Page 68 of Colin

After the tour—and after Jay shoved the three other vampires into the backyard, claiming he couldn’t have them “listening into private conversations”—Jay and Colin shut themselves into Colin’s bedroom.

Jay paused at the door, staring at his phone, looking like he was sending out a quick text. Maybe he was telling Alexei to play nice with his new friends.

Then he stared at Colin for a long moment, gray eyes shining.

Colin shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. “Um…”

Jay interrupted before he could figure out what he wanted to say. “I’m just so happy to be here,” he said on a sigh, clasping his hands together.

Colin’s lips twitched. “Did you really miss me that much?”

“Of course! DBC isn’t the same without you.”

“Dude. You only work one shift a week these days.”

Jay had cut down his hours to focus on using a portion of his considerable funds to revitalize the local animal shelter. They were supposed to start constructing an entirely new building in the fall.

Jay sighed again, a little dramatically. “I know, it’s just…you were my first real human friend, you know.”

“I was? What about Soren? Or Danny?” At the look on Jay’s face, a million little things suddenly clicked into place. What. The. Fuck. Colin shook his head in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Soren, I get. But Danny? Your sweet nurse friend? He’s a vampire too?”

Jay shrugged, his overall strap slipping off his shoulder with the movement. “Pretty much all my friends are vampires. Except you. And Izzy,” he amended.

“And it’s my being human you like about me?” Colin asked, his heart sinking. Would Jay no longer be so keen on his friendship, if he turned? Was it just the novelty of his humanity that kept their relationship going?

Fuck, that was a disheartening thought.

“No!” Jay insisted. “Not just that. I like you for you, Colin.” He peered up at Colin through his lashes. “But you were the first friend I made on my own, outside of my den, without Soren’s help or anything. That means something to me.”

And then Colin found himself with an armful of Jay again, getting hugged so tightly he was afraid his poor, mortal bones might crack. Since he was sofragileand everything. He patted at Jay’s back as best he could. “It means something to me too.”

“Good.” And then Jay released him, whirling around the room, oohing and aahing at all Colin’s possessions, as if he hadn’t been the one to pack them up and ship them over in the first place.

“Oh, your comics!” Jay dropped onto the floor in front of the bookcase, pulling out books at random. “Riley loved the ones you let me send him, by the way. Your drawings too.”

Colin stopped still. “Pardon?” He rarely showed his drawings to anyone.

“I sent him some of your drawings, when I was packing up your stuff.” Jay twisted to look at him. “I hope that was okay? He liked them very much. He wants you to draw him as a vampire. Says you make them look, like, extra cool.”

Colin ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, yeah. I can do that. If he sends me a photo.” He’d never actually met the little vampire, who apparently wasn’t stable enough to be around humans regularly. Somehow that made it easier to think of sending him some of his work.

And maybe hewouldmeet him someday, if—

There was the telltale sound of someone bounding up the stairs. Jesus. Were the twins really that jealous of Jay they couldn’t leave them alone in a bedroom for five minutes?

But it was Jamie who burst in the door, dark eyes glittering with excitement. “Yo! I heard we were having girl talk!”

Sothatwas the text Jay had sent. Colin didn’t have to ask why they were calling it “girl talk.” It had Soren’s influence written all over it.

Jay clapped his hands at Jamie’s arrival. “We are!” He swiveled cross-legged on the carpet until he was facing them fully. “So. Colin. You’re having sex with both of them.”

“Yeah, he is,” Jamie crowed, throwing a hand up for a high five.

Colin ignored it, and Jamie’s subsequent pout when he kept his hands to himself. “And?”

“And…well…” Jay floundered. “I don’t know. How—how is it?”

Colin shrugged, fiddling with his bracelets. “It’s…fine.”Finemight have been the biggest understatement of the year, considering his hole was still sore from being pounded into oblivion by the twins less than an hour ago. But, like, was he really supposed to say that out loud?

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