Chapter 18

While at the beginning of the year I would go to class early and dawdle before leaving so I did not have to see Bran in our room, these days I am rushing into the lecture hall seconds before the professor begins and heading back first thing so I can have as much time with him as possible.

Brandon is cuddled with me on my bed, under the duvet. We normally use his bed, but we got it a little messy. Ahem.

So now his sheets are in the laundry, and we are lying in my bed. Bran keeps playing with my hair, pressing it under my nose so it looks like I have a mustache, then wrapping it around his finger.

He has me wrapped around his finger. And I love it.

"No one in my life has ever treated me the way you do," I say.

"No one? I'm so sorry, babe. Twenty years? You're twenty, right?"

I nod and decide to tell him about my family.

"When the Halloween Wave hit, my father changed into a nokk, but my mother remained human. She was pregnant with me at the time, and I was born a nokk. We are born in our true form. I am told that she took one look at me and screamed in horror."

Brandon's face falls, and he touches my shoulder comfortingly. "That's terrible. Where is she now?"

"She wanted to divorce my father, but he dragged her to the underground world and took her soul."

"God, babe. That sucks. No wonder you're all skittish about your true form. But I promise you it will be okay with me." Brandon hugs me. "What class do you have next?"

"Jazz ensemble, but it's not for a couple of hours."

"Do you need to practice?"

I stiffen. "I don't want to accidentally enchant you."

"That's awesome that you worry about it, but I'm already enchanted. Don't worry about it getting worse."

"Are you sure?" I really could stand to practice. And I like playing for Brandon.

"Very."

"Okay." I get off the bed, pull out my electric guitar, and plug it into my mini amp.

Then I start playing.

I lose myself in the music. In the way it feels to pluck the strings, to hear the music coming out. The smooth guitar under my skin and the notes surrounding us. It feels right.

As I play and play, I notice that Brandon's enthralled. He's not enchanted, though, which is a good thing. Instead, he's just … into it . When I finish the song, he claps.

"You're so good at that. I don't know why your dad doesn't want you to play what you want to play."

"It's because the violin is what nokk are supposed to play."

"This totally suits you, and you look so hot, babe. I want to start keeping track of things we do together. Stay right here, holding the guitar." He pulls out his phone and takes a photo of me, then shows it to me. I look happy in it.

I open my arms, and he steps into them, putting his phone back in his pocket. My hands go to his ass and pull him closer to me, and our mouths meet in a sweet kiss.

Our kisses soon get a little bit more spicy, with a lot more tongue, and soon we're making out on my bed. First he's on top, then I flip him, and he laughs. He draws a hand down my face. "It's not your looks I'm drawn to," he says. "It's you . I see you. You get me?"

While I do sometimes overstate the amount of English that I understand—and idioms can be particularly challenging—the truth is, yes, I get him. Bran is telling me that he accepts me exactly the way I am. That's the best feeling in the world. If only I were brave enough to show him every part of me. I don't know if I'm ever going to be comfortable showing him my nokk form. But if there is a human on the planet I would voluntarily show it to, it would be him.

We make out some more, but we keep our clothes on. We laugh. We kiss. While we could get more hot and heavy, sometimes I like to hold back. I like cuddling with him. I like being with him.

Face pressed to my skin, he asks, "Can we tell the team about us?"

I flinch. We've only been together a short while. "There is an us?" I ask, even though I know I'm being insecure. On some level, I do not believe it's possible that the most handsome guy on campus—the one everyone desires—is mine. He's going to be the best thing in my life … or the thing that brings about my ruin.

"Of course there's an us," Bran says. "You're my person. We're boyfriends. Right?"

An effervescent thrill courses through my body. I have a boyfriend. The best boyfriend. "Yes, absolutely. From now on, that is what we are."

"I kind of thought we already were boyfriends. I mean, I don't usually go around touching other guys' co—"

"Okay, Brandon. I get the idea." I look at him, feeling vulnerable. "But are you sure you want to be exclusive? Are you not interested in dating anyone else? Of any gender? Or species?"

He gathers me in his arms and kisses me. "Nope. Just you."

That makes me grin despite myself. This human is mine.

The next day, after a game, Brandon kisses me in front of the whole team, and there's a chorus of whoops and whistles.

"We knew you two were together!" Phil yelps.

My cheeks are warm, and I want to bury my face in Brandon's neck—by his steel necklace—but he stands with his shoulders back, as if he's proud to be with me.

"Yep. I'm dating Steve." He's all smiles. This man is something else. I love that he wants to show me off in front of other people. That he is not ashamed to be near me.

He is going to have my heart. I have never given it away before, but Bran can have it. In fact, I think it is already his.

As we get deeper into fall, my days are filled with classes, music, water polo, and—most important—Brandon. We have moved our beds together and sleep side by side every night.

Well, he sleeps. And so do I, sometimes. Other times, when I am sure he is asleep, I let myself change into my true form. I watch him, cuddling him and making sure he's safe, until shortly before it is time for him to wake up. I occasionally look at the little slide that holds our blood, knowing that I'm not imagining the power binding us together. With every kiss we share, it gets stronger.

Every night, I get braver and braver, wanting to be closer and closer to Brandon. Wanting him to see the real me in a way no one else has.

Similarly, Brandon is opening up to me. While his family does not have the funds for all of them to fly out here for a visit, he calls them frequently, and recently he's been calling them on video and including me.

The first time he did it, he took a deep breath, then hit call. A cute teenage girl with Brandon's eyes and nose answered. "Bran!"

"Baby girl!"

"Hi! How are you? Who is that behind you?"

"I'm great, and Viviana, this is my roommate, Steve. He's a nokk. He's also my boyfriend. Steve, this is my baby sister, Viviana."

"Ooh, you have a boyfriend?" Her voice is excited, not teasing.

Bran puffs up his chest. "I do." He slings an arm around me and kisses my cheek.

I wave, feeling foolish. "Hi."

"Are you the one from Norway?"

"Yes, I am from near Bergen," I say.

"OMG, Bran, you're right, he does have the cutest accent."

I turn to him. "You think my accent is cute?"

Bran gives me his adorable smile. Dimples . "I really do."

Two older humans show up on the screen. "Hi, Mom, Dad," Bran says. "This is Steve. He's my roommate, and also my boyfriend."

To their credit, Bran's parents take this announcement with ease. "Oh, Bran, we didn't know that you were into boys."

"Neither did I." Bran's hands shake the camera slightly. It warms my heart. My boyfriend is braver inside than he lets on. Things get to him more than the happy-go-lucky persona he wears like a costume.

"We're so happy to meet you, Steve," his mom says. "I hope you'll come visit us in Arizona sometime. Maybe at Christmas, if you're staying in the US for the holidays."

"I am, and that would be fun, yes, if Brandon finds it acceptable," I say.

"Of course," Bran says. "I bet Christmas in Arizona is a lot different from what you're used to in Norway. There's no snow."

"Yes, that will be very different."

"Then it's settled."

"Thank you," I say. "I am very grateful for the invitation." I want to tell them how I do not feel welcome in Norway and would prefer to only go back there on my own terms. How I have never felt better than when I am in Brandon's arms. But I suppose those are things that I should keep between me and him. "I would love to see some more of the United States."

We chat for a bit with his family, and after we hang up, he throws the phone onto the mattress.

"You just came out to your parents," I say.

"Oh. Huh. Yeah, I guess I did. They didn't seem too surprised," he says. His lower lip trembles slightly, and he seems relieved.

"It seems they are just as open and accepting as you are."

"The world is better when you accept people as is." He smiles. "I'm not saying you shouldn't work to change things that aren't right. But when we're talking about people being who they are born to be—that should be accepted and celebrated."

"Agreed." I open my arms to him, and he snuggles into me. I kiss the top of his head. "Even though you're human, I think you're secretly a monster."

"What kind?"

"You're a snuggle monster," I say.

He laughs. "Speaking of different kinds of monsters, what do you want to wear to the Halloween Ball? Have you thought about a costume?"

I look down at my body. "I do not know. I have never dressed up for Halloween before."

Bran's eyes go wide, and his eyebrows shoot up. "OMG, I have the best idea! You'll look hot, and it will mostly cover your face, so you'll feel comfortable until we get back inside."

"Yes, okay." I am swept along by his enthusiasm.

"Let's go into town and go shopping. What do you want me to wear? A costume? A tux?"

Brandon Fernandez, my human, in black tie. "Please, will you wear a tuxedo?"

"Since you asked so nicely, absolutely." He's grabbing his keys and wallet, his usual bundle of energy. "C'mon, I don't want to miss out on all the good costumes. All I can think of is how sexy you're going to look in what I want you to wear."

"Whatever," I huff. Except I think I'm starting to believe that he actually wants to be with me.