Page 109 of A Broody Mate for the Human

The whole way back to the guest room, he keeps chatting and pointing out several things about the house like we didn’t just have dinner with his bigot, homophobe, shithole of an aunt. When we close the door, I turn to Dave. “Are you always doing that?” I ask once Dave has stopped babbling.

“Doing what?”

“Smiling when you actually feel sad.”

I can see something in Dave’s eyes flash. He looks sad and angry at the same time. “What?”

“You smile and talk as if nothing just happened.”

“Who do you think you are to say that?” he blurts out.

I’m not sure what I said wrong, but my heart aches at seeing him so distressed.

…idiot…Nero mutters, not helping one bit.

“I didn’t mean to,” I say carefully. “I’m just saying that you don’t need to—”

“I know I don’t need to smile,” Dave blurts out, hammering his fist against my chest. “But that’s all I can do. I can only smile when they insult me or my sexuality, when they tell me I’m not their son for not turning out the way they wanted me to. My smile is all I have.” His voice breaks a little. “I don’t have anything else.”

I wrap my arms around him and pull him against my chest. It’s a mask, I realize. He was wearing a mask to survive, and I just tried to rip it off. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.” I pause. “I just wanted you to know you can show me all your emotions. Smile all you want, but when you’re with me, be sad and angry and upset.”

Dave lets his arms drop down and rests his forehead against my shoulder while I rub his back. “Okay,” he says in a small voice.

My heart jumps when he wraps his arms around my middle. I love him, I figure. I just fell in love with him. The mate bond between us might be weak and barely there, but I don’t need it to know that I love him.

“Your aunt is shit,” I hear myself say, inwardly wanting to facepalm myself.

Dave, however, chuckles. “My grandma used to say the same.”

“You lived with your grandma, right?”

“She was a weird, crazy old woman to my family,” Dave explains quietly. “She was rich because she inherited my grandpa’s fortune after he died, plus she was an artist and sold her pictures. She did really well. But she didn’t care for banquets and committees and all that fake shit my family loves. She was just being herself, which is why she was an outcast, although in front of her they kissed her ass. She was too smart though and easily looked through them.”

I nod. “And then?”

“I knew I was gay when I was around nine years old,” he admits. “In middle school, my parents found out because I kissed someone during a huge family event. Mind you, our family events host up to three hundred people, so it’s not a private little gathering. It was a huge scandal in the family and town. They wanted to send me to a boarding school to correct my sick ways.” He pauses. “Grandma intervened and took me in. She was my safe haven from then on. The two outcasts of the family together.”

My heart breaks for this kind and smart man being shunned by his whole family. “That’s why she made you her main heir,” I conclude.

He nods. “Ever since she died, I’ve been alone. Occasionally they’d invite me because now I’m one of the wealthiest in my family, and at first I accepted the invitations, but it always ended like it did today, so I figured I’m better off without them.”

“It’s their loss, not yours,” I say with emphasis. “You enrich the lives of those around you, and I meant what I said when I told your aunt you saved my life. Without you, I’d still be strolling through the forests, desperate and lonely and on the brink of going crazy. But you were there and saw something in me.”

Dave stirs in my arms and looks up at me. “You saved me too,” he admits.

“You know what?” I tell him. “Let’s grab our stuff and leave this place. I’d rather drive through the night than stay here.”

“Are you sure?” Dave asks, surprised.

“Yes, we’ll find a motel that’s still open somewhere and then stay the night. It can be shabby and small, I don’t mind, but I don’t want us to stay here if we have other options.” I should have suggested that from the first moment on. Dave was wary and upset when he mentioned his aunt living here, and like the dunce I am, it took me too long to catch on.

“But shouldn’t we tell anyone that…” Dave’s voice trails off. “You’re right.” He suddenly shakes his head. “I’m still letting their toxicity influence me. Let’s get the fuck out of here. I’m sick of pretending to be something I am not.” He pauses. “Thanks for eating my lasagna.”

I squeeze his arm. “We’ll make sure you get something proper to eat on our way.”

*DAVE*

We’ve had to leave Sugar outside because my aunt hates dogs. She hates all living beings, aside from her cat. My mood has been somber the whole evening, and I feel embarrassed that Raffy caught on so easily. It was terrifying to have him rip down the mask I tried so hard to maintain.