Taming A Predator

Chapter 44

A/N: head to patreon if you wish to know how that night went😳.

Doe's POV:

My eyes stayed glued do the fruit at the bottom of my glass, watching them tumble over each other due to how I was absentmindedly stirring my drink.

Getting myself deeper and deeper into thought, inadvertently tuning out my friends in the process.

I just kept thinking back to last night, discecting the words spoken to me for hidden clues or meanings.

As if the words 'I need you' weren't clear as day.

Well, they were until I started thinking about it more.

Now that Xander wasn't here, I could think clearly without getting distracted.

I'd been looking for those little hints from him, but suddenly they weren't so little anymore and knowing that was overwhelming in a strange way.

Strange because it exhilarated me.

It made me want to press for more, to feel the answer through his touches or the words he was so good at when he really wanted to be.

The ones that conveyed through other terms that he loved me, without those words being spoken.

It was enough to keep me satisfied while also keeping me wondering in the meantime.

I wanted to know the answer for myself but I also wanted to discover it over time.

"Hey, Doe?"

The sound of my name caused me to lift my head to Khloe, both her and Marcus now looking at me.

I panicked, thinking that I missed an important conversation, shifting my eyes between the two of them.

"You mentioned that you had a question about a book you were reading? Was it one of the ones I recommended?"

I panicked internally for a different reason now, honestly forgetting that I'd mentioned that to her.

I had so many questions to ask about things that happen between Xander and I, but didn't have anyone that I could ask them to without running the risk of things becoming weird.

"Uh, No, actually. I picked up a random one in the library, and was wondering if you could tell me if what happened was a sign that he loves her?" I said.

Khloe's been nothing but supportive and helpful ever since she first described it to me, and often helped me decipher scenes when I needed it.

Marcus seemed to be right in between us when it came to understanding this kind of stuff.

Now, unbeknownst to her, I needed her to help me decipher a scene straight out of my life.

"Oh definitely," She began, placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her interlocked fingers, "Run me through it."

This determined look came across her face, Marcus too ready to listen for his own entertainment.

"So like uh...," Crap, how am I supposed to explain this? "The two of them had grown pretty close throughout the book, and then all of the sudden he just kind of like... distanced himself from her."

Khloe let out an immediate scoff with a roll of her eyes.

"Let me guess. Without any warning and it left her panicked and wondering why?" She sounded like she'd heard- er, read this sort of thing before.

"Yes!" I exasperated, feeling relieved by the fact that I wasn't going to have to go into heavy detail about how I was feeling.

"What a dumbass," Marcus commented under his breath.