AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Stop thinking about it," he murmured as he laid the side of his face against the top of my head. "You're overthinking and creating a problem that doesn't exist. We've got enough problems already, you don't need to make up other ones. If you need to pick something apart, then just focus on one of our already existing problems."
How did he know that? It was exactly what I had been doing, overthinking everything and looking for something to pick at. Did Dash really know me that well, or was I just that easy to read? Perhaps it was because I had been living with him for weeks now, maybe we were just becoming more used to one another. Was that normal with roommates? I wasn't sure, and didn't care enough to ask.
"How did you know?" I asked him as I snuggled closer to his side. Binx got up from his place at Dash’s feet and stretched. He looked at me, meowed pathetically, and then climbed over Dash to get closer to me, where he curled up into a little furry black ball betweenourfeet. I thought that was telling, and fought to check Dash's expression and see if he saw what I did. Binx didn't choose between us, he'd picked us both. Heck yeah, I was getting somewhere with my cat thievery. I wanted to shout and pump my fist in victory. Maybe I didn't need my own pet after all.
"I know you," he said. "Maybe not as well as I would like to, but I'm getting there. You don't know what to do when there isn't a problem, so you pick at things to create one. I don't think you know how to justbe. Be in the moment. Be happy. To just breathe and not have to be fighting for something or fighting off someone. I recognize it, because it's a lot like how I am. It's because our childhoods were disasters and full of trauma; it's what we've come to expect out of life because that's all we've had, and we don't understand how to live without the constant trauma, or even the constant expectation of it. I would know because it's just like how I am. I knew I recognized it in you. Some of the others might even see it in you, because it's not just the two of us who've gone through terrible things. Ours just seem like the worst, because we're scarred on the outside, and the others aren't. Makes it seem like ours was harsher because we have a physical representation of it etched into our bodies, so it makes it something that's not easily forgettable because it's always in their faces. But we're not alone, you're not alone. We are in good company, and eventually you will stop wanting to fight everything, and you will just breathe and learn to trust in the people around you and to trust in a good thing. I know it sounds weird to say trust in a good thing, but I mean it."
Alright, now he was really freaking me out, because that'sexactlyhow I was feeling most of the time, and he totally got it, got me.
"Can you read my mind?" I asked, sort of joking. At least I hoped I sounded like I was joking with him. People couldn't really read minds, could they? Maybe, for my own peace of mind, I should stop questioning these kinds of things; I didn't really want to know the answer, because I feared the answer might terrify me.
His body shook with laughter. "No," he murmured. "That's not in my skill set."
Now I hoped he was joking because if he wasn't that meant he thought there were some people out there whodidhave the skill to read minds. I had a childish urge to stuff my fingers in my ears and sing "lalalalalalalala" over and over again until he stopped talking to me on the whole, because I didn't want to hear what he said anymore if this was the kinds of things he had to say.
To change the subject for the better, I hoped, I asked, "What did you tell Quinton that you would tell me he said?" I cringed. That sounded a lot like he said, she said but I didn't have any other way to think to say it.
He stopped laughing immediately. "He wanted you to know that he told Adrian you were done for the week and not to come back until Monday. That should give you a decent break from the Council and the fucked-up situation they've put us in, put you in. And Quinton seemed to think you could use a break from Adrian. I think he should have asked you first, but Quinton doesn't care to ask people beforehand. He's an ask forgiveness after the fact sort of man. You aren't mad, are you? I know you were actually looking forward to your meetings with Adrian because you liked learning things from him. It's not like they are stopping altogether, just until Monday rolls around."
Was I mad?
No, I didn't think I was. Did I want to be contradictory simply because I didn't want to let Quint get away with bossing me around? Heck yes. If I gave an inch, he'd go for a mile. Plus, as an added bonus, I think he really liked it that I didn't let him get away with bossing me around. But, Dash was right about something. I did look forward to my meetings with Adrian as much as I dreaded them some days. I felt like Adrian shared more with me than the guys did because Adrian wasn't emotionally invested in me the way the guys were. And, Quinton should have asked me first, instead of just getting high handed and taking control of my life.
I wanted to call him back just so I could hang up on him again.
But there was something else I needed Dash to explain to me first. Something that had been bothering me since he talked to Quinton.
"Did you mean what you said?" I asked. "Earlier on the phone with Quinton, when you said you came in here because I was making noises, and that you thought I was trying to wake myself up?"
I shivered and pressed myself closer into his body. He let go of my hand.
"Let's lay back down now that we don’t actually have to get up for anything," he said.
He scooted down, and I followed after him. He rolled to his side, facing me. I stayed on my back, with my hands lying flat on my stomach, and just my head turned on the pillow towards him. He scooted closer to me, making the space between us almost nonexistent. His heat crawled over me, and this time I shivered for a completely different reason. He placed his hand on the bare skin of my thigh, right above my knee, and I wished we weren't covered by the blanket so I could see his hand wrapped around my thigh, his skin against mine. His fingers moved in a gentle caress against my leg as he put his elbow in the bed and rested his head in his other hand, the one that wasn't touching me.
I didn't think this was a good idea, us having a conversation while he was touching me like that, but he didn't seem to agree with me. His hand slid up a little higher, and I knew it would be a struggle for me to concentrate on whatever he talked about.
My breath caught in my throat as his hand stopped at the hemline of my short-shorts, and his fingertips slid under. Heat trailed up my thigh, going places I hadn't expected it to go.
"Dash," I whispered urgently, and, even to myself, my voice came out breathless. Any other time and I would have been embarrassed by my voice sounding like that.
Dash chuckled, low and masculine, it was a sound that said he wasn't amused by my voice, but rather he approved, and it had made him happy.
I slid my right hand down my stomach, past my hip. Down, down, down until my fingers brushed against his hand. I covered his hand with my own and gently pressed down. His fingers stopped moving, his hand flattened out and he laid his palm flat against my bare skin. My hand laid flat atop his, only smaller because I had smaller hands than he did.
"Are you trying to distract me so that you won't have to answer my questions?" I asked in that same breathless voice. My chest rose and fell heavier than normal, my heartbeat raced. "Because, if so, it's working."
His hand under mine slid up higher, fingers slowly moving upwards and underneath the hem of my sleep shorts.
"No," he whispered. "Just trying to loosen you up a bit."
Huh.
I didn't think I wanted to getthatloose.
"Dash."
His hand stopped creeping upwards. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked.
