Page 156 of Cerulean Truth
I grinned, not feeling the least bit ashamed of my thoughts. "Sounds great. I'll wait for you in your room."
She playfully punched me, let me into her room, and went back out with a whole load of fresh clothes.
I killed fifteen minutes studying—really studying—her room for the first time ever. A few pictures were now showing off the people in her life—her parents, human friends I didn’t recognize, even Enya made the cut. A bit disappointed not to spot one of me, but then again, where would she even gotten a picture of me?
There were books scattered all over the floor. Classic stuff like Jane Austen, trashy novels, and volumes on translation and other magi crap.
Picking up some empty water bottles lying around, I realized Emma was a real slob and I had no idea why, but it made me grin like an idiot.
My thoughts got interrupted by a loud knock. Weird? Surely Emma wouldn’t knock at her own door?
"Emma, you in there?" an annoying voice boomed from the other side.
My blood went from zero to boiling in a nanosecond. Dark shades of red and black flashed before my eyes. I clenched my jaw so hard I thought it might crack, and my hand involuntarily turned into a fist. Julian. What the fuck was he doing here?
I swung the door open, my glare slicing through him.
He looked genuinely surprised by my presence (the irony). "Oh, James, hi. So sorry, didn't know you were here. I just wanted to see if Emma wanted to go out for a drink or something, catch up on old times, you know?" He smiled.
He.Smiled.
It took every ounce of willpower not to wipe that smug smile off his face.
"She's going out with me tonight," I growled.
"Martin?" I heard Emma's voice behind him.
He turned quickly, "Hey, Emma, sorry, didn't mean to disturb you," he said, facing her. "Just wanted to see if you wanted to meet up, but you clearly already have plans."
"That's fine," she answered before I could, "we were just going to grab a drink at the Cube if you want to join us?" She smiled.
She.Smiled.
Fist clenching. I had to remember how to breathe. Fuck, I was really starting to lose control over my rage-haze.
"No, I don't want to crash your date." Julian replied with a disappointed smile on his face.Like he cares.
"It's not... a date?" she said tentatively, looking at me with clear question marks in her eyes. I saw Julian staring at her intensely, which was bothering me to no end.
"It sure is," I said through my teeth, trying to contain myself once again. In the course of the last twelve hours, my perfectly constructed control over the darkness had started to crumble without mercy.
Julian apologized quickly and bolted when Emma and I walked back inside her room.
“You’re taking me out on a date? At the Cube?” she laughed. Crap, hadn’t thought about that, our first real date should not be at the Cube.
"It could be dinner in a dumpster, it would still be amazing. It's you that makes it extraordinary, not the location." No idea how my brain came up with that so quickly, but thank the gods for my natural smoothness kicking in.
She rolled her eyes. "Sure, James, whatever. I'm ready to go. Are you almost finished?"
I frowned in confusion. "I didn't change?"
"No, I meant finished marking your territory," she quipped.
I hid my smirk and lowered my voice to a deeper baritone, holding her gaze steady, as I leaned in. "Not by a long shot," I murmured into her ear, my lips softly touching its shell.
She shivered and blushed a deep crimson, which was the most adorable thing I had ever seen.
Arriving at the Cube, I set the stage for a semi-romantic vibe and bubbled up our cube so no one could eavesdrop on our conversation.
