Page 22 of Devotion

His frown intensifies.

“I know. I know. You don’t like our traditions.” I smile to ensure he knows I’m not criticizing him. “Anyway, you’re the one who swam for more than two hours. No wonder you’re starving.”

“Yeah. I guess. But I’d rather you take everything you want rather than following a made-up, arbitrary tradition that’s vulnerable to abuse.”

I have no idea what to say to him. It’s not like he’s wrong. This particular system does place partners in a position where it would be easy to take advantage of them, like Poppy was with Cliff. That’s part of the purpose—to cultivate absolute trust between them. It’s potentially dangerous.

And also special and beautiful when done right. But he still doesn’t recognize those aspects of the relationship.

Because there’s no easy way to address all that, I change the subject instead. “So do you swim back and forth in the pool the whole time?”

His eyebrows lift slightly. “Yes. I do laps.”

“Laps.”I test the word out because it’s not one I’ve heard before in this context. “Doesn’t it get boring?”

“Not really. My mind is working the whole time. I often end up solving problems while I swim. Besides, after I warm up, I always do different strokes and different sets. I try to meet goals in speed—like I’m racing myself. The two hours go quickly.”

“Oh.” I’m trying to imagine but really can’t do it. Before I came to the palace, I’d heard about but never seen a swimming pool. “Who taught you to do all that?”

“My mom did. She’s always loved swimming, and when I was a boy, she taught me.” His expression has softened, which tells me something I didn’t know about him.

He loves his mother.

“And you like it enough to still do it?”

“Yeah. I guess I’m used to it. I feel better afterward. Actually, my dad was the one who told me I need to make a habit of it. I was a teenager when it became obvious I was never going to end up in a physically active job, so he said I better make sure to exercise regularly so I can be strong and stay healthy. A man needs to be strong in this world. That’s what he always told me.”

Well, what do you know? He loves his father too.

He’s never once mentioned them to me before. He definitely hasn’t gone to visit them in the two months I’ve been his partner. I want to ask more questions, but I’m afraid of overstepping. He’s usually not so talkative, and I don’t want him to shut down.

“That sounds like good advice your dad gave you.”

“It really was.” He’s finished off his omelet already and is chewing on a bite of waffle. He closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh. “Shit. We’ve got meetings all day.”

“Yes.” I should be as reluctant as he is about a day full of meetings since my job is to empathize with him. But I’ve actually been looking forward to it. Today Gabriel has four meetings scheduled, and all of them are public, so I get to attend. It makesfor a much more interesting day than I usually have. “I know you hate that.”

“So many of them are nothing but a waste.”

“They’re smaller meetings today, aren’t they? Only a few people each? You usually get more accomplished at smaller meetings.”

“That’s true. Maybe it won’t be so bad. I wish they weren’t back-to-back the way they are.” He bites into a large strawberry, and a trickle of juice runs down his lip. He licks it off with his tongue.

That is my main source of reluctance about today. Not that I need a rest between meetings but because there may not even be time for our normal afternoon session. “Yeah. I’m not sure there will even be time for a break.”

He’s watching me strangely, in that focused way that’s difficult to interpret. I’m better at reading his expressions now, but I have no idea what he’s thinking at the moment. He’s nearly finished eating. He pours himself a second cup of apple water from the pitcher, still watching me discreetly.

“What is it?” I ask at last. If he doesn’t want to tell me something, he always says so bluntly, but he’s never gotten annoyed with me for asking a question.

“Maybe after you finish your breakfast, we can have our break now, in case we don’t have time this afternoon.” He’s speaking casually, as if it’s not a big deal, but he’s still watching me closely, so maybe he genuinely doesn’t know what I’ll think of his suggestion.

I perk up immediately. “That’s a great idea.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course yes. Maybe that will help relax you before all the meetings. I can be quick if you need to work before the first one starts.”

We have almost an hour. Usually he’d be using every minute of it to work.

---