Page 47 of Dragon Untamed

"You can feel the bond there?"

Kaida nodded, her cheeks were still warm, so she dropped her gaze. "Yeah. I can. I just need some time to get used to the idea. Well...more like...time to get to know you. It's not like I have a lot of pleasant memories with you."

Kaida sighed,that didn't come out how I meant either. JEEZ! Why was I given more than one guy to handle? I suck at this.

"That's fair. I was an idiot and just followed instead of making my own decisions. I get it. You need time to get to know me, trust me even."

"Yeah, exactly."

"Can I take you out tonight, then? Nothing major. Just dinner."

Kaida smiled at him. His asking her out made her stomach flip. He still wouldn't meet her gaze, so she closed the distance between them and kissed his cheek before she chickened out.

"I'd love that."

This time, Arlo blushed. He told her that they could walk down to town together, and he would take her to one of his favorite restaurants. Kaida walked out of his room and felt Blaze before she saw him. He was staring at her from the staircase that led to Esen’s and Blaze's rooms on the third floor. She did her best to pay him no mind as she walked down the hallway. The growl that she heard from behind her almost made her stop in her tracks. Thankfully, her dragon took a little control and made her legs continue walking.

You don't need to respond. Arlo will handle it.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Kaida heard Arlo begin to tell Blaze to knock his shit off. As much as she wanted to listen, Kaida continued her way to the kitchen. Even though Arlo planned to take her to dinner, her afternoon session with Beckett left her famished.

The muffled conversation between Arlo and Blaze from where she was in the house was distracting. Kaida did not want to hear any of it, so she hummed a song that her mother used to sing to her. It did its job, and she was able to eat a small sandwich she threw together. Within a minute, the whole sandwich was gone. Kaida didn't taste the turkey and cheese because she practically swallowed it. Her stomach made a growl that could give her dragon a run for her money when Arlo stepped into the kitchen.

"You sure you don't want to go now? Sounds like you could use some food."

There was some stomping down the stairs, and Kaida didn't need for the person to come into view to know who it was.

"Sounds good to me."

"Go through that door," Arlo said, pointing to a door off to the refrigerator's side. Kaida wasted no time opening it and stepping through it. Arlo was right behind her, closing the door behind him as he came out, and she heard the weirdest sound that caught her attention. When she looked back, Arlo had used his Terrain magic to wrap a vine around the door handle. There was a small wiggle from the doorknob, and Kaida felt Blaze's presence on the other side.

"Care to join me on a small flight?" Kaida asked, pushing on her wings to pop out of her back, and took off just in time to hear the door break down. Arlo was beside her, and his deep green wings spanned out to catch the wind to soar down toward town. There was some shouting from down below, and Kaida glanced back to see if Blaze was tailing them. Much to her surprise, he wasn't.

"Why isn't he coming after us? He sounded mad," Kaida shouted over the whooshing breeze.

Arlo smiled smugly. "I might have asked the vines to keep him on the ground."

Kaida cackled and followed Arlo to the restaurant where he wanted to take her. The air temperature had dropped to a cooler one while she was in the house. It was welcomed after being on edge all day. Before she knew it, Arlo dipped down toward the ground, signaling Kaida to do the same. When they landed, Kaida recognized where she was and smiled. Azulia's shop wasn't far down the road. That gave Kaida a small amount of confidence that she didn't have before. This meant that, if this date would go south, she could just run to Azulia's shop.

The restaurant had yellow stones and green accents and an awning above the door. There was no sign to tell her what the place was called, which Kaida remembered, in her own town, that meant this place should have the best food. It was more of a "hole in the wall" kind of place, somewhere where the food was beyond delicious, and the atmosphere would be perfect to forget the troubles that made the day terrible.

"This is one of the best places on the island. The owner makes everything from scratch, and a lot of it is local. He has his own place on a smaller island off the coast, raises his own animals, grows his own ingredients outside of the ones he buys from Azulia, and won't use much from the mainland. I think only a few ingredients are even from the mainland."

How Arlo talked about the food made her mouth water. She knew exactly what he meant because the place she loved from back home was the same way. Her heart ached when thinking about her home. Images of her mom and dad popped into her mind. She mentally cursed at the person who created this island as her heart pined for her father's jokes and her mother's hugs.

The inside of the restaurant mimicked the outside. The owner seemed to be a minimalist and allowed the stone that was on the walls to shine with only a little decor. A plant that was in Arlo's room was in the corner, and the vines grew up the wall. Only a small amount of it had reached the ceiling, but there were tiny blue flowers growing on the vines. The smells of onion, garlic, and butter filled the air, along with other spices and peppers mixed in. Kaida's mouth salivated to the point of nearly dribbling out of her mouth.

Arlo must have noticed the drool because she heard him laugh simultaneously, feeling his eyes on her.

"What?"

"It's like looking in the mirror any time I come here. I normally carry a napkin to ensure I don't drool on the floor."

"Good to know I am not the only one who has had this reaction."

The waiter was an older dragon with light brown hair and honey-brown eyes. The man's nose was a little crooked, and so was his smile when greeting them. His scent was smokey, telling her he was an Ember Dragon. Kaida shivered at the idea of being around another Ember, but Arlo put his hand on the small of her back to guide her to their seats, instantly calming her. Once they were at their table, Kaida was exposed to a beautiful view through the window next to them that showed a stunning garden with a fountain in the backyard of the restaurant. There were posts all around it where Kaida noticed some black chords wrapped around them. Arlo followed her gaze and made a sound that told her that he knew what they were.

"Garden lights. The owner has them all strung up to make the garden magical," Arlo mentioned before he took a sip of water, which the host had filled the glasses on the table with before departing.

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