“You said it would be difficult?” he prompted.
I winced.
But he’d just told me something uncomfortable, and very personal, so . . .
“It’s hard to explain,” I repeated. “You don’t know him.”
“Ah. A rival.” He looked like he’d just figured something out. “Do you love him?”
“That’s a strange question.” I went back to work, trying to cover the bald spot.
“And an easy one. If you’re together, of course you love him.”
“I . . . yes. Of course.”
“That doesn’t sound very sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“It’s just that you hesitated.”
“I did not!”
“All right.”
I combed fur for a moment. “It just . . . for a long time, there were so many things I didn’t know about him. We didn’t talk much, and when we did, it never seemed to be about anything. We’d have these conversations, but later, I couldn’t remember us actually saying anything. And then, when he finally did . . .”
“When he did?”
I put the comb down and picked up a pot of something I’d noticed when I was doing my own makeup. “What is this?”
“Putty. They use it to make bruises and scars, and to change the shape of facial features. Harder than wearing a mask, but it lets the audience see the eyes.”
“Hold still,” I told him, and slathered some on his most memorable feature.
“You have to move quickly, or it will set up,” Pritkin said, sounding slightly worried. And slightly nasal.
“I know how to do makeup,” I said, but sped up a little. I had a lot of ground to cover.
“This man, he is older than you?” he asked, after a minute.
I snorted. “You could say that.”
“What’s so funny? Is he . . . very old?” Pritkin frowned.
“Let’s just say that, in age, experience, and knowledge, he pretty much outclasses me. Or maybe I just don’t know what I’m doing. He’s my first relationship, and I don’t think I’m doing it right. Sometimes I wonder what he’s even doing with me. And then . . .” I swallowed and looked away, putting the little pot back in place as an excuse.
“And then?”
“And then sometimes I think I know,” I said shortly.
“That does sound complicated.”
“It is.”
“Too complicated, for a first relationship.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”