Sasha’s stomach gurgled. Loudly. Max stared at her. Noel’s almond eyes opened as wide as his rounded mouth. Then he giggled, an infectious laugh that had Sasha grinning ruefully.
“Pardon me,” she said. “It’s been a while since I ate.”
Max rose. “I’ll get you more soup.”
He refilled their bowl and his too. Noel shook his head when Max offered him a second helping.
“I like the beach,” Noel said. “Sometimes, I see dragons.”
“Interesting,”her dragon said.“He saw us, but does he mean he saw others as well?”
“What color are the dragons?” Sasha asked.
“Red,” Noel said. “Bright red like Max’sbroom-broomcar.”
“We’re not red,”her dragon said.
“No, which means other dragons have found their way here.”
“Noel likes to draw dragons,” Max said.
“Wait until he has me as his model,”her dragon said.“He won’t want plain old red dragons then.”
After the soup, they ate ice cream. It was cold on the tongue, yet creamy to taste. Max covered the white ice cream with a hot brown liquid, and the entire dish had her dragon pleading for more.
“We will have more food later,”Sasha promised. As a dragon, she used an enormous amount of energy, and earlier, she’d been too upset to eat. Ample food also made a curvy body, which had appealed to Bruceous. He’d told her so seconds before he’d groped her bottom. Bruceous was her best reason to lose weight.
“Have you finished eating, Noel?” Max asked.
The boy’s head drooped, and his eyes kept sliding shut. He didn’t answer Max.
Max pushed away his plate and stood. “I’d better get Noel in bed. He gets grumpy when he’s overtired.”
“Do you have aloe? If we place the salve on Noel’s face tonight, the sunburn will fade by morning.”
“I don’t know much about plants, but I have a torch in the kitchen drawer.” Max turned to Noel. “Let’s get you into bed.”
“Will Shasha be here in the morning?”
Max glanced at Sasha. “I’ve asked her to stay with us, but it’s up to Sasha.”
“I can stay,” Sasha said. “Noel, I’ll be here, okay? Good night.”
“Good night, Shasha.”
Max sent her a grateful look and guided Noel from the room.
“We’re lucky we have this offer of shelter,”her dragon said.
“We are, although we could’ve slept outside if necessary.”
“On the beach?”her dragon scoffed.“That sand stuff might look pretty, but it gets everywhere. I am certain I have some in my scales because they’re very itchy. We must wash my hide at the first opportunity.”
“We will,”Sasha returned.“Let’s check the garden for aloe.”
“What about this torch thing? Who keeps a flaming torch in a drawer?”
“I don’t know,”Sasha replied.“But it’s not as if we require light to search the garden. Our night vision is excellent.”
