“We’re family.”
“Don’t play stupid,” Zane stated, parroting back the insult Pavel had used on him in the cafeteria weeks ago.
“Touché.” Though it wasn’t really well known to the public, the Retinue all knew that Zane wasn’t exactly close with his family. “How often do you meet with your parents?”
“Once or twice a year.” It was hard to tell how he felt about that based on tone alone. “You?”
“Once or twice a week.” The family home was in the city, so it wasn’t exactly a hardship to travel to see his Mom and Dad every now and again. “My mom is a doctor at Void + Ambrosee Hospital. She’s usually pretty busy, but we meet up during her lunch breaks—which are typically more like coffee breaks—now and again. She’d like you.”
“We’ve met,” Zane reminded.
“Right, you’re in the same field.”
“We’re about to be, and that’s not what I meant. Our families both attend the same tedious end-of-the-year galas the Emperor puts on, remember?”
Kelevra’s oldest sister, the Emperor of Vitality, did have a knack for arranging the most boring events imaginable.
“She’s always seemed…nice,” Zane concluded.
“She is.”
“How unfortunate for her to get saddled with a son like you then.”
He scoffed, pretending offense. “I’m fantastic.”
“Fantastic at stalking, maybe.” Zane quieted for a moment and then in a quieter voice asked, “How long have you been doing it? How long have you been following me around?”
“Since you arrived on planet,” he admitted, smiling when Zane’s eyes went wide. “What? I’ve always known what I want, gorgeous. There was never any question of that.”
“Then why wait so long to tell me?”
“I already answered that.” He pulled into Bibo’s and was about to roll up to the drive-thru, but Zane stopped him.
“Let’s go in.”
Like a real date?
Pavel practically sped into an empty spot in the lot, ignoring the way Zane glared when his head almost hit the dash from the sudden stop. He undid his seatbelt and got out of the car, knowing Zane would follow and not wanting to give him the chance to change his mind.
Inside, the blue and pink walls were cheery to rival his good mood, and the smell of grease and clogged arteries had him inhaling and grinning with glee.
Zane gave him an odd look and shoved his hands into the front pockets of the lab coat he was still wearing. “You really like this shit that much? What about the five-star restaurant you’ve got in Concealed? Why not put in a fast food joint instead?”
“The club is for other people to get their rocks off, not me,” he stated absently, then waved toward a corner booth that was empty. “Go sit. I’ll order.”
It was exciting when the doctor didn’t argue. Was it really this easy? If so, he should have dicked him down sooner.
He placed their order at the counter with a bubbly guy who looked around his age, only partially listening as the man tried talking to him about the weather or some other small talk he didn’t care about. As soon as he’d paid, he headed straight back to Zane, elated to see him sitting in the booth, staring out the window.
“We aren’t done with our conversation,” Zane said as soon as Pavel sat across from him.
Right. About why it’d taken him so long.
“Kazimir got you first,” he explained. “And then there was Lyra.”
“So you just…let them have me?” Zane seemed really annoyed by that. “You couldn’t have wanted me that badly then.”
“You were using them,” he pointed out. “I knew it. That’s why I backed off. I was letting you have your fun while you still could. You’ve got to understand, Doctor, I’m not the crazy possessive type—”
