Read Catalyst (A Grace Murphy Novella) for Free Online Page B

how I sleep at night."
    "Booze. Have you tried booze? There's also exhaustion from sex.  You should try sex."
    My brow arched in surprise. "Is that an invitation?"
    "Do you want it to be?"
    I let out a snort and moved away from the window. "When you decide that you're a big boy and can ask me out on a date without the games and innuendos, you know where I'll be."
    He grabbed my arm and swung me around.  "Who says I'm interested in a date? Maybe I just want a quick roll in the sheets."
    I bowed and threw my arm out, gesturing to the wide world around me. "You have a couple of billion women to choose from. Have at it."
    "So you're not interested."
    "I'm not interested in you treating me like a piece of meat, Hephaestus."
    "I tried treating you like more and you rebuffed."
    "I was in the middle of a crisis. I wasn't interested in starting something that I didn't know if I'd be able to stick around for." Now we were getting into uncomfortable territory.  It was all fun and games until someone brought up past relationship rejections.
    "I seem to recall you pining after Captain Awesome. If he would have asked you, you would have set up house and spread your thighs with a smile."
    He realized he'd gone too far a fraction of a second before my palm connected with his face. It helped bring home that point when the force of my blow dislocated his jaw.   He'd deserved the slap. I'd just forgotten how much stronger I was these days.
    I left him and his hanging jaw behind in a storm of fury.  I get that he was jealous.  Hadn't I said worse with regards to Hope? But being on the receiving end didn't make the words any prettier.  He had a damned fine way of expressing his affections.  I spared a glance as I turned the corner into the master bedroom and saw that he was standing rigidly with fists clenched. 
    He was spoiling for a fight. It was almost as though he would feel better if he could brawl it out.  Or not. God only knew what went on in that man's head. Maybe that was our problem. He didn't emote well and I wasn't good at playing guessing games. Was it so hard to ask for some up front honesty?
    The man was a least five thousand years old. You would have thought that he'd have learned how to talk to girls in all of that time.
    "You guys would fight over the color of the sky if it was in dispute."
    I looked at Dylan and closed my eyes. I'd not forgotten that he was there, I'd just hoped that he hadn't been paying attention.  Yeah, maybe it was time to take those blinders off.
    "And he'd probably still be wrong," I smiled and sat down next to my kid. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
    "Yeah, doing the same thing as today. Riding rides and eating everything in sight. It's a goal."
    "Everything in sight? That's a lot of food."
    He shrugged. "I'm always hungry."
    I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. "I know, I gotta feed you more. I guess as long as you're working off those calories, I'm not going to fuss."
    He gasped and reared back in mock shock. "You? Fuss? Why I never."
    That got a laugh out of me and I fell back on the mattress and smiled. "You're an impudent puppy."
    "Does this mean I'm going to have to start pooping on the floor?"
    I shook my head and closed my eyes. This was the problem of raising someone that acted just like you. You had to deal with the consequences of your own sarcasm.  "I just .. I don't even…"
    He chuckled and pulled me into a full hug. "You're so easy, Mom."
    "Yeah, I know."
    "So what was in the letter that you guys were arguing about before you started in on your relationship squidge."
    "You shouldn't be listening in on adult conversations."
    "How else am I ever going to know anything?"
    I didn't have a good answer for him. That was how I'd found out about anything when I was his age too.  It didn't mean that it made me comfortable, but unless I wanted to put my kid in a soundproof bubble for the next four years, I was going to have to deal with his spying.
    "It was an