Iris still felt nervous about walking around in the dragon city. She had been an escaped prisoner sneaking out of this mountain not so long ago, and she half-expected to meet the mage who’d thrown her in the magic school’s dungeons behind every corner.
At least, that was how she’d felt when Elera had taken her dress shopping. Now that she was walking hand-in-hand with Char, she was too busy smiling to worry.
“Do you have the day off?” she asked him.
“No, but I can squeeze in lunch.”
“And you still won’t tell me what you’re working on?”
He smirked. “Nope.”
She bumped him with her shoulder. “Why not?”
“Because that would spoil the surprise. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant before?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
He laughed. “Yeah, guess not.”
The entire town of Little Rest could have fit into this mountain several times over, and even though everything was carved from stone, there were pops of color everywhere. Flowers spilling out of window boxes. Vines and leaves snaking up walls and hanging from roofs. People with vibrant hair and eyes in all colors of the rainbow—and then some. And it was all lit by moss and algae growing on the cavern ceiling far, far above it all, shining as bright as the midday sun outside.
Char was popular. Men and women of all ages waved and called greetings to him as they passed on the street, and more than a few eyed Iris with open curiosity.
Or, in the case of a young woman here or there, jealousy.
He was quite a catch, after all. Tall, broad shoulders, shaggy black hair Iris just wanted to run her fingers through and smooth down, sharp green eyes over a rakish smile. She felt a little bad for the girls who had known him for years and failed to catch his eye.
Only a little, though.
He led her to a building covered with so much greenery, very little of the gray stone wall remained visible. Intricate carvings of trees and leaves decorated the oaken door he opened for her, and when she stepped into the dim interior, she felt a twinge of nervousness.
“It’s so dark,” she whispered.
“That’s because it’s romantic.” He guided her with a hand on the small of her back toward a podium where a man in a suit and tie awaited them. “Table for two, please. In a quiet area.”
The water bowed. “Very good, sir.”
Potted plants hung from the ceiling and decorated every corner, filling the air with the heavy scent of flowers in bloom. The dim lighting darkened the bright colors, and candlelight edged the petals and leaves in soft gold. Other couples sat at tables and booths, eating, talking, and even kissing, as if they were alone in the world. Indeed, the interior arrangement lent everything an intimate atmosphere.
Iris took a seat in the chair Char pulled out for her. A vase of red roses and a single candle graced the center of their table, one on the left, one on the right, leaving an unbroken eyeline across the table to Char’s seat. Napkins folded like flowers decorated the places their plates would soon occupy.
“Thank you. This is really nice.”
“Here are your menus,” the waiter said, handing them each a sturdy but elegant piece of paper. “May I suggest…”
Iris stared at the menu while the waiter rattled off the drink and meal specials of the day. She wasn’t familiar with anything, and she bit her lip, wondering how she was supposed to choose something.
Char laughed. She looked up at him and realized the waiter had left while she was pondering.
“You’re so cute right now,” Char teased her.
“I don’t know what any of this is. The inn was the closest thing Little Rest had to a restaurant, and it didn’t even have a menu.”
“No, but it had the prettiest barmaid.”
She wondered how much of her blush he could see in the dim lighting. “You’re impossible.”
“I know.”
She leaned forward, flipping the menu around to face him and tapping the page. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and explain this to me?”
“Or I could just order for both of us.”
“What if you order something I don’t like?”
“Hm, we’re getting married in three days, and I don’t know what you do and don’t like to eat.”
She smiled. “Well, lucky for you, being picky was never an option for me, so I’ll eat just about anything. What about you?”
“Lucky for you, I’m used to Rath’s cooking when we’re out traveling, so I’ll eat just about anything, too.” Char took the menu from her and turned it to the side, leaning over the table and pointing as he explained. “This place specializes in Elven cuisine, so most of the dishes are vegetarian. This one here…”
When the waiter returned with two yellowish-orange drinks, Iris was no closer to knowing what she wanted. Char looked at her in question, and she shrugged.
“I guess you can order for me.”
She picked up the glass and sniffed the drink before taking a sip. It had a sweet, fruity scent she didn't recognize, and the flavor was full and refreshing on tongue.
“Passionfruit juice,” Char told her after the waiter left. “It’s hard to get around here, but delicious.”
She nodded and took another sip. “It is. Now, what was Father Berk saying about your last time in church? Something about coming to a friend’s wedding drunk?” She hid her smirk behind the glass.
Char chuckled. “Thrak’s wedding. Yeah, that was pretty interesting.”
“Thrak is married?”
“No.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You ruined his wedding?”
“Well, that wasn’t necessarily what we set out to do…”
“What did you set out to do?”
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Uh, well, it was like this. Thrak is generally a good guy, but sometimes, he’s a real jerk to women. He’d been dating this girl on and off for a couple of years, dumping her when he got bored, coming back to her whenever he felt like it, and she loved him, so she put up with him. But Rath had a thing for her, so when Thrak finally proposed and invited us to the wedding, Rath got upset and stayed home to drink instead. I stayed with him, we both got drunk, and then Rath got the idea to crash the wedding and steal the bride.”
Iris covered her smile with her hand. “You didn’t.”
Char smirked. “We did. It made her pretty mad until we explained where we were coming from. We thought it would force Thrak to come chasing after her for once and prove he actually cared about her, but…”
Iris’ smile fell. “Oh no. He never came?” Char nodded, and Iris gasped. “She must have been heartbroken.”
“Yeah. Rath was furious about it. He went off on a tirade about how Thrak was mistreating her and how she needed to stand up for herself, and she ended up taking that to heart.” Char smirked. “Which backfired on Rath, of course. He ended up dating her for a little while, but a couple of months ago, she caught him kissing another girl at a party and threw a drink in his face.”
Iris giggled. “He deserved it.”
“Yep. And speaking of parties, he got us invited to one tomorrow. But if you’re not comfortable with it, we don’t have to go,” Char was quick to add.
Iris bit her lip. “Elera bought me another party dress, but…”
She chewed her lip for a moment. The last party had been fun, but she was still embarrassed about getting drunk on a single glass of wine, and dancing that way with Char in public? It made her cheeks flush just thinking about it. Plus all the kissing…
But they hadn’t been the only couple acting that way. Everybody had been like that.
And everybody had thought she was Rina, a dragon. How would people react when they found out she was Iris, a human?
“I’ll have to think about it.”
“No problem. But…” Char smirked and leaned across the table. “Even if we don’t go to the party, would you wear that dress for a date?”
No candlelight was dim enough to hide her flaming red cheeks.
“You don’t even know what it looks like!”
“I know I’ll like it on you.”
The waiter returned with their food, and Char leaned back again, though his smirk remained. Iris focused on the plate in front of her instead of the man across the table. But then his foot tapped hers. She tapped it back, refusing to look up at him until the waiter was gone.
“You’re trouble,” she finally said, smiling up at him.
“And?”
“And… shouldn’t we talk about Father Berk’s other concern? The not so fun one?”
Char shrugged. “That one’s easy. I prayed for the first time in a long time when we were running from the cave-in and I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. Your being alive is a miracle, and not just because of that. There have been way too many times in your life when you should have died, even before we met. Somebody’s been watching out for you, and if it isn’t God, I don’t know who else it could be. So, we’re going to church.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I… haven’t been the best about praying since this all started, but I want to get back in the habit, and I really wasn’t looking forward to going to a strange church by myself.”
“If I’m home, you’re not going anywhere by yourself.”
She gave him a shy smile. “That’s a little excessive.”
“Not from where I’m sitting. Hey, c’mere. I want to show you another nice thing about this restaurant.”
He leaned across the table again and beckoned to her, and she leaned in, too, wondering what he wanted to show her.
And then he gave her a peck on the lips.
Her eyes shot wide open. She jerked back, clearing her throat and blushing furiously. “You—”
He laughed. “Oh, come on. They make these tables this small just for kissing.”
The food was good, the conversation was good, and by the time they were back on the street, walking to Elera’s house, Iris felt like she was walking on air. She didn’t even mind when Char stole a quick kiss in the middle of the street, and when they stepped into Elera’s entryway and he pulled her into a much longer, deeper kiss, she made no protest whatsoever.
Then he rested his forehead against hers, his arms snug around her waist. She gazed up at him, hands settled on his chest.
“You’re so good at kissing.”
“I try.”
He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose, and then, as if he’d changed his mind, he captured her lips again. She closed her eyes, sighing into the kiss. The sweetness of a raspberry tart lingered on his tongue, and she could still taste the passionfruit juice on hers. She savored the blend of strange flavors and the drawn-out seconds of that kiss, the movement of his lips with hers in the breathless quiet, and when he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers again, fanning her face with hot, fruity breath.
“Wear that dress for me tomorrow night, okay?”
“Okay.”
One more kiss on the tip of her nose, and then he stepped back, leaving her cold without his arms around her. “Tomorrow night.”
She nodded and smiled. “Goodbye, Char."17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeBmlOP3tY
