Right. I take a spot to the side in case anyone else wants their table. Hanna will be here… Did she receive a photo of me? I don’t remember taking one, so—I gotta find her.
“Strange question, but are you the pretty girl in a black dress who happens to be calledCatarina?“ Someone sweeps around from behind me. Hanna.
There goes not jumping like a fool. At least her giggling is probably a good sign.
“Yes. You—Hanna?”
“I am.” She leans against me, close and intimate, with eyes blazing red. “I already grabbed our table. You ready to come with me?”
“Sure.”
She grabs my hand and pulls me to her booth. Confident. Brazen. “I don’t have a lot of free time, so I hope you don’t mind if I’m to the point.”
“No, not at all.”
I’m lying. Her touch is invasive. She’s closer than I can take. Her breath tickles my skin, and I barely know her.
With one hand around my neck, she peruses through the menu. “I love this place, you know. Get their chips.They’re Myaet style.”
“Okay, sure.” Technically not filler words.
Deep breaths. I’m going to need to be comfortable with this if we’re getting closer. This is how I earn the Ring’s blessing, and its magic.
My mouth lingers, waiting for something to reply to—but she doesn’t give me any invitations to speak, and I don’t know where to start. There’s an opportunity from the server to speak up enough for what she told me to get; it doesn’t turn into anything more.
I struggle to make myself ask, “were you the one who suggested we go here?”
She scoffs with a giggle. “I didn’t try hiding it from you.”
“I guess. You seemed familiar.”
“I came here to explore you, not the scenery.” She winks. “Glad you didn’t pick my brother; he doesn’t have the dexterity to spin a lid off an apple jar.”
“Is it… bad if he can’t?”
“Aw, you don’t either. Poor thing, I’ll take care of you.” She kisses my cheek.
I gently rub the memory of her kiss off my skin. “Are you always so… forward?”
“Are you always such a cute ball of questions? You paid me to be forward, and I will. Do you want another one on your lips? What’s the point in waiting for your magic?”
One kiss. It’s just enough intimacy to link us as patron and consort for probably a day at least. But there’s a deathly spike in my heart at the thought of touching this stranger so closely.
“No—not yet. I think. Chips first.”
She arches her eyebrows. “I’ll accommodate youhoweveryou wish.”
“Thanks, can you just… I’m sorry. This is really fast for me. Do you have to be touching me?”
She grows an apologetic look and takes herself off me, pushing into the corner. “No, no. That’s not a problem. I assumed—It’s my bad. I just get used to men and women who are…desperate.”
I share some laughter with her to try and make it less awkward.
“I’m mostly playing a character,y’know?”
“I can understand. I’m just a bit nervous.”
“That’s fine.” She smiles. “You paid in advance, so I’ll do as little as you ask.”
