“Good, huh?” I took a bite of burger. “We love to fry things in America. It's one of our food groups—sugar.” I pointed at the open box of cookies. “Fried.” I grabbed more fries. “Unrecognizable meat.” I pointed at the cheeseburger with my fries. “And, let's see. Did I miss anything? Oh, yeah! Bread. We love bread here. But that's combined with the meat in this case.”
“I love this food!”
“Me too.” I grinned at him. “Tonight, we'll try pizza. You're gonna love that too.”
“I would like one of those confections now.” He pointed at the cookies.
“Eat your lunch first.” Then I winced. There I went, being a mother hen. “You know what? Forget I said that. We're grown-ups. We can have our dessert whenever we want.”
“Yes, we can, Metri.”
“Ugh! No. Just admit that Met is the best nickname for me.”
“Never!” He reached for a strawberry cheesecake cookie.
“Whoa now!” I stopped him. “We're sharing these. Sharing is caring. So, break it in half. And I'd recommend starting with that one.” I pointed at the peanut butter with Reese's pieces.
“That one does not look as appetizing as this pink-topped one with little bits on the frosting.”
“That is a strawberry cheesecake cookie. This one over here is peanut butter. And it's my favorite.”
“Did you just say cheesecake?”
“Yes.”
He made a face and picked up the peanut butter. “I think you were right to warn me.”
As he broke it in half, I laughed my ass off.
Chapter Fifteen
I explained the difference between the cheese in a cheesecake and the cheese on a cheeseburger, how french fries were made, and what I meant by unrecognizable meat as Kas and I sat on the couch, groaning through digestion. I was both glad and annoyed that I had ordered so much food. Glad because Kaspian ate like a teenage boy and annoyed because he inspired me to do the same. But the content look on his face was worth it.
“I must find a chef to take back with us to Serai.” Kaspian settled against the back of the couch with a sigh.
I stared at him. I had a few issues with his statement. First, there was the bit about him going home. Yes, I had assumed that he'd want to get back to where he belonged. He was a king, after all. But it still made me sad. Or it would have if he hadn't implied that I would be returning with him.
To another world.
Part of me shrieked in excitement at the prospect. Having Kas here was incredible. But going to his world? A world where magic existed? That would be beyond incredible. The ultimate adventure. Or maybe not. He said that humans were the lowest on the totem pole over there. How would they treat me? And why was I even thinking about this when I didn't know how to get him home in the first place? Plus, the other part of me shrieked too, but in fear, not excitement.
“Um.” I cleared my throat. “Do you know how to get back?”
Kaspian frowned. “I don't know how I got here. So, no. But you have science. Can't your human magic help me?”
“I don't think so, Kas.” I laid a hand on his knee. “We can go to outer space, but not to other worlds. Trust me, we've tried.”
“Outer space?” His expression went distant for a second, then cleared. “Outer space, as in the darkness beyond the sky?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. We build rockets that can take people so high that they leave the planet and go beyond the Earth's atmosphere.”
“Atmosphere,” Kas whispered. Then he exclaimed, “You can send humans into the realm of the Gods?!”
I snorted. “Ain't no Gods up there, babe. Sorry to burst your bubble. Been there, seen that, got the T-shirt. There's a lot of beautiful stuff up there, but none of it is sentient.”
He rolled his eyes. “The Gods will not show themselves to you just because you stand at their gates.”
I blinked. “That was rather poetic. But how about this? Wouldn't we at leastseethe gates?”
