Page 64 of First Kiss with a Mothman
“Oh, yeah! You won’t believe what I learned about banshees!” This starts Owen off on a long train of discussion. He tells me the ups and downs of his studies, and it seems I’ve successfully distracted him from offering to help me at every turn.
As we finish up and leave the library, a voice stops me from walking across campus. “Arie.”
“Selena?” I ask.
“Yeah.” She seems to turn her head and say, “I’m Arie’s human family. Can I talk to him?”
“I’m human, too,” Owen says. “But…sure. I’ll catch ya later, Arie.” He sounds hesitant, like he’s concerned, but I nod and lift my hand up. He high-fives me and walks away, and with that, I’m alone with my cousin.
“So, what are you up to tonight?”
I shrug and take my walking stick out of my pocket. “I was gonna go have dinner with Mort.” I tap Reginald on my shoulder then murmur, “Dorm.”
He chirps and flies off, and I follow. Selena keeps up with ease, but I purposefully don’t take her hand. I’m still not too happy with our last conversation at the dance.
“Wanna come hang out with me at the mall?”
“Huh?”
“We can get food, go shopping, or watch a movie that describes what’s happening on the screen.”
“Tempting, but…”
“Arie, we haven’t hung out in forever.”
“I’ve been preoccupied.”
“You’ll be okay with one night away from your boyfriend.”
“Uhh…”
“Please,” she says in a pleading tone. She touches my arm, and I have no choice but to stop walking. “I miss being your number one girl.”
I snicker. “You’ll always be my cousin.”
“Only by marriage. In any case, everything at university has been changing. Our lives have changed.”
Her pained words make my heart hurt. I’ve been so caught up in Mort and accomplishing my list that I haven’t thought about my cousin, my closest family member, and her life adjustments.
“I’d like to know that you can still be in my life.”
I shrug. “I’m a monster, Selena. Are you okay with that being a fact of your life? Because it’s mine.”
She seems to mull it over, and we continue to walk forward. “I will admit…it’s been a lot to wrap my mind around. But now that I’ve gotten more used to Creepin U, I’m cool with it. Most importantly, I don’t want to lose my connection to you.”
My heart feels full, and I smile at her. “You won’t.”
“Then you’ll hang out with me tonight? On the way to dinner, we can pick up groceries. Or do you want to do laundry tonight? Whatever you need.”
“I usually do laundry with my boyfriend. And I was supposed to see him tonight.”
She sounds perplexed when she asks, “He’s still doing errands for you?”
I shrug. “Um, yes?”
She snickers and says, “Huh. Weird. I wouldn’t think you’d want to seem so needy with your new boyfriend.”
My cheeks warm as I reach the door. Selena might have a point. While he’s never complained, most of our dates have involved errands before sleeping together. Mort does all that for my benefit. I’m his boyfriend, not some charity case…right?
