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"You thought what?"

Her gaze skittered away "I just thought therebetween you and Dae between us" Besides a whacked-out alien bond and all our secrets I cleared my throat "Let’s not talk about your brother What’s up with Adam?"

Crimson swept across her pale cheeks "Adaether, you know? Everyone expects us to be together, and there is a part of hteen already, we’re coe?"

She nodded "Once we reach eighteen, we’re old enough to beand hed "We usually wait until we’re done with school, but knowing that we’re getting close, Ada to decide ant to do"

I was still stuck on the whole"Do the elders tell you who you can be with?"

Dee frowned "Not really I mean, they want us with another Luxen and to reproduce as soon as possible I know that sounds et that, but what if you didn’t want to have kids? What if you fell in love with another boy or…a human?"

"They would outcast us" She faded and then was standing on the other side of the coffee table "All of them would turn their backs on us That’s what they would’ve done to Dawson if he…if he were still alive and with Bethany And I knoould still be with her Dawson loved Beth"

And her brother’s love had ulti for the re?"

She shook her head "They’d make us want to leave, but we can’t, not without the DOD’s permission It’s a lot of pressure"

No doubt I had to worry about what college to pick Not about getting knocked up as soon as possible And Daemon really wanted to risk all of that to be with me? He had to be on crack "What happened with you and Adah her curly hair "We had sex"

"Coo, I was positive Dee wasn’t even attracted to Ada, huh?"

I blinked "Yeah, that’s shocking"

"I didn’t kno I felt about hi" She started pacing again "But we’ve only been friends, really Or at least, I’ve only let him be a friend to me I don’t know, but anyway, I decided I wanted to see if we, you know, could even do it So, I told him that we should try to have sex And we did"

Wow, that sounded real roain "It was…it was good"

"Good?"

Dee appeared beside ether "It was ood A little aard at first--okay, a whole lot of aard at first, but things…worked out"

I didn’t know if I should be happy for her or not "So what does all of this mean?"

"I don’t know That’s the problem I like him, but I don’t know if I like him because I’m supposed to or if it’s real" She flopped onto her back, one ar off the couch "I don’t even knohat love is Like, I thought I loved hi it But now? I don’t know"

"Daood"

"It was great" She sighed "Want to kno great it was? I want to do it again"

I laughed

One jade-colored eye opened "But now I have all these…knots inwhat he thinks"

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"No Should I?"

"Uh, yeah, you just did it with him You should probably call him"

Dee sat up, her eyes wide "What if he doesn’t feel the sa such a…human reaction "I think he probably feels the sa ether" She was on her feet again "But I’m not sure if he felt that way because of me and how I’d acted Maybe he’s always felt ive, since I had no experience in any of this "Wait Did you guys use protection?"

Dee rolled her eyes "I’m so not ready for a baby Dee We totally used protection"

Relief flooded o call Ada step, even for…aliens At least it was great But to have sex just to find out if you liked someone? Where was the rouy to go out, I was pretty sure, just to see if another noticed Yeah, I was totally not the go-to person for relationship advice Poor Dee

Mom woke up and we ordered pizza before she had to leave for work While waiting, we chilled on the couch like we used to, before Dad died

Moet I have you all day Saturday until I go into work, so don’tmy hands around the warm cup "I’m all yours"

"Good" She threw her slipper-covered feet onto the coffee table "I wanted to run so by you"