Disguise

Just Who Are You?

"Are you just going to stand there all day gawking or are we going to get our cycles?" I asked my seemingly dazed best friend, who didn't look like she heard me anyway. We had decided to cycle around the city for the rest of the day, and maybe grab a late dinner somewhere.

"And you're telling me, you haven't even opened one of them?" She didn't even meet my eye as she asked the same question again. "For the love of God! I did not." I was exasperated now, could she stop staring at all those shiny wrapped gifts already?

"Why wouldn't you open even one? Isn't that just mean? He's obviously trying to take some efforts!"

"I-" Her question stopped me short. Me not opening and planning to return his gifts is rude? That's a new perspective.

"I was just trying to be humble-"

"When will girls realize that men like to do such things for them? Honestly, it's exhausting."

I opened my mouth to reply to her and then closed it again. She had finally turned away from all the presents to give me a pointed look. Meekly, I shied away from her gaze. "Well I did kind of decide to open them today." I told her, remembering my afternoon with Reece when he told me that he already knew I was his mate. My head still spun about that, and my heart ached.

What could have turned him against me when I was made specifically for him, and he, for me? I was curious but also scared. What if the answer was something crude? I was human, he was not only a ten times stronger werewolf, he was also a King. Obviously anybody could see how the scales tilted.

"Helloooooo?" Xena's hands were waving in front of my face and I broke out of my thoughts. "What's gotten into you lately?" She questioned with the hint of a smile, her blonde hair framing her face now that she had opened up the messy bun. She had really pretty hair, it was wavy, but not too much that it got difficult to manage, and it circled all around till her waist in an elegant, voluminous fashion.

"Or shall I say, who has gotten into you lately?" She wiggled her eyebrows and her dirty insinuation registered in my mind and an unwarranted blush ran to my face. Why was it that no matter what, whenever it was related to Reece, I was blushing or fuming?

Xena misunderstood my stop signal face and shy silence and squealed, " Oh god, Flo! I was only kidding, you didn't really..?" She left the sentence hanging, her blue eyes peering into my expression for further hints and I immediately shook my head.

"No! No we have done no such thing!" I rectified with alarm, trying to get her to believe me. She looked at me suspiciously before nodding once. Her mood had shifted, I could tell. What was she thinking?

Best to ask.

"Xen, what's up?" I asked while toying with a random gift on the bed. She contemplated for a minute or two before sighing, her golden hair spun with her body as she turned to face me completely.

"Flo-"

Here it comes.

"-I'm worried about you."

I smiled at her, my heart melting at her words. "I know." I decided against telling her that I was going to be fine. All that wasn't going to stop her worrying. She would undoubtedly make her own assessment of things regardless of my insistence.

"I know I said I approve and all that, but that was only meant to be funny. I don't want to lecture you on being careful and not making the same mistake twice, but.." She started pacing back and forth, looking straight ahead and making gestures with her hands while she spoke.

My smile grew wider. She was such a gem.

"I know." I said again, mostly because I knew that nothing I said would really convince her. She stopped pacing to give me a once over.