Seventeen #2
“Can we try something later?” I asked.
“What?”
“I’d like to see if I can trace you using my magic. I wonder if that would work.”
His eyes met mine, but he still smoothed his fingers over my hand. It was relaxing, and I loved that he was maintaining touch with me, even as it felt like he was pulling away. “I’d like that. Though, if we are bonded by the time I have to leave, then that will help too, right?”
“You’d want that?” I could hear my shock.
Riley gave a wry grin. “Let’s just say I’m open to it.”
I drove Riley to City Hall to see if there was anywhere else he could stay.
If worst came to worst, he had his trailer and could hook it up to the amenities of the cabin.
It had a generator for heat. Though it was uncomfortable for me to think of Riley sleeping in his trailer when he could be in my bed, I respected his need for space too much to push the issue.
Our bond would grow until we went through the ceremony to cement it, leaving it unbreakable. I just had to give it time, though that was something we were in short supply of. Faith in the fates would have to get us through this brief trial.
“Hi Gareth, Riley.” Debra was in her usual position behind the large desk near the mayor’s office. “What can I do for you? Madam Mayor is busy right now, unfortunately. Budget discussions with the chief of police.” She smiled and waited.
“Um, my cabin… I’m so grateful, but—” Riley rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“But?” Debra perked up. “Is there something that needs fixing? Does it need cleaning?”
“Well—”
Debra interrupted again. “I can fix a lot of things, but I might need to get Walt to look if it’s anything more technical than a blocked sink!” She gave a tittering laugh.
“No, it’s the heat. It keeps cutting out, and it’s just getting so cold—” Riley explained.
“Say no more. Hmmm.” She looked down at her computer. “Ah, that’s going to be a problem. Okay, let’s get you the keys to another one, and I’ll get someone to look at it. We just won’t put anyone in there until we get it sorted. It’s been on the sheet for maintenance for a while.”
“Thank you,” Riley said, accepting another set of keys and handing his set over. “I thought I was going to have to sleep in my trailer.”
Debra gave me a significant look. “We aren’t there yet,” I mumbled.
Riley blushed, but took my hand and led me out of the building.
In the car, we listened to the faint sounds of Christmas music as I drove him to his new cabin. We had packed up his stuff from the first one, hopeful that we’d have some place to put it by the end of the day.
“Are you okay with this?” Riley asked, breaking the silence.
“Of course!” It came out strained.
“Gar—”
“No, I get it, Riley. Just a few days ago, you couldn’t be around me. I don’t want to push.”
“And I don’t want you to think I’m not in this.
Thing is, I’m shit with people. All I’ve had for the last five years is month-long relationships at best. Those people were barely seeing one side of me.
What you’re asking for, it’s just… I don’t want you to hate me when you realize I have nothing to offer someone like you. ”
“Someone like me?”
“You have a life here. A stable, respectable career. All I’ve had are cash jobs here and there. Bar work, serving, construction. I didn’t finish high school, Gareth, so there was no college for me either.”
“That doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t mean anything. You’ve been all over, experienced so much. You know things I could never have learned.”
“Here you have friends, history. I’m just so scared that if you follow me out there, you’ll regret it. You’ll be tied to me and miserable. A fated mate is no guarantee of happiness.”
“No, but it’s a good place to start.”
“I—”
“I won’t regret you. As soon as this curse is broken, we can come back here if you want, and you can find out what you want to do with your life with me by your side, supporting you all the way.”
Riley leaned his head back against the headrest and sighed.
I pulled over in front of his new cabin and just stared at the long line of his throat, his eyelashes resting against his cheeks.
He was so beautiful, and also so broken.
Riley needed more time than we had to come to terms with what we could have.
“Even if you leave me behind, I’ll follow. I know I can’t undo the spell now, but I’ll find a way, Riley. One day we’ll look at our beginning and smile.” I didn’t know what made me say the words. Some sense, maybe, that Riley was ready to give up.
He turned his head and looked at me with those intense brown eyes so filled with pain. “I know, though I wish you wouldn’t. Just… give me a couple of days, okay?”
“Riley? What’s happening? Are you going to run?” Fear closed my throat. I wanted to beg him to not give up. To promise I would find another way to free him.
With a shake of his head, he clicked the release for his seatbelt and gave another trembling sigh. “No. I won’t run. I just need some space to get things right in my head.”
The only sound was the engine running as he waited for my response. “Counteroffer: we take sex off the table and date for a bit. No overnight stays together. Just properly getting to know you without any worries about your curse. Me and you, spending time together without expectations.”
His eyes met mine, a faint trace of hope in his expression. He wanted me to fight for him. For a long moment he stared at me without speaking, then finally said, “I like the sound of that.”
Relief flooded me. “If at any time you want to change the rules, then all you have to do is say the word. I mean it, Riley, whatever you need, I’ll be there.”