“Don’t you know?”
“Unless you think about it, no.”
Vince smirked and walked backward, facing me. Even though I felt the shame and pain from his visit to the med bay as well as my blunder circling in his thoughts, I swallowed at the arrogant confidence that was easily displayed on his features and in his wide stride. My tail flicked, and I longed to coil the appendage around him, pulling him flush to my chest.
“You and me are going to eat lunch together.”
“Are we?” I asked, though I had no intention of refusing him.
“You need a friend, Donny, and Klars said I need to eat a high calorie diet.”
“I shall accompany you, then.”
He grinned. “I figured you would. Come on, I’m hungry.”
Chapter 7
New clothes. New man.
I stared at my bed; a dark cloud filled every cell of my body, making me numb. I was clean, after what had to have been a two-hour shower, and ready for bed, theoretically. Every light was on full blast, banishing the shadows, but it wasn’t enough. The very thought of lying down sent tension to my muscles. Nightmares would come—they always did—but Don would come with them.
Nonetheless, I wasn’t ready yet.
The day had gone by so much faster than I’d liked. I had a pleasant and long lunch with Don. He was humorous in an understated way. When he’d gone back to his duties, I’d hung out with Camden and Brad, then we all met up with Roman,who was quiet, but not in a surly way like Brad, but in a he-just-didn’t-have-anything-to-say way.
Roman was in his late thirties with a shaved head and mustache and goatee. He was taller than Brad and Camden, and well me, but that wasn’t shocking. His skin was a deep brown, and he was well-built with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His deep-set brown eyes always roved the area, like he was scanning for danger.
The thing that made me instantly like Roman was the fandom tattoos on his arms: a sonic screwdriver, a Star Trek emblem, the village symbols from Naruto, the four elements from Avatar: the Last Airbender, and more.
But hanging out with them had bled to chilling with Seth—and fucking Kal—who spent the entire time glaring at me. Seth hadn’t noticed, or had ignored us, as we watched a baking show he liked while we chatted. But all too soon, they were calling it a night. I’d then gone to look for Teddy, but he was already sleeping.
So then I showered until my skin burned.
Sighing, I went back to the living room and paced. There wasn’t much to do. Yes, I had access to the full breadth of the human databases, or well, up to the point Seth had been abducted by his fucker husband. I could binge watch whatever I wanted. I loved anime, and I could easily watch one I’d seen a million times, but I didn’t feel like it. I could also read. I was a huge reader and loved a multitude of genres… and yet, I didn’t want to.
In truth, I didn’t feel like doing anything. I was rudderless. I could go home; I should go home to be free of these encroaching dreams and memories, but that meant leaving Seth and Teddy. Though both of them were happy with their alien spouses. They probably wouldn’t care if I left.
No. That wasn’t fair. They would care; they were my friends. In reality, they would be fine, though. Neither of them needed me, and I needed peace. I needed to shove these memories down into a little box, then maybe I wouldn’t have these nightmares. If I could finally rest, I was positive I’d be able to figure out what to do.
I wish I had my cards.
I’d often gotten teased about believing in tarot, but more than once tarot cards had directed me, helping make decisions or illuminating what I needed most.
My eyes flicked to the dispenser. Seth had said NAID could make anything. Not anythinganything. It wouldn’t make a gun for me to shoot Kal in the ass, but it would make more non-lethal things.
“NAID?” I asked. It was supposedly listening all the time, which was sort of stalkerish.
“Yes, Vince Lyford,” a disembodied, monotone voice said.
Yeah, not creepy at all.
I shook it off and asked, “Do you know what tarot cards are?”
“Yes. Do you wish me to define it?”
“No. Can you make a set in the dispenser?”
“Yes. Please select which one you would like,” it said.
