Page 39 of Miles's Pact
"Sorry. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?" While I had a plan of my own, nothing was set in stone, and if Duckie wanted to go somewhere, I could easily fit it in.
Duckie thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know what my options are. Whatever you've planned is good with me."
Nodding, I licked a trickle of ice cream off my hand, before it could reach my wrist, and then almost dropped the cone when Duckie tugged on my other hand as he tripped.
I jerked him up before he could fall as his ice cream fell out of the cone, and he sucked in a breath as he steadied himself, his face flushed as he peeked at me.
What the... Oh. Had he gotten distracted by me eating my ice cream? Like he'd distracted me?
Knowing I affected him too was thrilling, and I bit back a smile as I turned to him. "You okay?"
He nodded quickly, then eyed his empty cone mournfully.
"Want mine?" I asked, and he blinked at me, then at the cone in my hand, before his cheeks turned a darker shade of pink. "Or we can go back and get a new one."
"No, it's okay. Maybe later," he said, and I nodded, and after we'd gathered up the spill and dumped it in a nearby dumpster, we started walking again so he could take a moment to gather himself if he needed.
Duckie
All these feelings were so damned overwhelming, and yet I didn't want to stop experiencing them.
It was surprising to realize how muted my moods had been all these years. While my duck form had helped me survive, it had also kept me from feeling much of anything. While I'd been able to feel stronger emotions like fear, or attraction toward Miles and eagerness toward wanting to know Mateo better, they'd been a lot more muted.
I had forgotten what simple joys like eating an ice cream felt like, and I'd certainly never felt my whole body go hot at the sight of another person eating an ice cream.
But the way Miles had licked the ice cream off his own skin... Just thinking about it made me shiver, and I shook my head, pushing the image to the back of my mind to examine later.
"This way," Miles said once we'd finished our ice creams, and led me to a small doorway between a restaurant and a deli, where an old wooden sign readBetty's Books and Biscuits.
Miles pushed the door open, and a bell jingled as I stepped through, taking in the warmly lit room lined with shelves upon shelves of books. The smell of old books, leather, and coffee filled the air, and I walked deeper into the shop as Miles stayed a step behind me.
"Hey, Bettino," Miles greeted, and I followed his gaze to the man behind the counter. He had very light blond hair and green eyes, and was a few inches shorter than Miles. He seemed older than me, though he looked young, and he was definitely a shifter of some kind, but not one I'd come across before.
"Hey, Miles. Looking for anything in particular?"
Miles shook his head, then turned to me. "Duckie, this is Bettino. He owns this place. Bettino, this is my mate, Duckie."
I blinked, then smiled at Bettino, feeling a touch more comfortable when he returned it.
"There's fresh coffee and cookies in the back. Let me know if you need any help."
Miles nodded, then led me into the shelves full of old and new books.
"I thought we could buy something to read together later," he suggested, and I hummed thoughtfully.
"I'm not very good at it. I mean, I know how to read, but as you know, I didn't finish my schooling, so..."
"Mat and I can help you learn more, if you'd like," he offered, and I smiled. I did want to get better at it, like I wanted to learn more about the supe world, about the human world, and everything else I'd missed out on because of my fears.
"I'd like that."
We ended up browsing the shelves for quite a while, and even had some of the delicious cookies set up in the cozy reading area at the back, careful not to disturb the human napping on the couch. Miles told me his name was Anson, and he was Bettino's mate. Before coming to Mistvale, I'd thought mated pairs were rare, but now, I didn't know what to believe.
After debating between a few interesting choices, I settled on a series of graphic novels about two high school boys calledHeartstopper.
Miles paid again since I didn't exactly have any money, and I wondered if a job even existed for someone like me, someone who had no skills and zero experience being an adult, much less a working one.
I hadn't thought about it until now, but Miles and Mateo had been paying for all my expenses since they brought me home, and that wasn't fair to them. Mates were supposed to be equalpartners, and right now, I was dependent on them. Did they mind, or did they not care? I knew they weren't lacking for money, but that didn't mean they wouldn't appreciate it if I started pulling my weight, right?
