Page 12 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Finn
The hot springhad been a bust, but I was sure my food was going to save it. After all, I'd spent a whole day in the kitchen and I'd thrown about three full meals away until I was happy with how my cooking turned out.
Ryan was going to like this, I was sure.
Once we were both fully clothed again, I led him a little farther up the volcano. It was a great day for walking. The air was crisp and the leaves in the trees around us had started turning red and orange. Personally, I was more a fan of spring rather than fall, but I knew Ryan enjoyed this season, and that made me appreciate it a little more too.
“It's beautiful here,” Ryan spoke up after we'd walked for a few minutes, making me smile.
“Yeah. It looks like something out of your paintings, doesn't it?”
Ryan coughed. Looked like he was still embarrassed I'd caught him painting that one time. I didn't get why he hid that skill, though. He was amazing. “I'm not that good,” he lied.
“Nonsense. I'd pay a fortune for your pictures. I bet others would too.”
Ryan shook his head, but didn't say any more. He was always too humble.
Just as well, I'd convince him some other day. Now it was time to eat. I spotted the small clearing I'd been aiming for up ahead and put my bag down. Then I took a blanket out of it and laid it down on the forest floor, so we could sit. I patted the space next to me. “Come on, let's eat.”
My friend shot me a suspicious look before he sat. I couldn't really blame him. I'd never truly cooked before. Especially not for him. But today was special, because today I was on a sort-of almost date with my best friend and I wanted it to be perfect.
Trying not to let my nerves show, I quickly took the box of food and two forks out of my bag.
I told myself there was no reason to be nervous. If nothing else, our visit to the hot spring had at least confirmed that Ryan was definitely interested in me too. Or, his body was, anyway. I had no idea about his heart. That might still be taken by that boyfriend of his, whoever he was.
“What did you cook?” Ryan asked, eying the box with hints of doubt on his face.
“Well... I wanted to cook your favorite, but I didn't know what that was, so I just cooked everyone's favorite,” I said proudly.
“Everyone's favorite?” Ryan opened the lid on the box and looked at the meat and veggies inside, which were soaked in an extra spicy red sauce. “Is this... traditional food?” he asked slowly.
“Yes!” I'd gone the extra mile today.
Ryan looked at the food again, then back at me, and then he started to laugh. “Oh, Finn…“
“What?” I had no idea what was going on. This wasn't fair. “It's good! I promise.” After all, I'd tried it myself and I was still alive. That should count for something.
“I'm sure it's good. I'm sorry.” Ryan wiped his eyes. “It's just, this is dragon food.”
“What do you mean by dragon food? It's traditional food, yeah, but I don't think anyone will get mad at you for eating it just because you're not a dragon.”And I would take up a fight with anyone who did.
“No, that's not it.” Ryan licked his lips. “The issue is, this food is super spicy. I can't stomach that. Most humans can't. At the embassy, we make this stuff to scare off the newcomers.”
Oh. I hadn't known that. How stupid was I? I'd spent a whole day preparing food that my date couldn't even eat.
“I'm sorry,” Ryan said again. “I'm sure you put a lot of work into this.”
“Well, the first two tries took a while, but by the third time, I'd kind of figured out how to do it.”
“By the third time?” Both of Ryan's eye brows went up. “Exactly how much time did you spend on this?”
“Not that much,” I tried to downplay it all, because what point was there in making Ryan feel bad?
Apparently, it was too late, though, because Ryan took a fork and picked out one of the pieces of meat.
“You don't have to do that.” I reached for his fork, but he held it away.
“It's fine. I can at least give it a try, right? Since you put so much work into it.” He took a tissue out of his pocket and carefully wiped the sauce off the meat.
