Muzo flopped on the bed with a loud sigh. "What a crazy challenge! Talk about a workout..." He suddenly sat upright, as if struck by a conspiracy. "What if that was secretly a challenge to find out how fit you are? Y'know, like how long you can have sex?"
I raised an eyebrow silently at him.
"Okay, fine, maybe not," Muzo admitted. "It just helps is all I'm saying. So, you excited for your big date?"
"Don't remind me," I mumbled.
"You're so weird. You just won adatewith adragon.Literally anybody else would be pissing with excitement or nerves."
"My bladder is empty."
Now that Poppy was dry, I folded the used towel and put it away. When I got back from the bathroom, both my friends looked expectantly at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You don't have to spill to Gaius, but at least tellus,man," Muzo said. "We're your friends."
Poppy nodded. "You're not scared, are you?"
Dammit. If anyone could weasel something out of me, it was Poppy and his big puppy-dog eyes.
Sighing, I sat down on the bed next to them. "No. I'm not scared. I don't know what to feel, honestly."
Muzo and Poppy exchanged a curious glance.
"Are you happy?" Poppy asked softly.
I hesitated. Was I happy to go on a date with a pompous, arrogant alpha dragon who had organized a ridiculous dating show?
Well...
Maybe a little.
When I didn't respond immediately, Muzo barked out a cackle of laughter. "Holy shit. Youareexcited for this date!"
"N-no, I'm not," I grumbled.
He grinned. "No use lying to me. I see right through you, my man."
I got up abruptly from the bed. "I'm going to get a snack from the lobby."
My attempt to shake him loose didn't work. Muzo and Poppy trailed behind me as I waited for the elevator.
Muzo mimed holding a microphone to me. "Mister Chalchin, how does it feel to go on the first-ever date with Crimson?"
I mimed chucking the microphone thirty feet down the hall.
"Hey!" he cried.
The elevator doors opened—and revealed the last person I wanted to see. Alaric already looked annoyed before he recognized me, but when we stepped inside the elevator, he was ready to explode.
"Oh. It'syou," he snipped.
I stared at the closing doors without looking at him. "Don't worry, the feeling's mutual."
But Alaric clearly wasn't in the mood to leave me alone. A hiss built in his throat. "You think you're such hot shit, don't you?"
"Stop projecting on me."
