Five

Khush

Until now, my bucket list had just been a thing in my head, a list of experiences I wanted to, well, experience. I didn't know why I'd even mentioned it to Dustin in our texts, but now that I'd told him about it, I wanted to grab a pen and paper and jot down an actual list. Because Dustin had said we wanted to have those experiences with me.

I wanted to do everything with him so bad. I truly did. But before that, I wanted to tell him the truth. I couldn't keep him in the dark.

Which meant that I'd have to tell Headmaster Morrigan and everyone else about Dustin. I was so not looking forward to that chat. Not because I didn't want to introduce Dustin to everyone, but just because I sucked at conversations like those. I got all caught up in my head about the perfect way to phrase something and then blurted out something ridiculous. It was embarrassing as all hell.

After dinner, we 'walked' around for a while, talking. Dustin told me about his cat Scrappy and showed me pictures of her, then told me some stories about the craziest customers he'd talked to last week, and about the book he was reading. We both stuck to easy, getting-to-know-each-other topics, and before we realized it, it was ten.

"I guess we should head home now," Dustin said, then blinked. "Our homes, I mean. Uh, our separate homes. Separately. Alone. Ugh!"

I laughed as Dustin covered his face with his palms, my laughter only growing when he glared at me from between two fingers. He looked adorable, all flustered and embarrassed, and I resisted the urge to kiss him just yet. Maybe it was stupid, but I wanted to wait until he could see me, all of me, before I kissed him.

"So we're going home, are we?"

"Shut up. How are you getting home? Want a ride?" Dustin asked, hooking his thumb to point somewhere behind him.

"Nah, my friend is around here somewhere. He'll come get me," I said, then pulled my phone out to text Bellamy.

"Is he one of the friends you live with?"

"He is," I said, and then got stuck gazing at Dustin's blue eyes until a throat cleared somewhere beside me. Glancing up, I swallowed when I spotted Bellamy.

"Hey, Bellamy. That was quick. Uh, this is Dustin. Dustin, this is Bellamy," I introduced, and blinked as they both sized each other up. Wait. What was happening?

"Hey," Dustin finally said, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Bellamy said, shaking his hand. Then he glanced at me. "Ready to go?"

"Yep." I glanced up at Dustin, who gave me a smile and a finger wave.

"I'll text you later," he said with a wink, and I nodded.

I waited until Dustin started walking away before turning around and wheeling toward home, Bellamy a step behind me. I wouldn't need his assistance—I was stronger than him and could take care of myself—if only the 'don't reveal the supes' rule didn't exist. He was more my human shield than anything else.

"Wait!" I froze as I heard Dustin calling, and turned around quickly. Dustin was running toward us, his heels going clack-clack-clack on the sidewalk. I rolled the few feet to meet him, and he stopped short.

"What is it?" I asked, worried. He didn't look hurt, so what was wrong?

"I forgot to take a picture. We need to memorialize our first date. We should've taken one at the theater too," he said with a pout, then shook his head. "Never mind, we can snap one now. Will you take it for us, Bellamy?"

"Sure," Bellamy said, and I didn't miss the amused tone in his voice. I didn't care, though. I was delighted that Dustin wanted to remember today as much as I did.

Dustin came to stand beside me, placing his hand over mine on the wheel and bringing his face closer to mine.

Just as Bellamy said, "Smile!" Dustin leaned over and kissed my cheek, surprising the hell out of me. I had no idea what kind of dumb face I made, and I glanced over at him to find him smiling. His smile made my own lips curve, and I shook my head slightly.

Dustin winked at me before straightening up, then took his phone from Bellamy, scrolling through it. "Oh, these are absolutely wonderful. Thank you, Bellamy!"

"My pleasure," he replied, and sounded like he meant it. It looked like Dustin had already won over at least one of my friends. Then again, how could anyone not like him?

Dustin left after that, and this time I waited until he disappeared from view before turning around and leading our way home. Going down an alley, we stopped in front of the wall where the portal opened, and Bellamy pressed his palm against the wall, making a part of it flicker and disappear so we could walk through.

Once we were inside the Sanctuary, the portal disappeared, leaving nothing but a simple wall on both sides.

"Thanks for your help today," I told Bellamy, and he gave me a salute before walking through the door to the Lakes area, probably off to see his mate.

I slid out of the wheelchair and stretched my arms above my head, swishing my tail from side to side. The wheelchair was comfortable enough that my tail hadn't felt squished in, but it still felt great to stretch out.

Debating with myself, I decided I'd tell the headmaster and the others about Dustin tomorrow. For now, I made my way into the Forest, making a pit stop at my cabin to change into a comfortable tank top before making my way to my favorite tree a little deeper into the woods.

Neither Keoni nor Silas were around, and I guessed they'd stayed behind after dinner to chat with the others. I wondered what Keoni had told the others about my absence, then decided I didn't care as long as it wasn't the truth.

Climbing up the tree, I unlocked my phone, opening my chat with Dustin.

Me : I had fun tonight.

It took a few minutes for him to reply, and I guessed that he lived further away from the theater.

Dustin : Me too!!

Me : Could I see the pictures Bellamy took?

Instead of replying, Dustin sent over all the pics, a total of seven of them. They looked pretty good, especially the one where he'd caught the moment Dustin kissed my cheek. The surprise was clear on my face, and then in the next picture, I was looking at Dustin with gushy eyes, and in the next one, we were both smiling at each other, neither of us looking at the camera.

I set that last one as my phone's wallpaper, then smiled at how good it looked. Yeah, I was definitely falling hard for this man.

Dustin

It'd been a few days since our date, and I was on cloud nine. I'd never clicked so well with someone before. It felt like Khush was made specifically for me, which was crazy, and probably a little narcissistic.

We'd chatted on and off the whole day every day since our date, and I knew him even better now. He'd shared some of the things on his list with me, and though we hadn't made any concrete plans yet, I had a few ideas floating around my head.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at my computer screen before picking it up.

Khush : Text me when it's your lunch break? There's something I wanted to talk about.

I blinked, then blinked some more. Why would he say that? Now I wasn't going to be able to focus until lunch.

Me : Okay!

Like I'd predicted, I couldn't focus on work at all, and I just hoped I hadn't bungled up anything too badly.

When lunch time rolled around, I didn't waste a moment texting Khush.

Me : Okay, it's lunch time!

Khush : Can I call you?

Instead of answering, I simply hit call, too anxious to wait.

"Hey, Dustin," Khush answered, his voice warm as ever. Some of my anxiety dissipated the moment I heard it, and I sank into the couch.

"Hey, Khush. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, I was wondering when your next day off is," he said, and it took me a moment to compute that.

"Um, tomorrow," I answered once I'd found my words.

"Would you…like to come over to my place? There's something I want to show you, and my friends would like to meet you too," Khush sounded hesitant as he asked, and I realized he was nervous.

Usually, I was the one rushing a relationship along, but for the first time, it wasn't me, and I loved that. It meant I wasn't the only one feeling this spark.

"I'd like that."

"Great! Is tomorrow okay?"

"Definitely," I agreed, grinning at Scrappy, who shot me a curious look.

"How about we meet up for coffee at the coffee shop first? Say at around ten?" Khush suggested, and I smiled.

"Sounds good," I answered, and I could almost hear the smile in his voice when he spoke next.

"Okay. Now I'll let you have your lunch in peace. Text later?"

"Yep." I couldn't quite get the grin off my face, and as I ended the call, I grabbed a cushion from the couch and squealed into it.

Fuck. Khush was going to kill me one of these days.

I sat up and found Scrappy watching me with a look I could only translate as 'what the fuck is wrong with you, human?'

"I think I might be falling in love, Scrappy," I told her solemnly, and I was sure she was cursing me out for once again rushing headlong into something that was guaranteed to break my heart if it went south.

As always, I ignored her judgy stare. Instead, I picked up my phone and texted Quest. He was one of the first friends I'd made after I finally came out, and we'd been the best of friends since.

Me : I met someone.

As expected, he replied almost instantly. Like me, he worked from home, though his work was much more fun. He was a gamer, and streamed videos of his gaming online, making money from sponsors and ads. He was trans too (it's how we'd met) and my closest friend, apart from Scrappy.

Quest : I need deets.

Me : He's sweet AF, and a little grumpy, but he also gets flustered easily. He has the greatest laugh, and he likes snakes too.

Quest : Wow. You must really like him. You didn't mention his looks at all.

Me : Oh, he's sexy AF

I sent him the picture of Khush and me from our date night, and he shot back a reply almost instantly.

Quest : Holy fuck, dude. That man's *flame emoji*

Me : I KNOW. And you know how I'm always rushing into things?

Quest : Yeah? Are you being careful this time?

Me : Not at all! But it's okay because he's rushing just as much, so we're on the same page.

I could easily imagine the look on Quest's face. He'd roll his eyes and give me that unimpressed lips-pressed-in-a-line look.

Me : He invited me to his place tomorrow. He has a bunch of roommates and wants me to meet them.

Quest : That is fast.

Quest : Okay, I won't tell you to slow down because I know you won't listen, so please just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt.

Me : But you'll patch me up if I do, right?

Quest : Always.

Smiling, I ended the conversation with barely enough time to eat my lunch, and then I went back to work, excited to visit Khush tomorrow. I wanted to see where he lived, and meet more friends of his. I wanted to know more about him.

And, if I got the chance, I wanted to kiss him.