Page 26 of Two For the Show
When I sit up, I can see that my feet are lightly resting on Dario’s head. The trapeze artist is stretched out, his face relaxed. He looks so much younger like this.
Not that I ever asked him how old he is. He said he’s been here a decade, and joined as soon as he could, so maybe twenty-eight? That’s not much younger than I am.
Dario carries a lot on his shoulders that others don’t see. It must be hard always being the light for those around you.
I can’t help but stare at him. He’s so beautiful that it almost hurts to look at him, like staring into the sun, but it’s worth the pain.
“I thought we were pretending to be asleep?” he whispers, not opening his eyes.
I lie on my back and adjust myself so our heads are side by side. “Is that what we’re doing?” I ask quietly. “I’m in no rush to run in the middle of whatever is going on out there.”
The voices I now recognize as Dexter and Quinton are going back and forth on the merits of waking me up to force me to eat something. Every once in a while, Matteo chimes in with a reminder that I have been sick and not getting much sleep, so it’s probably best if they let me rest.
“I can’t believe you’re back.” Dario pops open one eye. “I mean, I hoped you would come back to us, but…”
“But you weren’t entirely sure,” I finish for him.
“As soon as we figured out that someone here had contacted Rich, we knew that you wouldn’t see the circus as a safe place for you. Hell, we didn’t see it as a safe place for you. I didn’t know if we could ever convince you otherwise.”
I’m staring up at the ceiling, hoping to reduce his exposure to what has got to be a gnarly case of morning breath that I’m sporting. “I haven’t felt safe in a very long time, Dario. But this is the closest I’ve gotten.”
He reaches his hand up to find my own, and we awkwardly weave our fingers together. I don’t even flinch. After yesterday’s puppy pile on the couch and all of us sleeping together, my body seems to be immune to, or at least always primed for, their touch.
Our feet are pointed in opposite directions, and we’re not cuddling exactly, but Dario’s presence is soothing to my weary frame.
“I’ve been there before. After my mom died and Dad went to prison, we lived with some distant relatives. Theydidn’t want me or Dexter. They had always lamented that they were supposed to live a child-free life whenever they had to do anything for us. They felt obligated to take care of us. I got into some trouble as a kid, acting out and trying to get their attention. Didn’t work, of course.”
“What do you mean, acting out?” I can’t imagine Dario doing anything nefarious. Sure, getting into mischief, causing a little trouble, but nothing dangerous.
I can feel the bed move as he gets more comfortable. “I caught the attention of this… group. At first, it felt a lot like it does here—a family of misfits that deserved to be together. Until…” He tapers off, as if he needs to collect his thoughts. “There was a fire.”
“A fire?”
He inhales heavily, like he has to brace himself for the words he needs to say. “Yeah. I was a dumb teenager, like… fourteen or so at the time. The guys said they wanted to mess with someone who disrespected them. I mean, what fourteen-year-old isn’t disrespectful? But I went along with it, and stood by and watched as the people I thought were my friends set this kid’s house on fire.”
That sounds an awful lot like gang activity. Was Dario in a gang? He doesn’t seem like the type, but then again, it’s not like I’ve met many gang members. I roll over on my belly, bracing myself over his head on both elbows as I look down at him.
“You didn’t set that fire.”
“But I may as well have. I watched it happen. Didn’t call the cops or anything.” Guilt wracks his features, his forehead creasing in his discomfort.
I rest my head on his and sigh. “But you were just a kid—a kid who had witnessed an awful trauma. And you said yourself that your guardians didn’t care about you. All ofthat is a recipe for a kid who gets caught up in something he’s not supposed to be in. It doesn’t make you a bad person, Dario.”
He reaches up and plays with my hair. “It’s nice of you to say that, Doc. Luckily, no one died. But after that, I distanced myself from those guys and threw myself into my studies. That summer, Dexter found a circus camp, and he was able to get a scholarship that would cover both of us, so our guardians had no reason to stop us from going. We fell in love with the trapeze and tightrope, and now we’re here.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” I whisper.
“Right back at cha, Alex.” He wiggles out from under me and rolls over, lording over me until our lips are level. He grins as he props himself up on his elbows and stares down at me with a charming smile before slowly pressing his lips to mine.
Our first kiss is upside down, and for some reason, that makes sense. It feels right. Dario Reynolds spends most of his time upside down, flying through the air. Why wouldn’t our kiss be the same way?
But it is really awkward, and doesn’t make for a very deep or sensual kiss.
Dario doesn’t let that stop him. He flips his body around, finally lining us up perfectly. The handsome Alpha dips his head and drags his nose up my throat, stopping at my ear.
“Truth or dare?” The words send shivers down my spine, and my back arches involuntarily, seeking to press our bodies together.
“Dare,” I whisper back.
