30: How People Get Hurt

DRAKE POV

What a drive. Just made it home.—Nikki (8hrs)

Wow, you made good time. Any chance I can see you sometime today?—Drake (7hrs 58min)

Let me take a nap first. After that, my only condition is that whatever we do, I don’t have to sit down. WAY too much time in a car lately.—Nikki (7hrs 56min)

That’s fair. I’ll come to campus this time, if you’re good with that. Any good places to take a walk?—Drake (7hrs 53min)

Bike trails along the Olentangy river are really nice. Parking might be a challenge for you though.—Nikki (7hrs 50min)

I’ll figure it out. When and where should I meet you?—Drake (7hrs 48min)

The Drake Performance Center. And I’ll text you when I wake up and we’ll go from there?—Nikki (7hrs 46min)

Sounds like a plan.—Drake (7hrs 44min)

Okay. I’m awake. Now what?—Nikki (1hr 15min)

See you at six thirty?—Drake (1hr 14min)

That works.—Nikki (1 hr 12min)

I hadn’t expected her to agree to it. I honestly hadn’t expected, when we talked on the phone early yesterday morning, that there was any chance I’d see her today. Xander and Callum are not thrilled about this date, to say the least. Xander insists there’s something fishy going on here, and I hate to admit it, but he’s raised some really strong points. But we’re not going to get answers unless I can talk to her in person, and so here we are: the guys have dropped me off in front of the OSU performance center that shares my name, and I’m scrolling aimlessly through my text history with Nikki, hoping to find some reassurance—and hoping that she shows up. It’s 6:31pm. Did she change her mind?

“If anything goes wrong, just speed dial me,” Callum’s voice echoes in my head. “You don’t even gotta say nothin’. We’ll be right there. We just gonna cruise around campus while you on this date.”

Part of me wishes he and Xander weren’t anywhere near here. I want to be sure that Nikki and I have as much privacy as possible for the conversation I need to have with her. On the other hand, in the event that this doesn’t turn out well, it’s nice to know that they’re not far away.

“Drake?” Her smooth voice sends chills down my spine. I turn around and there she is, looking like she just stepped out of a punk rock magazine: black combat boots, tight black pants, black leather jacket, red shirt that hugs and accentuates her curves.

“You considered the possibility that she’s a succubus or something?” Xander’s concern reverberates. Looking at her now, it seems more possible than ever. But how do I go about asking that?

“Nikki. Hi,” I manage. “I…thanks for agreeing to meet up.”

“Of course. I’ve been dying to spend some time outside, after being cooped up in the car so much the past few days.”

“I bet. How—”

“We can take the sidewalk that way, and there’s a ramp in a bit that’ll give us the option of going down to the trail by the river—” she points “—or we can just go off the path and straight down the slope there.”

That’s not what I was asking, but all right. “Let’s just go down the slope, if you’re good with that.”

She smiles and my heart skips a beat. Oh damn. “I was hoping you’d say that. It’s beautiful down there. And there’s less people around.”

Maybe we’re on the same page, after all. She makes her way nimbly down the slope, and I follow, trying not to stare. She’s just so graceful, and she makes every movement look effortless.

“You’re right. This is much nicer,” I say as I join her on the bike path. “Which way?”

“Doesn’t matter to me. This is my usual running spot. You choose.”

I decide to turn right, so that we’re walking north, and she falls in step beside me. “So um. I wasn’t expecting you back from Montana for at least another day. I mean, I’m glad to see you, but—”

“I didn’t think I’d be back so soon, either, until Aunt Talia called in a favor from a couple of old friends.”

“What do you mean?”

“She knows all sorts of people. Including some very…powerful connections.”

“What does that have to do with—”

“Promise you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.” Her emerald eyes stare me down intensely, willing me to agree.

“Um, sure. I promise.”

“She called in a couple members of the Russian mafia to help us get home as quickly as possible.”

“No shit? You’re serious?” It seems completely unfathomable, but she’s nodding. Maybe that’s why she’s moved around so much, growing up? At any rate, it makes more sense why this is the relative that her family wanted to help her brother.

“Aunt Talia told me not to tell anyone, but…I figured you’d want to know, and…I know we haven’t known each other long, but…I trust you.”

Guilt stabs through me. She trusts me, and here I am with all these doubts and questions… “I’m…honored. I just…it’s a bit much to grasp.”

“I feel that. It was pretty surreal when they showed up at her place with their sleek, hi-tech black RV in their expensive suits and sunglasses. They hooked my car up to tow it, and I swear this thing was going 90mph most of the way back and the cops never even tried to stop us.”

“Holy shit. The engine in that thing must’ve been insane.”

“Effie said the same thing. She’s kind of a gearhead. It’s all beyond me. I just know that those two blokes drove the whole way back, trading off every time we stopped to refuel, so Effie and Angel and I could relax and study on the return trip. The RV even had WiFi.”

“They didn’t need to rest or sleep at all?”

“They seemed to have the same gift as Angel.” She glances at me sideways, no doubt checking to see if I’ve picked up the hint. We’ve never explicitly mentioned Angel’s species, but Nikki must have assumed the guys and I noticed Angel’s lack of heartbeat.

“Got it.”

“She did a lot of our driving on the way to Aunt Talia’s, but even their kind needs to rest sometimes.”

“That’s fair. And…the rest of your family?”

“They’re fine, as far as I know. Timur’s home and lying low. My mom’s mad at me; I guess Aunt Talia told her in no uncertain terms never to send me out to her place again, and said a bunch of other stuff that Mom’s pissed about, but I’m not worried about that.”

“From what you’ve told me, it seems like your mom had a tongue-lashing coming from someone.”

“Well, it can’t be me until grad school’s over. My parents are helping as much as they can, financially, and I literally can’t afford to offend them.”

“I’m sorry. That’s…awful.” Things make more sense now, about her and her family and why she agreed to travel all the way to Montana and back in the first place.

“Enough about me, unless your curiosity’s not satisfied. Have you seen that mean-mugged body-builder type again, since that trip to Easton?”

“Nope. This is my first time out of the house since then, actually, and Callum and Xander aren’t thrilled about it.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. If you need to go—”

“No, not at all. I told them you just got back from being out of town, and they suggested I invite you to our place but I thought…it was a bit soon for that. And besides, I’ve been getting kind of stir crazy, stuck in there with them for days on end. I’m glad to be out of the house.”

“Well, good, then. I’m glad to have given you the excuse.”

Silence swells between us. I’m not sure where to go from here. She looks so good in the fading sunlight, when the street-lamps aren’t spoiling the effect. She glances up at one, and for a moment her eyes become mirrors. Like a cat.

Fuck, that’s it. How could we all have missed that?

“So um…I suppose I get to guess again.” Her eyes meet mine, one eyebrow arched. “What you are. Unless you’d rather just tell me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re not enjoying the game. I didn’t think you were the type to back down from a challenge.”

How the hell is she so goddamn sexy?! “I feel really dumb for not thinking of this sooner. Are you a cat person?”

Her lips curve upward—satisfaction or mockery? “Congratulations. You’ve figured it out.”

Shit. So she’s a feline shifter. And I—

“I guess you should get some sort of prize, for playing my little game,” she continues.

“What? We never talked about— I thought that the satisfaction of knowing was—”

“I know how it works, for…those with your gift. You wouldn’t be out here with me if you’d already found your…person. Unless you’re the worst of your kind, but we both know that’s not the case.”

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck?! Is this really happening?!

“Um. Thanks? But what are you—”

“Dragging out this ‘getting to know each other’ phase without knowing for sure, one way or the other, where we stand is cruel to both of us.”

“You’re not wrong,” I admit quietly, slowing to a stop under an overpass. She stops beside me, turned towards me, her aura full of questions. It’s quite dark here, and the noise of cars passing overhead, along with the river, should keep us from being overheard by any passersby. “But your gift and mine…. They aren’t exactly what most would call compatible.”

“No. But you’re a good guy, and I don’t want to hurt you more than necessary.”

She likes me, too. That’s a good sign. “I appreciate that, and I really…really like you. But if you…if we are…um….” I don’t know how to ask this question. I can’t bring myself to say the word mate out loud. “Are you ready for everything that comes with that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Um…being…part of my…family, and—”

“That’s putting the cart a bit before the horse, don’t you think?”

“Who said anything about horses?” I blurt out before I can stop myself, desperate to lighten the mood, to make this less serious and uncomfortable.

Nikki is not amused. “I know you just said you like me, but if I’ve totally misread the situation and you don’t want to kiss me, all you have to do is say so.”

Shit shit shit. “Nonono, that’s not…it. At all. I just don’t want to rush things. That’s how people get hurt.”

“People get hurt waiting, too. And the longer hope is built up, the more it hurts if the hope is dashed.”

Callum has said similar things, multiple times, since I met her.

“I…I know. First-hand. It’s just that…I’ve been wrong before. And you seem too good to be true. I wanted to enjoy…this while it lasted.”

“How long are you planning to keep both of us waiting before figuring this out?” She’s been edging closer to me, and now she’s close enough that I can feel her warmth, but not quite touching me, not yet. My heart’s pounding in my ears; I’m sure she can hear it, too. We’re probably never going to get another moment like this, private and dark and quiet, unless I…. How long until she loses patience and bails? How long do I have to decide?

Just do it. Take the plunge. She’s right. People get hurt waiting.

I lean in slowly. Her hands find mine in the dark, sending fire racing through me, and then the distance between our lips closes. Gently, hesitantly, just the lightest touch, and—

YES.