Page 46 of Spinning Out of Control

I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but I understood one thing. “If I’m a princess, that makes you my handsome prince.”

Caleb gave my hand a squeeze before someone at the counter called a number, and he got up, waving at me to stay put when I started to move. He headed over to the counter, scooping up the tray with his hand and balancing it carefully with his right forearm as he made his way back to the table. He set the tray down, then leaned in to give me a soft kiss. “I thought the prince was supposed to save the princess, not the other way around.” He settled into his chair across from me again.

“We saved each other. Cause that’s what true love is. Isn’t it?” I asked.

“You watch way too many romance movies,” Caleb said as he placed my beverages in front of me in a straight line. “But yeah, I guess that could be true love.”

I beamed. “Well, I love you, Caleb Webster.”

“And I love you, Teracht Webster.”

I blinked in surprise, feeling warmth rush through me. “Do I get to take your name?”

“If you want to. I mean, it’s kind of perfect for you, isn’t it?” Caleb asked.

“It is,” I agreed. “Perfect. Just like you.”

Epilogue

Caleb

I met with Theresa a few days after Teracht and I went to Brewed For You. “I have a proposal for you,” she said as we ate lunch in a corner booth at a diner. “We’ve recently had a few monsters reach out to us. They have injuries or have been in accidents here and are dealing with many of the same issues humans are when trying to find care and support. But there’s so little known about monsters that it’s hard to know how to go about helping them and offering resources. A lot of them are just looking for someone to listen. Would you be interested in being that person? A sort of first point of contact?”

“As an actual job?” I asked, unable to keep the surprise out of my tone.

She nodded. “Yes. Paid and benefits and everything.”

The idea that I could help other monsters like Teracht who were maybe alone here in the human world was an interesting position, one I had not ever considered might be needed. But with my own background and my monster boyfriend, as well as his military connections, it sounded like a job that had the potential to grow and really do some good for those who needed it. “I’d definitely be interested in talking to you about it further.”

Within two weeks, I was onboarded as the first Monster Community Liaison for National Disability Advocacy. Teracht was so excited that he ordered an ice cream cake for us to celebrate, which we happily ate together, though he gave me his cookie crust. We called my parents and FaceTimed with them to tell them about my new job and so they could meet my boyfriend. I had been a little concerned how they would feel about my dating a monster, and if my mom would be creeped out, as she had never been a fan of spiders. But our video chat went well, and my mom texted me later to tell me how sweet Teracht was and how pretty all of his eyes were. I had to agree with her there.

I began to work from home in my new position while Teracht and I hung out together on weekends. He had been right, there were a lot of interviews and paperwork with the military in the approval process to allow me to move into his government-appointed house. But in the end, I was cleared. My parents decided to come visit at the beginning of July to help me pack up and move out of my apartment and so they could meet Teracht in person. “I will make some of those peanut butter cookies you like,” my mom gushed when we were arranging details.

“Well, um, Teracht can only eat things that are liquid, but I’ll enjoy them,” I said. It made me sad that Teracht might not be able to eat something my mom made that I loved so much.

“Hmm.” My mom was quiet for a minute before she spoke up again. “I’ll crumble them up and put them into vanilla ice cream for him. Would that work?”

My heart soared that my mom was willing to accommodate Teracht’s dietary needs, and my little spider did a bit of a happy dance when I told him my mom’s suggestion. My dad and Teracht hit it off surprisingly well as they moved boxes from the moving truck into Teracht’s house, discussing their love of James Bond movies and MythBusters. By the end of the day, my dad had already promised to take Teracht to see a baseball game whenever we came to visit them. I thought it might be a while before Teracht was up to traveling away from Edgewind, but it was a great goal to work toward.

I took one of the upstairs bedrooms, moving my bed into it, though I suspected I would be sleeping on Teracht’s web a lot. It really was super comfortable and helped my burn scars to ache less. The other bedroom became my office, and Teracht left me alone when I had the door closed and was working. I worried that having someone else in the house constantly would throw him off or annoy him, but he seemed as content as ever, watching TV while he spun his webs. He even got into audiobooks, and I came downstairs more than once to find him with his headphones on, utterly absorbed in a story as his spinnerets and feet moved in perfect synchrony.

The first anniversary of my accident came soon after I moved in. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it, and it admittedly was hard to get out of bed that day. But Teracht held me close and ordered us Chinese food, and I curled up cocooned in his web for an afternoon nap. My life had changed so drastically, and not all of it had been good. I was still having to adapt in my current circumstances, and I often was dealing with varying levels of pain from my injuries on a daily basis. But I was alive, I had a new job, my parents loved me, and I had the most amazing boyfriend a guy could ask for. I could be doing a lot worse.

“Do you want to go out and see the new Marvel movie tonight?” Teracht asked as we stood at the kitchen counter having an afternoon snack.

I blinked. “Like, go out to a movie theater?”

Teracht nodded. “Cael told me the new monster-friendly movie place just opened last week.”

“And you’re okay going out?” I asked, making sure to keep it light.

Teracht nodded slowly. “Yes. But, if we can maybe sit in the back row?” he asked hopefully.

Going at all was a big step, let alone him being the one to bring it up. “You bet, babe. We can sit anywhere you’d like.”

Teracht sudden tossed a length of webbing around my waist and gave it a yank, sending me sliding across the hardwood floor in my socks, right into his arms. He kissed me firmly. “I love you, Caleb.”

I held him tightly, his legs going around me to hold me close to his warm chest. “I love you, Ter, and I’m so proud of you.”

Teracht beamed, all eight of his eyes blinking. “You are?”

“Yeah! And so happy I get to be a part of your journey.”

Teracht’s fingers stroked lovingly through my hair. “Our journey, pet,” he corrected. “We’re doing this together.”

I grinned and gave him another kiss on his perfect lips. “Yes, sir.”