Page 98 of The Gathering
“Your brutal honesty is spellbinding.”
Slow gasp. “Wow,” she whispered. “Just for being honest?” she could hardly believe. “Is that all?”
“Well, the list is quite long.”
She shoved his arm. “You’repickingon me,” she said, absolutely loving it.
“Hey,” she said, suddenly. “I have to cook for Pah-Pah, would you… want to stay for dinner? I can cook whatever you’re hungry for,” she swore.
Her desperate need for his companionship slayed him. As much as her innocence in being so open about it. “Whatever?” he asked, getting her huge smile and nod.
“I have chicken and beef.”
“I’ll eat whatever you intended to prepare.”
She got quiet and scraped the corner of her lower lip with her teeth. “I was actually going to serve him the left-overs.”
“I love leftovers.”
“But I really wanted to cook for you here,” she said, a daring hope lighting her eyes.
A wild idea zinged in his blood. “You could cook for me at my place.”
Her face slowly lit up then dimmed. “But… Pah-Pah needs me.”
All he cared about was theyesshe’d given. “I didn’t mean now,” he corrected.
She looked at him then at the swamp before them. “What about your… merging requirements and all your prospects?”
He shrugged. “It can wait.”
She stared at the air between them for many seconds. Her smile started with the flutter of her eyelids and light gasp. “I would… absolutely love that,” she said. “Maybe I would meet other people like you?”
Jealousy hit like a war hammer in his blood. “If you’re bored, I guess.”
“Oh, I would never be bored with you,” she said, a gentle correction to his silly error.
Appeased.
Except for bringing her on that side of the world. Not happening.
“You asked me what kind of girl I wanted to merge with earlier. I want to ask what kind of man did you imagine yourself with?
“Oh, definitely somebody like you,” she said with complete ease.
He nodded, keeping his gaze off her. “I think I have a prospect for you. He works at our gifted school.”
Just Fuck Already
“I would prefer finding my own prospects,” Hope said, her expression and tone unreadable despite his gifts drilling in.
He moved his gaze to the dock. “You don’t trust me to find the right prospect?”
She answered with slow, creaky rocking. “I’m responsible for my own prospects. I have to know the person I’m merging with enough to know if I should merge.”
He looked at her. “Is this your instinctual pro-merge wisdom?”
She seemed to search her mind. “Don’t you agree?” she asked, like it might be one of her negative doubts.
