“Do you want me to eat him?”
“What? Ew! No. I just wanted you to make him go away from the bar. Wait. Do you eat people?”
“Did you make cupcakes with Aaron?” he asked.
“Eeerk,” she said, making a sound of a car locking up its brakes. “Have you eaten anyone? I think your answer might be a deal breaker for me. Please be honest.”
“No, I haven’t eaten anyone. I eat power, not people.”
She was quiet for a few moments before she spoke again. “I have not made cupcakes with Aaron because I did not know how to bake when I was with him.”
“Good. I don’t want his cupcake sloppy seconds.”
She laughed and he could feel the tension easing up in her. The air grew lighter in the cab of his truck.
“We didn’t do stuff like that together. We mostly hung out with a huge group of friends. It was mostly for show. When we were alone, and we were home, it was quiet, and we both seemed to need a lot of space away from each other in the house. I remember I used to get startled all the time that he was there. I would turn the corner, and he would be working at his desk, andI would jump, you know? It happened all the time. I was with him for so long, but I never got used to him in my space.”
“Mmm.”
“What about you? Did you have anyone you were comfortable with when you lived with them?” She sounded very curious, so he glanced over to read her expression. He couldn’t.
“I never lived with a woman.”
“Why not?”
“Because I wasn’t paired. Why would I want to live with a woman my dragon hadn’t chosen. Sounds annoying.”
“Huh. What would be annoying about living with a woman?”
“I’m very tidy. Women are slobs.”
She snorted. “Go on.”
“They leave their forty-million make-up containers all over the counter, and clothes on the floor, and hair curlers on the counter.”
“Where are you getting these assumptions?”
“Television.”
“Aaah, TV. The perfect place to research females.”
“I can hear your sarcasm.”
“I made it especially for you.”
His chuckle surprised him. He liked how she was witty and quick when she dished it back to him. “I lived with a few other guys in a community house. I just rented a room. The Crew fees for Sister’s Edge were too expensive to buy a house.”
“You had to pay fees? Sounds like a cult.”
“Call it what you want. I’ve heard it before. Shifters get a bad rap for being in cults, but to me it’s just a Crew. I’ve always been in one, since I was a kid. They make sense to me. It’s like a group of friends that have each others’ backs no matter what. They understand each other while humans can’t. Of course,humans try to tear apart the bonds a Crew can make. They don’t understand, and they are afraid of what they don’t understand.”
“I understand. I’ve been around Wreck’s Crew enough that I think it’s a good thing for shifters to have that sense of community. I had that before with my friend group. It was really big, but we all got along really well.”
“Why did you leave it?”
“Because Aaron was always there. I couldn’t stay in it and move forward at the same time. I couldn’t find myself with them. I changed and they stayed the same. Not their fault. It’s mine.”
“It’s not a fault to move forward,” he said softly. “Do you miss them?”
