2. Chapter 2 #3
No. No, he very much did not. Rowan had been cheated on once, in his early twenties, and he knew how badly such a betrayal burned.
How it felt like acid in your stomach. How it cut your confidence to the quick and made you doubt yourself in ways you never had before.
Rowan hadn’t even been able to think of dating for a good year after that fiasco.
Milo was definitely not a man who deserved such horrible treatment.
Rowan hadn’t needed to know the mage for more than an hour to make that judgment.
He was too earnest when dealing with people, too kind.
He hadn’t lashed out earlier at the woman who’d wrongly accused him; instead, he’d graciously understood her frustration and sought to help her.
He’d also taken Rowan on with nothing more than a blink and a smile, which told Rowan more about Milo’s nature than anything else.
Aside from family, Rowan had never in his life been accepted with such open arms, yet Milo didn’t act like this was anything remarkable.
Hearing about someone treating Milo so shoddily made his blood boil. He didn’t understand this sudden urge to protect Milo, but he did agree with his instincts. Clearly, Milo needed someone in his corner.
Milo, oblivious to his reaction, kept talking, eyes fixed on the copse of trees ahead of them.
“And when I found out, I was mad more than anything because I’d been really good to him, and how fucking dare he.
Don’t worry, though, I found the man he was cheating with and told him, and Ray was just as upset—that’s his name—and we both had it out with Andrew, and now we’re BFFs. ”
“You and Ray?”
“Right. He’s still got shit taste in men.
The last three he’s gone on dates with were arguably worse than Andrew, but I’m working on him.
He’ll get a good guy eventually. But Andrew has been pestering me these last few months, for some strange-ass reason, and after the third time he showed up at my door drunk and demanding sex, I’d had it, y’know?
I was just done. So I poked around the duty registry, realized you needed a mage, and presto!
Here I am, going far, far away from Andrew. ”
This man had acted so foolishly, he’d driven a talented and powerful mage all the way to the edge of the continent? Rowan was indignant on Milo’s behalf.
“How about you, Rowan? You got anyone?”
He shook his head with a grimace. “My dating history is as bad as yours, looks like.”
“Aww. That’s so sad.”
Impulse took Rowan by storm, and he decided to tease the little mage to help flip his frown upside down. Rowan deadpanned, “Because I’m sexy?”
Instant success. Milo beamed in response and batted his lashes. “Super nice, too, but definitely yes to sexy.”
Huh? Rowan wasn’t trying to flirt here, but Milo didn’t seem to realize he was being facetious. “I’ve done nothing nice for you.”
“Sure you have!” Milo grew more animated, eyes sparkling, words speeding up in his excitement.
“You’ve let me ramble and didn’t try to interrupt me or anything.
I’m abusing your good listening skills, I know I am, but you just roll with me.
It’s awesome. I rarely meet someone who will just take me as I am. ”
What…the hell? Rowan hadn’t done anything remarkable. He’d simply been polite. Why was Milo reacting like even polite responses were abnormal in his world?
Sure, Milo was chatty as a magpie, but he wasn’t annoying. He’d told Rowan information he needed to know, hadn’t he? And it wasn’t as if he talked incessantly without shutting up. Whereas most people avoided Rowan altogether, Milo actively engaged him in the conversation, wanting responses.
And even if he was a bit on the chatty side, he just seemed excited.
Nothing wrong with that. Rather, him taking lead in conversation was nice because Rowan didn’t always know what to say.
Outside of giving orders to his men, he wasn’t very good at conversation.
With Milo starting the topic, it allowed him to relax and respond, which was really his comfort zone.
The anger from before started boiling over. No one should be this desperate for basic decency. Rowan had been raised to believe that being polite was the bare minimum. Such a friendly man, powerful mage or not, shouldn’t be treated so poorly.
“Oh, oh! We should totally help each other out,” Milo suggested brightly. “What’s your type? I can be on the lookout for you.”
Rowan considered his past exes. Type? He couldn’t think of a single similarity between all of them. Nothing except “I’m too cold and emotionally unavailable, if you ask my exes. I don’t think dating is for me.”
“Noooo,” Milo wailed, his eyes huge and sad. “Don’t say that! There’s someone for everyone, isn’t that how it goes? You’re handsome, and nice, and you look ridiculously strong. You’re, like, the epitome of what people want to date. Fuck ’em. Whoever said that to you, fuck ’em.”
This solid support amused Rowan on some level, even if it didn’t show on his face.
Mostly, he was touched. Milo thought well of him already?
Enough to want to help with his love life?
Rowan certainly felt a fondness in return.
A surprise, but after an hour in this man’s company, he felt himself thawing toward the mage.
Rowan normally kept people at arm’s length to avoid hurt later on, but something about Milo utterly disarmed him.
“To answer your question, I don’t think I have a type. ”
“Really? Some people be like that. My type, apparently, is assholes, but I’m working on changing that. I want a good relationship next time.”
On that, Rowan could agree. Nothing like the man who had hurt him. “If you date in Gravegarde, ask me first. I know who to avoid.”
“Awww, you’re looking out for me too? You’re such a teddy bear! Thanks, Rowan. I’m totally taking you up on the offer.”
Teddy bear. Teddy bear? With his face? Rowan pointed to himself in disbelief, tone incredulous. “Me?”
“Sure you are. A teddy bear on the inside.”
Was Milo dropped as a child? Frequently? Rowan could think of no other explanation.
But, well, it was kinda nice to have a traveling companion who thought so highly of him.
It meant they’d have a decent trip without it being laced with lethal tension.
And maybe, by the trip’s end, Rowan could figure out how to react to this man.
He truly wanted to understand why he felt so protective of Milo already and why he’d become emotionally invested in Milo’s well-being.
Such strange behavior for him, but not a bad thing, not at all.
Rowan felt as if, at the very least, Milo would be an amazing friend.