30- Ask before borrowing someone's toys , sharing is a two - way street . When I finish eating , Laura volunteers to take my plate to the kitchen so I can go shower and get dressed . I gather my things and make it to my bedroom doorway before hesitating . My thoughts flash back to the shiny gold coin under my pillow . I'm weirdly reluctant to leave it behind . Well , I guess there's no harm in taking it with me . I grab the coin and place it carefully on top of my towel . Perfect . In the bathroom , I place the coin carefully on the edge of the sink , careful to position it where I will still be able to see it . On some level I'm aware that it's weird that I don't want to let the thing out of my sight , but at the same time it seems perfectly normal to me and not like something I should worry about . So I don't worry about it . Much . I might wash my hair twice though , I'm not sure . I was shampooing it and then I found myself glancing at the coin to make sure it hadn't gone missing . Then I couldn't remember if I conditioned my hair yet or not . So I just ... Did it again . After my shower , I return to my room and get dressed . I pull on another set of reasonably comfortable clothes as well as my shoes . I tuck the gold coin carefully into my bra again , happy that it's safely tucked away again . It just feels better that way . Out of the corner of my eye , I notice a vase of pretty pink and white flowers has been placed on top of my little bookshelf . Who put that there ? I decide it has to be Laura . They're so ... Girly . I can't imagine anyone other than her picking them out . She did say that she wanted to try to be friends with me , maybe this is another attempt from her ? I step out into the hallway and run face first into Torin who catches me by the shoulders and steadies me . Damn , walking into that guy is like walking straight into a brick wall . Seriously , scary or not , I don't understand why all the women at the bar aren't constantly hitting on him . Are they all just blind or something ? This baffles me . I've seen women date men who were much MUCH creepier than Torin . Men who legitimately treated them terribly and weren't even that attractive and still they went back to them . As far as I can see , Torin is handsome , generous , has a successful business and isn't physically abusive or cruel . So he is kind of intimidating , and sure he's a demon . But if witches and werewolves are accepted as part of this society then why not demons ? 3 " Hello , I was about to come find you . " I greet him . Torin nods his greeting and waits for me to ask . It feels weird to hang out in the middle of the hallway so I invite him into my room . " Come sit down . " I suggest . Torin takes a seat in the recliner and I perch on my bed . He 29 D ل ) 1/4 < 11:21 Fri , Aug 29 Lesson 30- Ask before borrowing someone's toys , sharing is a two - way street . seems tense . " Well ... First , I wanted to ask , did you know that there's a trap door behind the bar with a ... You know I'm not sure what exactly .. A creature underneath it ? " I demand . Torin relaxes a little . " Oh that . Yes I knew . " He responds . I raise an eyebrow . " And ? " I prompt him to continue . " Well ... I don't actually know what it is either actually . But it's always been here since long before I came along . I've never actually been down there either . Since it was here first and it's never caused trouble or tried to hurt anyone , I didn't see any reason to kick it out or intrude on it's territory . " He explains . I stare at him . He doesn't KNOW what it is ? For a guy who isn't comfortable leaving strangers in his territory , he's weirdly relaxed about a giant , tentacled , shadow creature living in his basement . Without thinking , I reach down my shirt and dig around in my bra to find the gold coin . I pull it out and when I look back at Torin , he's frozen in place and is staring at my chest . His ears are a little pink . Hmm ... Interesting . I clear my throat and his eyes dart up to my face then away to look somewhere over my shoulder . D " Sorry . " He mutters quietly , avoiding my gaze . I smirk a little but don't call him out on it . I mean hello I have ogled him on more than one occasion , and I did shove my hand down my shirt in front of him , where else was he supposed to be looking ? Still , I feel a little validated . Maybe I'm not the only one doing my fair share of staring . " I was cleaning and I opened the trap door because I was curious . The creature ate some empty bottles and I fed it some leftovers on a whim . I promised to feed it again and it gave me this . " I hold out the coin for his viewing . Torin leans forward curiously and goes to take the coin but I immediately snatch it away and hold it against my chest out of his sight . He frowns but leans back rather than insisting on looking at it more closely . " I didn't realise that there was gold down there . I suppose I have no idea what else is down there , it could be anything . " He says curiously . I shrug . " I guess so . It's strange though ... I can't seem to leave the coin behind , I slept with it under my pillow and even took it with me to shower . And as you've just experienced , I'm apparently very reluctant to let anyone else touch it . But at the same time ... I don't care about that . Like that's weird , I should be concerned about it . But I'm not . " I mention . I legitimately am not worried about it , I just feel like I should explain my strange reaction 29 ل 2/4 11:21 Fri , Aug 29 Lesson 30- Ask before borrowing someone's toys , sharing is a two - way street . before he starts thinking that I hate him ... Again . " Hmm ... That is strange . It probably has a charm on it or something to stop you from losing it . You could have Laura take a look at it sometime ... Assuming you can bring yourself to show it to her . " He says dryly . " Why would someone put a charm like that on a coin ? It seems odd . " I wonder aloud . " Someone might put a charm like that on something small that they're particularly attached to . Maybe that coin was someone's lucky coin at some point . " He suggests . " I guess that makes sense . But ... Oh , I just realised . Technically this coin belongs to you , doesn't it ? I mean it's on your territory or whatever , so it's yours . Do ... Do you want it ? " I offer reluctantly . I hold my breath as I wait for his answer . He better say no , because I'm not totally sure I'll be able to convince myself to hand it over if he does say that he wants it . Torin raises an eyebrow . " COULD you give it to me ? " He asks . I shrug . " I could try . " I say reluctantly . Torin shakes his head . " Nah , it's alright . The creature has been here for such a long time , I might legally own the basement , but I don't consider it to be part of my territory , not really . It belongs to the creature , and the creature gave that coin to you . It's yours . The fact that the charm on it has stuck to you so strongly is just further proof that it really does belong to you , the spell believes it's yours . If it's what I think it is , you will probably feel the need to keep it close unless the spell is broken or you choose to give it away to someone else . " He informs me . " Well ... At least it's small , it shouldn't be hard to keep on me . " I decide as I slip it back down my bra , trying to be a little more careful this time to maintain at least some dignity . Torin gets to his feet and heads to the door , apparently sensing that the conversation is over . He's halfway out the door when I stop him . " Wait , you don't mind if I keep feeding the creature , do you ? It seemed ... Lonely . " As I speak I realise it's true . The creature had no interest in hurting me or anything , but it seemed happy to interact with me . " You can do as you like . Just ... Don't fall in . " He advises before walking out and closing the door behind him . 29 29 ل