You are the Answer {boyxboy} ✓ (Dogs, Bats & Monkeys series, Book I | Riley)

Chapter 30

A/N: I POSTED A ONE-SHOT WITH RHYS AND RILEY. I know you wanted more interaction between the boys (it's still PG-13) so I posted A Day Just for Us which takes place after the events in You are the Answer.

Link in the comments. Enjoy! :)

*****

He blinked at me several times without uttering a word and I realized my palm was still covering his mouth. But even after my arm dropped to my side, Rhys continued to stare at me, speechless.

"Yes, I want to go through the mating ceremony with you," I replied slowly and finally he spoke:

"No."

"'No' what?" I startled.

Had I misunderstood him?

Because I clearly remembered he'd said he wanted the two of us to go through with it.

"I can't accept your answer now," he clarified.

"W-why not?" It was I who felt rejected this time. "Because you didn't propose it in a romantic way?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"Because in the last two days, you found out of the existence of supernatural beings, you saw me shift and you've learned a lot about my world; I don't think you can make a clear decision, Riley, and I don't want you to regret agreeing after you've calmed down."

"I am calm." Contradictory to my words, I raised my voice. "If I am slightly not that calm, it is because you proposed to me and when I gave you my answer, you disregarded it."

"Riley..."

"I'm not a child, Rhys; I know what I want."

"Riley." He grabbed my chin and rubbed the right side of my jaw with his thumb. "Even the most rational person can make a foolish choice when they are emotional. I can't be with you if I feel I've pressured you into something you wouldn't normally give a positive reply to. So I want you to promise me that when you get home and you are on your own, you'll think this over."

I opened my mouth to interrupt him, to insist that my reply would stay the same, but Rhys hushed me and went on:

"Take as much time as you need, Riley, and the next time you give me your answer, it will be what you really want and not a 'yes' just for the sake of not disappointing me or going back on your word."

*****

I'm not a child, Rhys; I know what I want.

I groaned and turned to lie on my stomach, covering my head with my pillow.

Those were the words I'd uttered only yesterday, that I'd adamantly stood by, and that now I regretted.

Well, not thoroughly regretted, but I was beginning to see Rhys' point on the matter.

I had been overwhelmed.

I hadn't come to that conclusion solely because I'd been dreaming about wolves and some aerial creatures which in my mind I'd called 'the Great Spirits', but because now that I was back in my apartment, I realized just how serious everything was.

My whole view on the world had to adapt to the new information I'd gathered. Creatures - supernatural creatures - really existed and I'd been living amongst them.

I wondered how many more shifters and vampires, and Gifted humans there were in Woodbury. I could be living next door to a goblin and when I thought about it, the old lady to my left, with all her warts, hunched back, beak-like nose and unusually good hearing for someone her age, could indeed be some sort of a... thing.