Page 42 of Semblance

Once the waiter was gone, Shadow rose from his seat and motioned for me to come with him, which I gladly did. I held him by his large, muscular arm and together, we strolled confidently out of the Black Swan.

Once outside, I turned to Shadow and smiled.

“You’re quite intimidating when you want to be,” I said.

Shadow shrugged. “You still hungry?”

My stomach growled again and I nodded. “Yeah, let’s get something to eat. You have any suggestions?”

“To tell you the truth, after the waiter mentioned there was a McDonald’s down the road, I’ve been craving a Big Mac. I haven’t had one of those tasty sandwiches in five years,” Shadow said.

“You’re joking, right?”

“Not at all; are you too good to stroll through the golden arches?”

“I do like McNuggets,” I laughed.

And that was how we ended date number one, filling our bellies with cheap, greasy fast food.

After Shadow finished the last of his meal, he leaned back in the round metal seat, looked at me and grinned.

“What?” I asked while my mouth was still full of processed chicken.

“I had a good time tonight.”

I was surprised. You’d think that discussing Abraham’s tragic past and making a scene at one of the top dining establishments in the city was enough to put a downer on the entire evening. But here Shadow was, smiling.

It was infectious, and I couldn’t help flash my pearly whites in return. I hoped I had nothing stuck in my teeth.

“Yeah, it wasn’t boring, that’s for sure,” I replied. “So what do you have in store for date number two?”

“I have something in mind.”

“So what is it? I hate surprises.”

“Everyone loves surprises.”

“I don’t,” I stated.

“Too bad,” Shadow said. “I’ll make the arrangements for our next date.”

“It better be a good one then,” I teased as I finished the last McNugget. “Examinations are around the corner and I’m dying for a little bit of excitement before then.”

“If excitement is what you want, I’ll make it happen. I just hope you can keep up with me.”

He was flirting. A thrilling rush swept through me, and without realizing, my smile widened. While sitting in this fast food restaurant with the secret king of the world on our non-date, I came to a sudden realization; maybe Shadow was right. Maybe we weren’t so different.

“Honey,” I said in a half-joking tone, “Whatever pace you set, you’ll find that I have no trouble keeping up for the ride.”

“Challenge accepted,” Shadow said.

His usual hard eyes sparkled with a child-like excitement, like stars reflected against the ocean.

#

Chapter Thirteen

Reading was another simple pleasure of mine, one that allowed me to escape into worlds that were much more interesting than my own. I had to admit though, ever since meeting Shadow, my life was far from boring.

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