Page 4 of Novice Girlfriend

“Not intentionally,” I grumbled. “I am sorry.”

He smiled at me, something twinkling in his eyes. “It’s okay, Bev, really.”

I stared at him several moments and huffed, gesturing towards him. “I don’t get what’s going on here. Why are you smiling if you didn’t get what you want?”

“Oh, he got what he wanted,” one of the guards drawled.

“Hey, silent and unseen,” Nigel snapped, chilling when the guy held up his hands.

But I was definitely asking that guard later what he meant because Nigel ducked my question.

After we ate, we walked around campus just being curious since we never had much time to just check things out. It was always looking at where we needed to go or learning what we would need later.

We would probably forget it all, but it was peaceful since a lot of people were already gone for break.

“Are you going—we have to leave the dorms for the week, right?” I asked, feeling bad I hadn’t checked before.

“Yeah, I have somewhere to go,” he mumbled. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along to show me something he’d heard from someone else in the cafeteria and I was very, very sure it was a distraction so I didn’t ask where.

Or anything more about him.

Which made me feel weird. How could I get closer to him—even as a friend—if he kept me so shut out?

I guess it was a test of my patience?

One of the guards suggested an ice cream shop, making it clear he was craving it too. I understood when I dug into one of the best sundaes of my life.

“I really feel bad for humans that are lactose intolerant,” Nigel said with a moan.

I frowned as I took my next bite. “I thought that was only elderly humans? I saw that in a movie.”

His eyes flashed shock and he shook his head. “No, it’s people of all ages. Babies, it’s rare, but it’s all ages. As they get older, their bodies break down and then it’s super common in elderly humans.”

That was mind-boggling but also… “How do you know so much about humans? Weren’t you at an orphanage for witches and warlocks?”

He flinched. Not very noticeably, but I was watching, so I saw it. He’d flinched. “Yeah, I was. Warlock only, but people I was around—they knew it was important to understand the world wasn’t just us.” He slowly gazed at me with a look that screamed it was maybe too much to say.

I gave a half shrug and focused on my sundae. “You’re right. It is important. I wish I knew more. I should know more.”

“Our whole society should,” the other guard who hadn’t said anything yet muttered quietly. “The wake-up call we got was—we’re in trouble if we don’t pull our heads out of our asses. Seriously.”

I nodded that I heard him and ignored the look Nigel gave him. He didn’t like my guards interjecting. He thought it made it more difficult for me to have guards and then have to listen to them.

He wasn’t wrong. I’d also voiced that I was tired of people giving me too much advice or always judging what I was doing.

Maybe it was time to have a conversation with Tracey and Taylor about some better guidelines for having guards? That was smart and I actually felt good about the idea. I needed to have more of a say.

If I just grew a spine and did so.

Or figured out what I wanted to say more often.

Fun.

Oh, but I did at least ask the one guard what he’d meant that Nigel got what he’d wanted after Nigel dropped me off at the dorm. The two men shared a look and the first sighed, scrubbing the back of his neck.

“You responded to him like a woman, Bevin,” he said gently. “You blushed, and I could practically hear your heart race when he pulled you closer. That’s not just being a friend. You felt something.”

“Nigel learned he affects you as a man. He has a chance,” the other added. “That’s better than a first date to some lame dorm party neither of you enjoyed.” He snorted. “I hated that shit in the barracks too. It’s not you but the scene.”