Snowball with him.
Once I'd freshened up, I pulled on my new clothes, then brushed my damp hair. I eyed the hair dryer sitting on the counter, but I wasn't confident in my ability to use it, and I didn't want to accidentally damage my hair before my very first date.
I took the rose to the bedroom, placing it on the nightstand so I could look at it some more later, and then took a moment to ready myself to go downstairs.
I was eager to see what Miles had planned for us today, but I was also nervous. It had been a long time since I'd been 'human,' and the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass Miles by doing something dumb.
"You got this," I told myself, tugging at the well-fitting dark green button-down Miles had picked for me.
He'd paired it with off-white jeans and dark green shoes, and I had to admit I looked quite good in them.
It was still a little strange, looking in the mirror and seeing this adult, human face reflected back at me, but I was starting to get used to it.
Remembering the phone Miles had gotten me at the very last moment, I grabbed it from the nightstand, tucking it into my pocket as I nodded to myself. I was ready.
I made my way downstairs slowly, but Miles wasn't in the living room. Mateo and Snowball were, though, and Snowball now had a collar around his neck.
"Looking good, Duckie," Mateo greeted with a grin, and I managed to return a hesitant smile.
"Thank you." Glancing from him to the leash he was attaching to Snowball's collar, I asked, "Are you going somewhere?"
"I'm taking this little one to Uncle Raph for a check-up. Then we'll go hang out with Cam at the haunted house."
"You mean work!" Miles called from the kitchen, making Mateo snort.
"Yeah, work." He shot me a wink, then picked Snowball up, which made me wonder why he'd even bothered with the leash if he planned to carry him. "I hear you have plans for today. Have fun!"
I wanted to ask him if he knew what exactly the 'plans' were, but with Miles in hearing distance, I decided against it.
Mateo left soon after, and Miles peeked out of the kitchen, smiling when he spotted me. His eyes roamed over me from head to toe, sending a pleasant shiver through my body.
"You look good. Come have some breakfast, then we'll head out."
Nodding, I went over to the kitchen, breathing in the delicious scent of fried bacon and cheese—omelets, maybe?
As Miles served up two plates after insisting I sit, I took the opportunity to give him a once-over.
He was dressed in a white t-shirt with a dark denim jacket thrown over it, his blond hair styled back neatly.
His lips shimmered in the light, and I wondered if he'd put something on them.
They held my attention for quite a few seconds before I managed to drag my gaze away, where it immediately snagged on his snug jeans.
The faded blue material clung to his legs in all the right places, and I had to once again force my gaze away.
Miles placed a dish of pancakes and bacon strips in front of me, a small smile on his face, and I wondered if he'd caught me watching him.
"Would you like some coffee or orange juice?"
I shook my head, and Miles nodded, then poured some coffee for himself before joining me.
We talked about Snowball and the dragon babies between bites, both of us consciously avoiding the topic of our impending date.
I wondered if Miles was anywhere as nervous as I was.
Surely, he was much more experienced about these things than me.
Was that something I could ask him, or would it be rude?