Page 92 of His Hungry Wolf

“Oh, you’re so sweet,” he said sarcastically.

“I try to be.”

“You should keep trying,” he said, teasingly.

I laughed.

“So, how have you been?” Claude asked, putting the container on the room’s desk and lying in bed.

Although there were two beds, I crawled into his and buried myself in his arms.

“Would it be too much to say that life is never as good without you?” I asked.

“It wouldn’t be too much. Maybe a lot, though.”

“In that case, life has been swell. I’ve especially liked watching Brad miss passes I know you could make.”

“Sounds fun.”

“What about you? How have you been?”

“Regretful. Remorseful. There’s been a lot of second-guessing myself.”

“Sounds fun.”

“It’s been a blast,” he replied with sadness in his tone. “I don’t mean to keep running away. It’s like a knee-jerk reaction. I get this feeling like I can’t breathe and all I want is space.”

“Have you been working on that?” I asked hesitatively.

“When I was home, I had a few conversations with Kendall.”

“Isn’t he Nero’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“I met him at game night. Wasn’t he a therapist or something?”

“He’s studying to be.”

“What did he say?”

“He said I was an idiot for not locking you down immediately.”

“He sounds like a very wise man.”

“He had been drinking at the time, so I’m not sure it was his best advice. But when he was sober, he told me to be kind to myself. He said I shouldn’t expect more from myself than I do from others. When he said it, I realized he was a crazy person, but we’re going to continue talking anyway.”

“That’s good. Maybe I should talk to someone.”

“About what? You’re perfect.”

I turned around and looked at Claude, shocked. “Did you just compliment me? Like, give me a real compliment unprompted? My god, therapy’s working. Are you gonna outgrow me?”

“That’s the plan. That way I can trade up for a healthier, more stable person who looks just like you. Because obviously, you’re my type.”

I looked at him frustrated. “There he is. The man I love,” I said sarcastically.

I put my head back on his chest. After a moment, in a vulnerable voice, he said, “I love you too.”