Page 93 of Pretty Little Shadow
"This happened a few more times until it came to a pinnacle today, sitting in Steve's car, outside a café. After Karen risked her own comfort and sanity by coming to visit Steve in his workplace."
"KarenmakesSteve work there," I grumbled.
"That's unrelated." Liv pointed to me. "Karen straight-up tells Steve she wants him, and Steve rejects her. When Karen takes aday to herself, driving all the way across the city alone, Steve lets her go because he still hasn't come up with something special enough."
Merrily sighed. "Darius."
"I know it sounds bad," I said, "But she's never been with anyone else, and I don't know how to make sure it's good enough for her."
"You'reself-conscious of your sexual compatibility?"
"I've never fucked someone I actually cared about."
"I get it, but rejecting her wasn't the way to go," Mer said. "The best thing you can do is let her choose. If what she wants for her first time is to fuck you in your car, and you want it too, give her what she wants."
"She would probably appreciate a conversation about it," Liv said pointedly. "You need to make sure she understands that you weren't rejecting her because you don't want her."
"She knows I want her, and she doesn't like to talk about that shit."
"Emotions, you mean?" Merrily checked.
"Yes."
Liv sighed dramatically. "Of course fate paired you with someone who's even more allergic to feelings than you are."
"I'm not allergic to them. I just prefer not to acknowledge them," I said.
"How's that working out for you, Steve?" she shot back.
"Alright, I get it. I'll come up with something."
"I'll ask Grayson to keep an eye on her location while she's in the Shadow District," Mer added. "They track each other like we do."
"Ifsomeonewas willing to have an uncomfortable conversation, Darius could keep an eye on her location himself," Liv pointed out.
"I get it," I grumbled. "I'll try to deal with the feelings."
"How are things going other than that?" Merrily asked.
They pestered me with questions while Liv finished up cooking and dished out the food. We ended the call, and she disappeared down the hallway, toward Niall's studio. I ate while she was gone, knowing she could be back in anywhere from one minute to an hour.
Niall emerged with her less than ten minutes later. He had paint streaks on his skin in various places, and wasn't wearing anything but a pair of gray sweats.
"Hey, man," he said, dragging Liv onto his lap in the chair next to mine.
Fuck, I wished Rae was with me.
"Hey. You're back in painting mode, I hear."
Niall grinned. "Yeah, It's been fun." He grabbed his fork. "How's Rae?"
"Don't get him started," Liv grumbled. "You don't want to hear the story about what just happened between them."
"Apparently, I fucked up."
Niall snorted.
I gave him a summary. He agreed with Mer and Liv, unsurprisingly.
