Page 57 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
That made me grimace, and Winter scooted closer to me, leaning back the same way I was and pressing his shoulder against mine. Even though I hadn’t even noticed how much background noise was happening in my head, the second he pressed against me, I felt my mind go completely silent.
The small sounds of Lyric’s emotions, plus any nearby faeries and animals, had been louder in the back of my mind than I’d thought.
I couldn’t help but savor the moment, closing my eyes and just… relaxing into it for a few seconds.
Then I glanced over at Winter and said, “Thank you. I don’t know how you keep doing that without touching my skin, but I appreciate it.”
He stared at me for a moment, then grunted. “I… wasn’t a hundred percent sure it would work earlier, but if I put a little extra thought into it, it seems to go through our clothes. It always gets easier for me the longer I’m around someone. So it’s good to know it’s already working.” He shot me a wink, then faced Lyric, who’d settled on another bench. “You feeling okay, Lyr? You’re not hurt or anything, are you?”
They smiled. “I’m good, don’t worry.” They wiggled their fingers at us. “You two can keep up the adorable flirting… it’s entertaining.”
I felt my face flush, but Winter just laughed and flipped his friend off before nudging my shoulder. “Don’t listen to them. They like to stir up trouble.”
Lyric grinned, then lay flat on their bench with one knee bent and the other leg hanging off the side. “I’m gonna nap while we wait. Wake me up when the kid gets here.”
So they thought the necromancer sounded like a kid too. Great. I was hiring a toddler to save us from evil magic. That would go over well.
“Will do.” Winter refocused on me, but I didn’t turn to face him. After a long time—where I blushed profusely—he finally asked, “Why are you scared of gnomes?”
I winced. “I…” With a groan, I rubbed a hand over my face.
“You don’t have to tell me, but I guess your response proves that I’m right. Why in the world did you become an exterminator when you’re terrified of the most common faerie pest alive?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Honestly, I didn’t realize just how many people have gnome invasions when I started. And eventhough I don’t like them, I still want to take them to sanctuaries. I don’t want them to die just because I think they’re gross.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant by that, but he was smiling at me, so I figured it was a good thing.
Then, because I apparently couldn’t help it where Winter was concerned, I told him why I was scared of the little creepy creatures. I kept my voice low, hoping Lyric was asleep and couldn’t hear me. “My parents kicked me out of the house the day I turned eighteen. They’d always hated my empath nature—I think they were afraid of me—and the fact that I’m gay was just the icing on top of the shitstorm cake. My birthday’s in June, a few days after graduation, and my birthday present was a packed duffle bag, a tiny bit of cash, and a boot out the door. I had two months before I had to report to, uh, classes, so I ended up staying in a homeless shelter most nights. I was lucky because I knew I had somewhere to go in August. I just had to make it till then.”
I shook off the memories of all those other people who weren’t as lucky as me. Those people who didn’t have the promise of a home and food to feed their bellies. Those people I’d left behind.
“You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to, Miles.” Winter’s voice was quiet, calm, and soothing.
I sent him a sad smile. “No, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” I cleared my throat. “So anyway, one of the shelters I stayed at had a really bad gnome infestation. The little things were always getting into my bag, which literally held all my worldly possessions. They destroyed some of my clothes, tore paper out of the handful of books I had, would run over my feet when I was sitting on the bed, and a few times, I caught them on my mattress in the middle of the night.” I shuddered at the memories. “They were absolute terrors to everyone who stayed there. They freaked me out then, and I guess I never got over it.”
Winter wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, kissing my temple. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Thanks.” I leaned into him further, closing my eyes. “It was a long time ago.”
“That kind of stuff sticks with you.” He kissed my temple again, and it made warmth grow where ice had taken root from the memories. We stayed that way for a few minutes, and I was grateful for his quiet support and understanding.
After what he’d told me happened to him, I figured he wouldn’t judge me, but it was nice to know for sure I was right.
He asked, “Are you doing okay after everything that happened in the basement?”
Pulling away, I glanced at him, taking him in for several long beats before I gave him a nod and leaned back on my hands again. “Honestly, I’m freaked out, but I’ll be alright. I’ll probably have nightmares for the rest of my life, but it’ll be fine.”
He snorted. “I think I’m gonna have nightmares too, so I can imagine you’re going to.”
I shoulder-bumped him, then I yawned really big before I could look away from him and had to sit up so I could cover my mouth. How embarrassing. I’d yawned, like,rightin his face. Apparently, I was meant to constantly make a fool out of myself in front of this man.
And he wanted to take me on a date?
He’d probably change his mind by the time we were done here.
With a sigh, I rubbed my face again, then dropped my hands and stared at them in my lap. “Thank you for helping me in there… so many times. I… I’m sorry I kept freaking out.”
