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I took a seat at the kitchen table. “I wish I could offer a good explanation, but I can’t. Things just happened.”
She waved a hand. “He hasn’t even got a… How does that even work?”
“He has one when he needs one.”
She blinked. “So he can just get rid of horns and a tail and grow other bits?”
“Pretty much, and it can be any size he wants it to be.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Which,” I quickly said, “you don’t need to know.”
She blinked. “Oh, I don’t know. It would help explain some things.” She thought for a moment. “And you’re living together?”
I laughed at that. “He can’t exactly rent his own place.”
“I suppose not.” She leaned forward slightly, concern gradually replacing disbelief. “Look, you’re an adult. You can make your own decisions, no matter how weird or incomprehensible they might be.”
“Thanks… I think.”
“But have you thought about the future?”
“The future?”
“You can’t exactly take him home to meet your dad.”
I pulled a face. “I don’t take anyone to meet my dad. I figure that’s the one good thing I can do for them.”
“You’re being deliberately obtuse. Forget your dad—what about your friends? What about meals out, trips to the cinema, holidays, or whatever else you like to do? How’s any of that going to work?”
“There’s more to life than going out.”
“You understand the point I’m trying to make, right?”
I nodded.
“What about when you do something he doesn’t like?”
“Like what?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. No relationship is perfect. You’re going to do something that pisses him off, eventually.”
“Maybe,” I admitted.
“And what if you decide things aren’t working? What then? He might be all protective of you now, but what will he do if you reject him?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know he won’t turn on you?” She got up from the table, thankfully not expecting an answer to that one. “I’m guessing you haven’t told anyone else about him?”
I shook my head. “Tyler knows, obviously, but apart from him, no one else does. I wouldn’t have told you if you hadn’t overheard.”
She headed for the door. “Fucking a monster isn’t exactly something you just drop into conversation.”
“It’s not.” I opened the door for her. “I understand if you no longer want to be friends.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Did I say that?”
