Page 31 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
"Yeah," I made myself say.
Before I could even protest, the guy had draped a heavy arm around my shoulders. "We're going to have so much fun," he said with a wide grin.
I gave him a forced smile, slowly unpeeling myself from him.
Was this guy coming on to me? Did he think I was gay or something?
Wait,wasI gay?
Considering the fact that I was fantasizing about feeling another man’s hand on my dick again, maybe it was time I started giving some serious consideration to the question. So far, I’d always told myself that I couldn’t know because I’d never done anything.
But now?
Coming within seconds of another guy touching you probably counted as gay.
Still didn’t mean that I was into random guys who touched me out of nowhere.
Anyway, time to get on the plane now if I didn’t want to be left behind. Ignoring the guy with the questionable headwear, I approached the boarding agent and wondered just what I was getting myself into, going on this trip.
I was definitely hoping to have some fun. But not with Baseball Cap. Nope, if anyone got to touch me, it would have to be Lowen.
14
Lowen
The night before the solstice, we practiced in the basement of Finn's place.
It was almost nostalgic in a way. This was where we'd started out way back when we'd just barely escaped our teenage years. All because Finn's mom was the most receptive to the idea of her son being in a band. My parents had never actively opposed the idea, but they weren't in love with it either. Of course, I knew the reasonwhynow. There'd always been a part of them that hoped I'd end up becoming a spiritual leader.
Zed snapped his fingers in front of my face. I looked up from the drum set I was sitting behind. "Are you with us?" Zed asked.
"Yeah," Finn piped up, "usually he's the one who gets distracted." Finn pointed at our lead singer.
"You know how much sleep I get with a newborn in the house," Zed shot back at him. His youngest, had been born just half a year ago. Finn was right; Zed had been a little distracted ever since. But today it was definitely me who was spacing out.
"I'm sorry." I apologized. "I just got a lot on my mind." Luckily I could play most of our songs on autopilot, muscle memory getting me through. Only the newer pieces needed a little more focus from me.
Finn gave me a knowing look. "Do you think he's gonna show?"
"I don't know." My mouth felt like sandpaper on the inside. If Zim had taken me up on my invitation, he was already on the island somewhere. Nearby. The thought made everything inside me clench tight. The most dragon part of me wanted to soar out of the basement and go find him, close my arms around him and claim him all over again. The fact that I couldn't made me twitchy. My treasure was out there and I couldn't get it.
"I'm sure he'll be there," Zed said. "If you two are truly fated, he'll be feeling the pull too. Even if he doesn't want to." He rubbed his chin, probably thinking back to the way he'd gotten together with his own mate. It hadn't been smooth sailing for the two of them either. My eyes swerved to my other friend, who'd had a difficult time as well. But it had been worth it in the end. I could deal with the struggle if I could have what Finn and Zed had by the end of it.
"Wearefated." I couldn't be mistaken about that. "From the moment I met him, I couldn't imagine going on living without him." Finn and Zed had told me all about what it was like for them to meet their fated mates. I was pretty sure my experience with Zim came close. There was no other way to explain what I was feeling. To explain how perfect, howrighthe had felt beneath me.
"I believe you," Finn said.
"Thank you."
He waved me off. "I've never seen you lose your head over anyone else. It's kinda funny, really."
"Not so funny when we have the solstice show coming up," Zed cut in. His eyes focused on me again. "Will you be able to focus with your new flame sitting in the audience?"
"I'll manage," I said, suppressing the urge to bite my teeth together. It wouldn't be easy to keep my attention on the drums when I sensed Zim among the spectators, but we'd all worked too hard to get here for me to screw it up. I couldn't do that to my friends.
Before anyone could express doubts, a yell came from upstairs. Finn's mate shouting for him. "Come quickly!" he demanded.
"Is something wrong?" Within seconds of hearing Ryan call for him, Finn raced up the stairs. Watching him, I felt a pang of jealousy, wishing I could rush to my mate's side like that.
