Page 19 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
Just as I'd promised Lowen, I was at the hotel lobby at 3pm sharp. My dragon friend didn't seem to be ready yet, though, so I sat down on one of the white leather couches opposite the reception desk and waited. I hoped no one could see how nervous I was. I'd put on some dark clothes, to minimize the risk of sweat stains, but I wasn't sure what else to do. Truth be told, my adrenaline was running high.
How long was Lowen going to make me wait?
Could I just leave if he didn't show up in the next ten minutes?
We hadn't exchanged phone numbers.
Why did I suddenly find myself wishing we had? I ran a hand through my hair, trying to sort my thoughts. This day was starting great. I wasn't even sure whether I wanted my date to show up or not.
He's not your date,I reminded myself.
I only had to agonize for another two minutes before the doors to the elevator near me opened and my dragon stepped out.
At first, I didn't even recognize him. He'd put on the blond wig he'd shown me the day before, and on top of that, he was also wearing horribly over-sized clothes that hid his lean physique. It was a travesty, almost, but I had to agree, it was going to make the fact that he was a dragon less obvious to curious onlookers.
When he spotted me, he raised a hand to wave, a smile forming on his lips.
I couldn't help but smile back, even as my anxiety spiraled ever higher within my head. He didn'tlooklike Lowen right now, but there was no mistaking that he was. He still had that same alluring aura about him that he'd had the night before. A magnetic pull that I couldn't escape, try as I might.
"I hope I didn't make you wait too long," he said, approaching me. "It was a bit harder to get the wig to stay on than I thought it would be. And yes, I know I look absolutely hideous. Don't say anything."
"You don't look hideous," I assured him. "Well, kind of, but I know it's just cosmetic." I'd stared at enough pictures of him to know exactly what he looked like underneath the costume.
"So what are you going to show me today?" he asked as we started walking out of the hotel.
"Um, I thought we could start by heading out to Treasure Island. That's across one of those large bridges."
"Treasure Island?"
"Yeah, it's a man-made island, but it's actually quite beautiful out there," I said, hiding the fact that I hated crossing the bridge.
Lowen chuckled, though I wasn't sure what exactly amused him. "A man-made island." He let me in on the secret. "I'll never get over the way you guys just stomp islands into existence. And yet you’re scared of a couple dragons."
“I’m not scared.” At least not of dragons in general. I was a little bit scared of the effect Lowen was having on me, but that was a different matter entirely.
“You know what I mean,” Lowen said as we exited the hotel and stepped into the hot California summer air. It took me only a few seconds to start missing air conditioning. Or maybe it was everyone’s gaze that made me feel hot. When I let my eyes travel over the busy passerbys in front of the hotel, no one seemed to be looking at us specifically, and yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
Calm down, Zim. Nobody knows you’re out with a dragon.
No one aside from Derick anyway, and he wouldn’t tell.
“How are we getting to the island?” Lowen asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“There’s a bus,” I told him. “The stop is over there.” I pointed down the road. The hotel Lowen was staying at was actually located pretty conveniently.
The bus was packed when we got on it. Just my luck. In the mass of people, I had to stand a little closer to Lowen than I'd originally planned. If this was a date, I would have called myself lucky, but to be honest, I still had no idea what exactly this was. All I knew was that Lowen smelled good when I stood next to him. Almost too good. Was that what was drawing me to him? His scent?
No, it was more than that, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Honestly, the hideous wig should have turned me off, but not even that was helping. I knew how gorgeous he was without it. Whenever I looked at him, I felt like he was the main character of every dirty fantasy I'd ever had—I'd just imagined them wrong before meeting him. I didn't usuallydareto think about my wet dreams by daylight, but in Lowen's presence, it was hard not to.
"Looks like we're heading onto the bridge now," he muttered, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I leaned to the side to peer past the head of the lady in front of me. Lowen was right. In another minute, we'd be on the bridge that featured prominently in so many of my nightmares. When I was awake, I knew that I was exaggerating and the construction was probablynotgoing to collapse while our bus rolled across it. Probably.
But this thing was huge. Four and a half miles long and five-hundred feet above the water. How could anyone trust it?
"This isn't the one that's really famous, though, is it?" Lowen asked.
