Page 33 of Starlight

“I’ve heard enough. I’m sorry you’re not the big shot football player like you wanted to be. That you actually have to work and live like the rest of us.” He walked out of the kitchen.

Cole sighed. There was nothing he could say that would help his father understand. He wasn’t dissing his father’s life or choices, but they weren’t his. And at some point, he had to stop living for family expectations and live his own life. He closed his eyes and imagined he was sitting in Akai’s nest, feeling like he was able to see everything clearly and like anything was possible. It was a lie because he couldn’t launch out of the nest and fly like Akai. No, but he liked the taste of freedom.

He also liked knowing that there was more to life than going to work and paying the bills. There were also monsters.

And if monsters are real, it gave him a kick in the ass to do something. Because how could he live in a world where monsters lived in secret, and made pretty jewelry, while he stood with his boots in wet cement?

No, there was more out there, and he wasn’t going to let his family or his past determine his future.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

By noon on Friday, Akai had tidied the house, washed the sheets for both the bed and sofa bed, and dried them on the line that pulled out from the cabin to a tree—he’d seen Cole use it last summer, so knew how it worked.

He’d done everything he could to stay busy and not dwell on the possibility that Cole wouldn’t return. The flipside was that he was spending far too much time thinking about what might happen if he did return. He didn’t know the first thing about making a pass at a human.

If he did it wrong, things were going to get weird, and he didn’t want weird. He didn’t want Cole to jump back in his truck and leave.

His thoughts kept swinging like a pendulum, flicking between Cole not returning and what to do if he did. The easy answer was nothing. Just because he was thinking about what it might be like to fuck a human didn’t mean Cole was wondering what it was like to fuck a monster.

He’d heard that humans could be surprisingly picky when it came to monsters. Too furry, too spiky…and he wasn’t even talking about dicks. He’d read a few of the threads on the message board about humans, specifically the wooing of humans, and a few where the monster had fucked up and was trying to make things right.

Researching humans on the human internet had taken up a decent amount of time, which is what had led him to washing the sheets. He’d plucked a few flowers and stuck them in the empty jar of honey and placed them on the kitchen counter, so the cabin looked pretty as well as being immaculately clean.

He’d also gathered everything for a salad that they could have with dinner.

Dinner, flowers, clean sheets…was that too much?

Too obvious?

He could always say it was done out of gratitude for allowing him to stay while he recovered. After doing nothing with his wing all week, except for some light stretching, there had been some improvement in the wound. Though the only reason he could tell was because of the photos. His arm didn’t need to be bandaged anymore, as it had scabbed up and was healing nicely, though he would probably always be missing that strip of hair.

By the time dusk was settling, he’d stopped pretending to play solitaire on the kitchen counter and was pacing and checking his phone every other minute. He should’ve given Cole his number…but giving a human his number may lead to problems, especially if it got leaked. While he could avoid getting in trouble for revealing himself to a human, having his number spread around could be more problematic, as it might lead to humans discovering the monster network.

The rumble of an engine made him freeze. He tilted his head, waiting for it to draw closer to determine if it was from Cole’s truck. He swallowed as the engine became louder. It was Cole.

Did he wait inside or out?

He dithered for several seconds, then walked outside to wait. He didn’t want Cole to think he’d left. Hopefully, Cole was expecting him to still be there…

It felt like forever before the truck’s lights appeared on the driveway, winding their way between the trees, before the truck came to a stop in front of the cabin. Cole nodded at him and got out.

Akai held his breath as Cole walked around the truck, but instead of walking toward him, he opened the rear door and pulled out a bag, which he slung over his shoulder before reaching into the truck.

“I brought extra food.” He hauled a box out of the back.

“Oh…great. Thank you.” He smiled and went over to help.

Cole passed him the box of food. “With extra honey and oats.”

Akai’s lips curved in a small, guilty smile. “Thank you. I finished what you left.”

“I thought you might.” Cole grinned. “How are you? Are you able to carry that?” He asked as he shut the door.

“Yes, my arm is much better.”

Cole laughed. “It was only a scratch.”

Akai turned to show Cole it was not a scratch. “I’ve had plenty of scratches, and this was definitely a gouge.”