A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania #2)(5)
He said, “What.” No inflection whatsoever.
“Like, no, just… give me a moment. My worldview just shifted and I’m struggling to go along with it.”
“So… pretty much a normal day, then, for you.”
“When did you get attractive?” I demanded.
“Are you hitting on me?” he asked incredulously.
“What! No! Of course not. At least, I don’t think I am. Am I? I really need to sit down and think about this. What am I doing? With this? With my life? Oh my gods, what am I doing with my—”
Justin scoffed. “It wasn’t enough that you swooped in and stole my fiancé right out from under me, but now you’ve taken me to a dark and dank alley to have your way with me? For shame, Sam of Wilds. For shame.”
“I would never have my way with you in a dark and dank alley,” I retorted. “I’m a gentleman. I would woo the shit out of you, wine and dine, the whole nine yards. And then we’d make sweet passionate love on a bed covered in roses and I would just go to town on your butt because apparently I’m a power top and—what the fuck are we talking about?”
He looked horrified. “I have no idea! You’re the one that stole me away to try and power top me! I don’t even know what that means!”
“That’s not—” I took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Okay. Somehow, you’ve gotten us all off track. As usual.”
“Me? Why you little—”
“We’re here because we’re going on a date.”
“I don’t want to date you! In fact, I would rather do anything else—”
“Not me. I found you a date with an awesome dude!”
It wasn’t silent after that. No, it really couldn’t have been, seeing as how we were in the middle of the City of Lockes. But Prince Justin was silent, like his mind had been blown at the thought of my extraordinary generosity, his synapses firing in the face of just how much I cared.
Which, honestly, contrasted heavily when he finally spoke. “You did what.”
“Okay, so look. It’s really rather terrible, but something I’ve learned is that when one falls in love and is happy about it, one wants nothing more than to spread that love to others, to see best friends—okay, okay, don’t growl at me, almost best friends, gods—experience the same joy of falling for someone. I love love so much, that I want to shove it down your throat so you know what I’m going through.”
“Sam.”
“Yes, Justin.”
“Are you telling me that right now, there is someone waiting for me to come to them to go on a date with them? Someone I’ve never met.”
“Um. Yes?”
“How are you a real person?”
I frowned at him. “You know what? That’s not the first time I’ve been asked that.”
“Who is he?” Justin asked, sounding resigned (which possibly meant he was thrilled; I hadn’t quite worked out all of Justin’s facial expressions as of yet).
“Oh! You’re going to love him. His name is William and he’s a Sagittarius and he likes the same things you do.”
“Like….”
“Um. You know. Stuff. Things. That everyone likes.”
He cocked his head at me. “Sam.”
“Yes, Justin.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“At… the store.”
“What store?”
I was feeling awfully sweaty because I really couldn’t lie for shit. I suppose that was a good thing. Mostly. “The… hat. Store.”
“The hat store.”
“Yes,” I said, swallowing. “Where I was buying a hat.”
“What kind of hat?”
Why was it so warm in the dark and dank alley? “A pork pie.”
He took a step toward me. “Really.”
I nodded. “Gary says they’re all the rage this season. And I trust his fashion sense. Because he’s a unicorn. Unicorns are very fashionable, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“And this man. This… William. What does he look like?”
And godsdamn his inquisitive mind! How neatly a trap it laid! “Like a… male… person.”
“Sam.”
“Yes, Justin.” He was standing really close to me. I was uncomfortable.
“What—”
“Fine!” I cried. “You’ve broken me. I’ve withstood Dark wizards and really invasive corn, but I can’t take the endless pools that are your eyes. I’ve never met him before. I’ve never even seen him before!”
“Aha!” Justin cried. Then, “Wait. What?”
“Ah, man. I feel better. That really was weighing on me.”
“What do you mean you’ve never seen him?”
I blinked. “Just that. I’ve never seen him before.” Was it that hard to understand?
“Then how do you know him?” he asked dangerously.
“He answered the ad.”
Justin closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily through his nose. “What ad?”
Well, this was off to a very bad start. “Um. The one I placed in the back of Lockes of Love, the periodical for singles who are ready to mingle in the City of Lockes, under their man for man section?”