Chapter Sixteen
Oakley
“How do I look?” I asked Ker, turning around to face him.
He came over earlier so we could get ready together. Although that was more of an excuse. We really just wanted a little alone time together. Out of all the things I missed the most about home, it was spending time with my bestie.
He grinned at me. “You look gorgeous.”
I ran my hand over my black vest with sheer sides and took a breath.
I had nothing under it, and the top button was so low it was nearly at my navel, so I was kind of showing a lot of skin, definitely on purpose.
Usually, I’d go for a crop top, but I decided I wanted to change it up a bit tonight. “Are you sure?”
He smirked at me. “Roman will love it.”
“Psh.” I turned my back to him with a roll of my eyes, pretending his words didn’t help boost my confidence. “Why would I care about Roman?”
Keryth didn’t reply, which was kind of unusual, so I faced him again. He was staring at me with his serious expression.
“What?”
His gaze moved up to mine, searching for a long moment before he quietly said, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“What? Of course.”
“No, Oak. Seriously. You can tell me anything. You don’t have to hide your crush from me or anything like that. You can talk about your past to me… I can handle it, and I want to be here for you. You can tell me anything.”
I swallowed thickly, staring at my best friend for a long moment.
He was so sweet and very obviously genuine, and I couldn’t decide if that made me feel nice and warm and cozy, or if it made me feel too exposed.
I never talked to anyone about my past. Ever.
Well, that wasn’t true. I’d gone to a therapist for a couple of years, but I’d only talked to her because she wasn’t someone in my life; she wasn’t someone who cared about it. It’d helped, but I… I didn’t like burdening my family with my shit.
My past wasn’t easy, and I…
I really didn’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole. Not now. Not when I was pissed at my dad, worried about our case, and getting ready to go out. All I needed was to start crying and end up with runny mascara.
But… Ker was right. I could talk to him about anything.
And this whole thing with Roman, this crush that kept growing and growing, was something I needed to talk about. And I should talk to my best friend about it. If not with him, then with who?
So I took a deep breath and said, “Sooooo… I kinda maybe have a little itty bitty super small teeny tiny minuscule crush on Roman.”
Keryth squealed so loudly I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad’s guards came crashing into my condo to make sure we were alright. It made me laugh.
“Oh my Scales, Ker, shhhhhh.”
He squealed again, but much quieter. “Holy crapola, I knew it!” He pointed at me. “You have a huge crush on Rome! Eeekkk!”
“Pretty sure I just said it was a very tiny one.”
He laughed. “Denial, my friend. I could see your crush from a mile away. It’s ginormous. Like bigger than the tower huge.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
He waved me off. “Oh, come on. You know what I mean.”
I sighed. “Okay, fine. I… kinda really wanna lick him.”
Ker stared at me for a beat, then burst out laughing. “Holy crap, that was hilarious. Your face.” He chuckled. “Oh man… lick him? Really?”
I shrugged, ignoring how badly I was blushing. “Dude, have you seen him? I mean, I know you’re with Anton and everything, but you still have eyes, don’t you?”
He laughed. “Yeah, I do, and yeah, Roman does seem particularly lickable.”
“Right?” I laughed and gave him a push. “But you’re not allowed to lick him. That’s reserved only for me.”
He rolled his eyes and pushed me back. “Ew. Stop. I don’t want to picture that anymore.”
That made me laugh. “You’re picturing it? Ewwww… you perv.”
He laughed again, shaking his head. “You keep saying it! What do you expect?”
I stuck my tongue out, playing with my piercing for only a second before I made a loud, obscene licking sound.
“Mother of All! Stop it!”
We were both laughing so hard, we had tears in our eyes.
When we caught our breath, he said, “Holy crap, I’m so excited for you. You must’ve been in heaven the past two months, spending all that time with him.”
With a sigh, I sat on the bed beside him. “It was fun playing house with him, if I’m being honest.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. He’s… really sweet. And caring. I’ve never…
” I cleared my throat. “I’ve never had anyone want to…
take care of me. He’s always cooking for me and even, like, cutting up fruit to give me as snacks, and making sure I have a blanket when we watch TV, even though I’m a dragon too and run just as hot as he does.
He’s just been so…” I shrugged, unsure of how to finish that sentence.
I honestly didn’t even know what I was trying to say.
Ker was smiling so wide it was almost verging on creepy territory.
“That sounds amazing, and I know exactly what you mean. Living with Anton, and even the other vamps, has been… really amazing. I’ve never had help taking care of the girls before, and I definitely never had anyone else trying to look after me, you know?
Now that I have it, it’s so… comforting. ”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” I sent him a fond smile.
I hadn’t even realized he’d understand what I meant, but it made sense. He’d been taking care of his younger siblings his entire life. And now he had help from his viramore and their new family. It was a big change.
I shoulder-bumped him. “How’s it going with you? How’s the family?”
He shot me a grin. “Really great. Everyone’s getting along really well and finding their place.
We argue, like any family does, but everyone…
everyone really cares, you know? The girls are so happy, Oak.
They’re so fucking happy in our new home.
It’s been wonderful seeing it and being a part of a huge family, you know? ”
The fact that he called it his new home and his family made me smile, and I couldn’t help but wrap my arm around him and pull him into a side hug. “I’m really happy for you, Ker. You have no idea how much.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me close. “Don’t worry, Oak. I have a feeling you’re gonna find your own happiness soon.”
I snorted. “I have a crush on my dad’s best friend. Not sure how you think that’s going to result in being happy. My dad would kill me if he found out.”
Ker snorted and let go. “Honestly? I don’t think you’re the one he’d kill.”
I laughed. “You’re so right. Even though I’m the one with the crush, not Rome, he’d totally murder him.”
Ker stared at me for a long moment. “You seriously don’t think Roman has a crush on you? Are you blind?”
“What are you talking about? Roman doesn’t like me.”
Ker snorted and shook his head, then stood and held his hand out to me. “Come on, beauty queen, we have a date with the dance floor.”
I chuckled at that and let him pull me to my feet.
I was a sweaty, hot mess right now, and I was pretty sure I’d smudged my eyeliner earlier when I scratched an itch, but I was having so much fun that I didn’t care at all.
Keryth, Jed, Beshiro, Kat, and Lottie—I didn’t know Kat’s viramore as well as the rest, but she was super sweet—were all on the dance floor with me while Anton and Roman sat at our table like a bunch of grumps.
But it was fine because I was still having a ball. I loved to dance.
I grabbed Ker’s hand and gave him a spin, then dipped him, making him crack up. It made me laugh too, and I barked out another laugh when Jed stepped in and did the same thing to me, dip and all.
“Oh my Scales, you’re gonna drop me.”
Jed winked. “You’re not heavy, and I’m a vampire.” He lifted me back up and gave me another spin.
I slammed into Beshiro, and we both laughed as we stumbled, and then I put my hands on his shoulders and danced with him for a few minutes.
“You having fun?” he asked, grinning.
“Definitely.”
“Good.” Without warning, he spun me, and I wound up facing Keryth again.
Ker smiled at me, and for the next song, we sang along loudly to the lyrics and shook our hips, shimmied, danced, and laughed before Jed leaned over and said, “We’re all thirsty and going to get some water. You wanna come with us?”
Ker and I looked at each other, and then he said, “Nah. We’ll stay out for a few more songs. We’ll meet you at the table in a bit.”
He nodded, and the rest of our group followed him to the bar as Ker and I danced the night away.
The entire time I was out there, I felt eyes on me, and I knew exactly who was staring.
Roman.
Holy shit, Rome was staring at me, and it didn’t feel like a bodyguard type of stare, not even a little bit.
Hm, maybe this vest and skin-showing thing I had goin’ on had been a good choice.
I glanced over at the table where our friends were, and I wasn’t surprised to find Roman staring at me. Since I was feeling… flirty? Or maybe just a little drunk on dwarf beer, I winked at him.
It looked like he spluttered, but I couldn’t hear him over the loud music. It still made me chuckle, though. Ha, what a dork.
I focused on Ker, dancing and marveling at how beautiful and graceful my fae friend was. All fae had a grace that no one else could ever copy. It was like they were all part ballerina mixed with magic and wings or something.
I glanced at Roman again. His eyes were still on me, and he had a scowl on his face as he spoke to Jed.
Leaning into Ker, I asked, “What do you think they’re talking about so seriously over there?”
He glanced over, huffed, and shook his head. “Who knows. They’re ridiculous. This is supposed to be fun. No shop talk while we’re out!”
I laughed and continued dancing, deciding that if I couldn’t get Roman out here on the dance floor with me, I could at least put on a show.
Just for him.