Page 39 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
“Oh.” She looked disappointed. He hadn’t expected her to be disappointed. He thought she would be glad to have a break for the evening. Aiden frowned, unsure.
Would she miss Sparky? Was that it? From the way her gazelingered on the sleeping baby dragon, Aiden assumed this must be the case. Should he ask her to accompany him?
He didn’t want to, only because his family was quite a bit to deal with, and surely, she wouldn’t want the headache.
But the way she was hesitating … was she waiting for him to invite her along? Unsure, he rubbed the back of his neck. It was impossible to read people, what they wanted. He was getting better when it came to Saphira specifically, but even so, he couldn’t always tell exactly.
“Um, do you … would you want to maybe come with me?” he asked. “I mean, I’m sure you don’t want to, but on the off chance …”
“Yes!” Her eyes lit up. “I’d love to.”
Oh. He was surprised by her reaction again, though pleased she would be joining him. He was always pleased to spend more time with her. But then quickly the delight was overshadowed by stress. He’d need to message Emmeline ahead to make sure everyone would behave.
“What time?” she asked.
“I can come back in an hour to pick you up?”
“Perfect. See you then!”
Saphira petted Sparky’s head just as Sparky woke from his nap, then she headed up the stairs, presumably to get ready. Aiden left the cafe, pulling his phone out as Sparky trotted alongside him for the walk home. He called Genevieve.
“Hello?” she said, picking up. She sounded alarmed.
“Hey, Ginny.” He could understand why she was perturbed; he rarely ever called.
“Why are you calling me?” she asked. “Haven’t you heard of texting, old man?”
“A phone conversation is more direct.”
He could practically hear Ginny rolling her eyes.
“Anyway. I’m bringing a friend to dinner tonight.”
“Okaaaaaay. Why are you telling me this? I’m getting a pedicure, you know, and I really don’t like my me-time being interrupted for inconsequential reasons.”
“I’m just informing you so you are not surprised when I show up with her and make some sort of scene.”
“Her?” Genevieve practically shrieked the word, delight in her voice. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?”
“This is what I meant by making a scene. She is not my girlfriend. Please be reasonable, Genevieve.”
“So what’s your girlfriend’s name?” his sister asked, unrelenting.
“Saphira. And she isnotmy girlfriend! She is simply my friend who happens to be a girl.”
“Riiiiight. The last time you were willingly friends with a girl was in elementary school.”
“That is not true. The nail polish fumes are getting to your head.”
It most certainly was true. He had been six, and the girl in question had been his crush for the whole year. She had two perfect ponytails, and he’d followed her around the playground for a week in the spring until she threw a handful of mud at his face and told him to stay away.
Aiden frowned at the memory. “That was before you were born. How do you know about it, anyway?”
“Danny told me.”
Aiden looked up at the sky, scowling. He could practically see the clouds rearranging to craft Danny’s smirk.
“Please do not be insufferable about this.”
