Chapter Twenty-Four

Pagan

My mom was peppering Dank with a million questions. It never occurred to me until Dank brought it up on our way here that when my memory was taken away so was my mom’s. Dank’s had been wiped from the memory of everyone in my life. Miranda had forgotten about Dank and Leif just like I had. Although my memory was restored, theirs were not. In doing so it would completely mess with things. They’d know more than they should. My mom already had known more than she should. Now, Dank was the new guy I’d met at college. He was also the singer in a rock band.

Mom hadn’t been pleased when I introduced her, but Dank and his charisma were quickly winning her over.

I brought him a glass of sweet tea before sinking down on the couch beside him. This was the way it was supposed to be. My mom would love him soon enough.

“So, you sing rock music? Do you do drugs?” my mom asked, watching his face for any sign of a lie.

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

“No I don’t take any drugs and I don’t drink either. I never have. It’s not something I’m interested in.”

Mom nodded and cut her eyes at me. She was not amused with my obvious amusement. “And you’ve been dating for how long? Because I thought you were seeing Jay again.”

Dank tensed beside me and I patted his leg. “Jay is in love with a girl named Victoria. He thought he wanted to rekindle things with me but it didn’t work out. He and I don’t go well together. We bored each other. It was during a brief time that Dank and I had a misunderstanding and I refused to talk to him.”

Mom narrowed her eyes at me, “You do know to use protection don’t you?”

This time Dank had to cover his mouth with his fist to keep from laughing.

“MOM! Don’t ask me things like that. I promise IF we were doing anything that required it that, yes I’d use protection.”

My mother shrugged, “A mother can’t be too careful. I needed to make sure you were thinking straight.”

“I got this mom,” I assured her.

“Well, that’s good. Now, tell me about this guy Miranda is seeing. I hear he is a sweetheart.”

I reached over and grabbed Dank’s hand and threaded my fingers through his. He had handled my mom’s interrogation with flying colors.

“Well, I think it is very possible that Miranda may have found the one,” I told her knowing good and well she had. Maybe not this year or the next but one day they’d end up married. In this lifetime and every one after it. Just knowing that I’d get to watch them find each other and fall in love in every life made me smile.

Later that night I was curled up in my bed. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my room until I’d pulled my quilt over me and the smell of home hit me. I no longer required sleep but I liked lying in bed at night. Dank said it was something I’d trained myself to do and I shouldn’t let go of anything that made me happy.

“This never gets old,” Dank’s voice said in the darkness.

I turned around to see him sitting in the chair he used to sit in to sing to me at night.

“What are you doing here?” I asked sitting up. He was supposed to be out collecting souls.

“I’m about to go. I just couldn’t resist coming in here and seeing you tucked into that bed one more time. I realized you owned me one night in this room. I was singing to you and you were sleeping. You made a little sound in your sleep like you were distressed and I panicked and ran to your side. You grabbed my arm in your sleep and pulled it up against your face and went back to sleep. I didn’t want to ever move.” He stood up and walked over to me. “I knew then that I had never understood what humans called love. But that if it was anything close to the power you held over me, then no wonder they searched for it so passionately.”

I reached out and pulled him onto the bed with me. “You’re going to be late,” I told him as I pushed back the covers and reached for the hem of his shirt.

“Why?” Dank asked lifting his arms willingly so I could pull his shirt off.

“Because after hearing that I can’t let you leave until I’ve had my fill. Get naked, Dankmar.”

The End