Page 45 of Novice Girlfriend

“I want to fix it,” he said, his voice cracking as he turned away.

“You can’t fix everything, man,” Winter told him gently. “Definitely not between two grown women who aren’t asking you to.”

Sergey bobbed his head but didn’t turn back towards us. “Is there anything I can do? Are you okay?”

I felt bad when I snorted, but it wasn’t even at him. “I’m now delivering rewards and tests from the gods that are apparently ticking time bombs and might ruin my relationships with my support system. Yeah, I’m fucking great. Like debating if I want to be locked back up in my bedroom in the Shaw house again great.”

I ignored their reactions and walked out the door, heading right for where the area to circle was at the guard station. I didn’t ask for them to send me anywhere and simply plopped down, smiling when Mrs. Oliveria’s familiar raced over and gave me love. I really loved the goofball.

Winter came a bit later and squatted down in front of me. “Time to be a college student. What do you want to do today on break? Anything you want to do or anywhere you want to go?”

My head snapped up so fast that I heard something pop. “Really? You want to go somewhere? Like really go somewhere? Like not just a restaurant or—like we can go somewhere for real?” I frowned when several people cursed or had reactions behind him and went to look at them, but Winter caught my chin and made me focus on him.

“Anywhere you want, little sexy. Just tell me and I’ll make it happen.”

I glanced at my watch to check the time and then smiled at him. “Georgia Aquarium. I haven’t heard many fish speak. It might be totally overwhelming, but I want to see. They have whale sharks. Where else will I ever get to hear the thoughts of sharks, Winter?

“I mean, even I want to know if it’s like Finding Nemo. And all the other fish and what do they think swimming in huge schools. Do they think to turn left and right or up and down? On your left or get out of the way? Dinner ahead? Oh, someone pooped in my face? Like—it’s probably going to be too much and completely ridiculous, but I have to know.”

He was kissing me before I finished the rest of what I was going to say. It wasn’t too much, but also like he couldn’t not kiss me in that moment and I loved that.

I loved that he sometimes had to kiss me.

I barely had a chance to see who else had come outside before we were in the right spot and Winter had looked up the correct everything for where we needed to go. I’d never paid attention because he normally did it so easily and I glanced at him since transportation circles was the one area I really didn’t have any training.

Not just in school since it was early for me but with my private tutors. I’d had a lot of advanced instruction to try to keep my parents off my back since they were so disappointed in my lack of magic. Obviously, that had been intentional to keep me alive and I truly enjoyed the learning, but no tutor would bother with circles since I would never have the magic for them.

I wouldn’t have had the magic for a lot else I learned, so to most that might make them seem like idiots, but a lot of it still would look good on resumes. People discussed magical theories at parties in our world like humans did classical art and music in high society films.

The amusing part there was that Father set up my mating profiles for me to be a pretty airhead to give Shaw DNA and not much else… So why did I need all of that on my resume?

Because he was a sociopath. His whims would change and one minute he was mad any woman had an education and the next Shaws were different and we were falling behind. There was no logic with insane, power-hungry men.

Duh.

“Your magic sort of remembers the circles you repeat,” Winter told me after we arrived. “Think of it like driving places. You use GPS the first several times, but then you normally have it. Some people, it’s less or more. Same with your magic. It’s why you see people throw circles like an exhale or they take longer.”

“You really explain things so effortlessly,” I praised him, studying him closely. “I hope Tracey does hire you to manage the spa we’re building. You’d be the perfect person to bridge the gap between the technical and what people know from their own familiars. That’s not something easy to do and we’ve struggled to find the right people—she has.”

“I think it’s amazing how easily you give huge compliments like that, little sexy,” he whispered, blinking at me. “You’re so honest and—damn. Thanks. Really, because I—thanks.” He winked at me. “Let’s go see the fishes. Maybe get sushi after.”

I burst out laughing and took his hand when he offered. Only Winter would make such a joke and also completely mean it. He wouldn’t let his love of animals stand in the way for his love of food. He understood it was all the circle of life and would probably want to make sure to bring some back for his familiar, Teddy.

I swallowed loudly as he paid for our tickets, a tinge of guilt hitting me that the apples on my counter at home could let him talk to Teddy.

He immediately knew something was off when he turned to me. “What’s up?”

“I’m keeping something from you, and if the situation was reversed, I might be mad later when I found out,” I admitted. “I’ll understand if you are, but know it wasn’t you specifically. It’s just hard to know where to draw the line, and right now I think I’m just not telling you yet, okay?”

He blew out a long breath and moved along through the massive main lobby… But didn’t offer me his hand. “First, I’m glad you told me. No matter what’s going on or even if it’s going to upset me, I always want you to be able to talk to me.”

“Thanks, Sir Winter.”

“You want to start with the sharks in case it’s overwhelming?” he checked, winking at me when I nodded and heading that way. “Second, I’m assuming you were given something that anyone can use when you got the stuff for Nina and Taylor?”

“You really do pay attention,” I whispered.

“Kinda just fits this time,” he admitted with a half shrug but then gave me a look. “And your energy changed to guilt. After I brought up sushi. My mind went to when we shared it with Teddy. And we’re here because… Sharks.”