She’s here.
Standing in a flowy blue dress with delicate straps tied over her shoulders, Eleanor looks gorgeous. The fabric hugs her in all the right places, spanning tight across full breasts that have me salivating. Her hair looks soft and shiny, hanging down her back in a radiant copper curtain, my fingers begging to comb through the long, silky strands.
Be cool, please,I tell my dragon while also admonishing the direction of my own thoughts.Remember, we’re friends. Just friends. Go easy with all the scales. We don’t want to scare her off.
I force myself not to rush forward, and simply stand up and approach her at an intentionally measured pace I’ve seen Bodin use with Tilly. I might be three years older than Bodin, but socially, I know I’m far behind my friends and can use any behaviors I’ve observed their partners find favorable. Not that Eleanor is my partner. She’s my friend. But it’s been a very long time since I’ve cared this much about what someone thought of me. I want—no,need—to do everythingright with her.
With every step closer, the fragrant blend of blooming lavender and sparkling water wraps around my senses, igniting nostalgia for when I first scented her when we were seven, but now holding a distinctly more feminine quality that calms me as much as it makes my heart race.
“Hi,” I say a little breathlessly, inclining my head in a greeting as I come to a stop about a yard from Eleanor.
“Hello,” Eleanor says with a small smile, tucking some of her fiery hair behind her ear. “Thank you for picking me up today.”
“It’s no problem. I had some errands to run in the city this morning.”
“Oh, I see,” Eleanor says, her smile slipping as she stares at her shoes. I don’t know what I said wrong, but I don’t like doing anything that’ll make her lose her smiles. I want to give her reasons to smile. I want tobethe reason for her smiles.
“You look pretty,” I blurt out, gesturing at her dress. It’s quite the understatement but I don’t want to bombard her with all my thoughts.
Pink blooms across Eleanor’s cheeks and her scent blossoms, my dragon rolling onto his back as he breathes it in. “Thank you. I don’t normally wear dresses, but something about Starry Hill makes me want to try new things.”
“That’s good?” I ask, unsure of what it means.
Eleanor holds my eyes as she nods. “I think it is. Here, I brought you something.”
While she reaches inside her tote bag, a thousand thoughts flit through my brain, scrambling the neatly organized way I make sense of the world.
“You got me something?” I ask, surprised and curious and very much delighted. It’s not even my birthday and Eleanor surely knows that. I still remember her birthday. Not that I expect her, or anyone, to get me anything then, but the thought of someone giving me something just because they wanted to is kind of throwing me off-balance. In a good way, I think.
“Of course,” Eleanor says easily, producing two brown paper bags. “I know we talked about our shared love for bread the other night and I mentioned that café close to my office? Well, I went there this morning and I couldn’t pick which of my favorites I wanted you to try first, so I got you both. I thought if you liked them, you could maybe share them with the boys later at game night?” Eleanor adds shyly, her voice becoming quieter as she hands me the bread.
My dragon pushes against my chest, nudging me forward to comfort Eleanor, to put her at ease and make her feel safe with us. It’s something I’ve not experienced since…
Shoving him down, I stare at Eleanor for perhaps a little too long before I whisper, “I didn’t have time to make anything for tonight yet.”
Eleanor smiles at me like she expected me to say that, but there’s no judgment there, just understanding. “I thought you might be busy with picking me up and all that.”
Swallowing against the odd lump in my throat, I rasp out, “That’s really thoughtful of you. Thank you. Is this the cranberry orange sourdough you mentioned?”
“Yes. And this is the walnut cinnamon sourdough.”
I open the bags and lower my nose to take in the delicious aroma wafting from the bread as we fall into step next to eachand head down the dock together, chatting about marmalade pairings for each bread and flavor combinations I’d like to try one day. When we get to the boat, I hop in first and secure the bread in the hull before returning to help Eleanor down.
Her honey-brown eyes assess the boat and her heartbeat speeds up, but I refrain from commenting on it. I don’t want to do or say anything that might be construed as negative.
Instead, I reach out and place my hands around Eleanor’s waist before I gently set her down in the boat. Eleanor grabs onto my arms as the boat balances out, and my brain sort of freezes. My whole body freezes. My dragon freezes too. She’s so beautiful and having her right here in my arms feels like a dream come true. I don’t think I’m able to let go.
“Thank you,” Eleanor says brightly as she steps out of my arms and goes to sit on the starboard side while I try to find my bearings.
As I go through the motions of getting everything ready to set sail, untying the boat from the cleats, my dragon and I scanning our surroundings for any threats or obstacles, I find my calm in the routine and my normal senses eventually return.
I relax into my seat on the port side and lean down to place a hand in the water. The moment I touch the ocean, all my anxieties melt away and my dragon stretches out within my chest.
We’re not going swimming now, sorry. Don’t want to scare Eleanor. Maybe tomorrow morning before anyone else is awake,I tell him through our mental bond as I navigate our way through the harbor.
Once we pass all the boats and glide into the open waters of Indigo Bay, I send more power into my hand and direct us toward the current that’ll take us straight to Starry Hill.
The beauty of my magic is that the more I give the ocean, the more she gives back to me. It’s a wonderful relationship we’ve been building since I discovered my gift all those years ago. As much as I guard Starry Hill, I also guard the ocean surrounding our little island, and she takes care of me too.
My skin tingles and my heart races as the ocean pushes us forward, my hair whipping out behind me as I embrace the freedom of the open ocean. A lazy smile stretches across my dragon’s sharp jaw as he lifts his head and breathes in the salty air mixed with hints of Eleanor’s lavender and water scent, a smile that’s echoed on my own face too.
I don’t know when I closed my eyes to savor this feeling, but when I open them, I find Eleanor watching me with a soft, unblinking gaze, her jaw slack and one hand on her chest as she releases a slow breath.
