The thought doesn’t piss me off like I thought it would. My dragon stays quiet. Weird.
“Exactly.”
“Don’t say that like you’ve won something.”
He grins. “I’m just noting it for the record.” He sits back again. “We’ve just been told that the borders are going to open in stages for civilians, but they’ll stay open for security personnel. Brook isn’t unreachable. You should get her contact informationbefore she leaves today. You should see her again.” He points at me once, like that’s the end of it. “Two can play the matchmaking game, by the way.” He laughs. “Myself, included.”
That makes me sit up a fraction. “You noticed.”
“That you were steering Carla and me together? You may as well have stuck bells and whistles on that fact.” He grins wider. “You are hardly subtle, Magma.”
“Oh, I didn’t think you noticed.”
“I abso-fucking-lutely noticed. Every comment about how kind she is. Every quiet nudge about the coffee.” He shakes his head.
“My bad.” I pause. “Did you get her flowers like I told you?”
He nods.
“Good. Did you ask her out for coffee?”
He shakes his head.
Something in me eases.
“No?” I say. “Why not?” I pretend not to be secretly happy.
“Because I asked her out to dinner instead,” he says. “We’re going out on Saturday night.” He looks pleased with himself. “Do you know a good restaurant? I want somewhere that’s actually good, not just somewhere that looks good.”
“I don’t date,” I say. “You’re asking the wrong person.”
He taps his chin. “Fair point. I’ll ask around and let you know so that you’ve got somewhere to take Brook.” He stands. “I’m going to head out so that you two can be alone when she gets back. Ask her out.”
“I’ll see.”
He moves toward the door, stops with his hand on it, and looks back. “Ask her out, Magma.”
“Fine, if it’ll stop you going on and on, I’ll ask her.”
“You’d better, or I will keep nagging you.”
“I have no doubt. I’ll ask her out. Now get out of here already; you’re making my ribs hurt, and they were feeling better.”
He grins and opens the door.
“I mean it,” he says from the doorway.
“I know. Go!”
He finally leaves.
My dragon moves inside me, low and restless, my scales rubbing.
“Shut up,” I mutter.
My beast doesn’t do as I ask. He wants me to go down the hall and find Carla. He is demanding that I claim her and right now.
He’s such an idiot.
