Page 7 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
Zim
The dragons werea bit late getting to the bar. Derick told me not to sweat it and ordered another round of drinks for us as we waited. Perhaps I should have told my friend that I was a lightweight when it came to drinking, but I didn't want him to think less of me. Derick had gone on tours with bands. He'd backpacked through Europe. I couldn't tell someone like him that I was feeling tipsy after two-three beers—I'd never live it down.
Instead, I just hoped that the pleasant buzz I was feeling would carry me through the night. Leaning back in my chair, I sipped at my beer, listening to the soft jazz music playing in the background. It was a drastic change from the rock music we'd just heard at the show, but I didn't mind. My ears could use the break, they were still ringing from standing so close to the speakers.
Next time I'd have to bring earplugs.
"So what did your parents give you for your birthday, anyway?" Derick asked, chugging his beer back like it was soda. "Are they finally gonna let you go to Europe?"
I huffed in amusement. "As if. Don't you know those Europeans are all uncivilized?" This was basically my family's opinion on any country that didn't segregate its dragon population.
Derick shook his head. "You should just go, you know? You're an adult. It's not like your parents are gonna get on a plane and drag you back home."
"It's like you don't even know my parents."
"C'mon, man. You can't let them dictate your actions forever."
"I won't, but I don't want to upset them unnecessarily either." It was a difficult line to walk. Sometimes I wished I wasn't an only child so my family's attention wasn't so focused on me, but after my mother had nearly died in childbirth, my parents had decided that one was enough. "They'll probably cut me a bit more slack when I'm married and living my own life." After all, they couldn't watch me all the time when I was living in my own house.
"Living your own life by following in your father's footsteps at Pharma Tech?"
I shrugged. "I don't mind going into the family business. It's gonna pay the bills." That was something I wasn't going to moan about. I knew how privileged I was, born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I wanted to be able to afford the same luxuries for my own children. If that meant I had to study and work hard, that was what I was going to do. My parents could be overbearing at times, but I could see where they were coming from. They wanted me to be happy. I could hardly blame them for that.
I didn't want to let them down.
"Is paying the bills all you want to do with your life?" Derick asked, setting his already empty beer bottle down on the table, right next to the coaster. Without being consciously aware of doing it, I picked it up and placed it on the coaster, then I took a napkin and wiped away the ring of condensation the bottle had left on the table's dark surface. "Dude, you don't work here." Derick laughed.
I shrugged again. So what if I liked things neat and orderly? "You're exaggerating," I told my friend. "I'm gonna get to Europe someday." I wasn't in any hurry—and not only because my fear of heights made me hate planes. I took another sip of my beer.
"I'm sure you will." Derick looked behind himself. "Oh, look. There they are."
I nearly choked on my beer. They were here? My gaze followed Derick's and landed on the dragons entering the bar.
Stay calm, Zim.
Watching the band members pull up chairs from other tables so they could join us, I realized that Derick and I were sitting across from each other. The table wasn't large. One or two of these dragons were going to take seat next to me. Right next to me. I was doomed. Quickly, I took another sip of my beer, just to stop my mouth from running dry. I had to play it cool.
"Great show tonight, guys," Derick greeted the dragons. "Wasn't sure you could do it without me, actually, but I was pleasantly surprised," he added with a shit-eating grin. I wish I could say I'd been as casual in my greeting as my friend, but instead I nearly spilled my beer when I set the bottle down because my hand was shaking so hard. "Hi," I mumbled, trying not to look too hard at anyone. Lowen had placed his chair right next to mine. My pulse went through the roof and my face probably grew deep red, or that's what it felt like anyway.
"Everything okay with you?" Lowen's voice was deep, but smooth, sending a shiver down my spine. They should have let him sing some of their songs, really. I could hardly focus on the content of his words over their sound.
"I'm fine," I made myself say, pointedly not looking at him. I took another gulp of my beer, but then the bottle was empty. Eep, there went my crutch.
"Need a refill?" Finn asked. "I think Zed's about to go order for us." He'd sat down on my left, while Lowen sat on my right. I turned to Finn, glad for the distraction. Much like Zed, Finn did nothing for me now. He was safe. I couldn't figure out where this sudden lack of attraction was coming from, but I was going to take advantage of it anyway.
"I'd love a refill," I said. "Thank you. Also, the show really was great. I hope you guys aren't too exhausted now."
"No, don't worry about it." Finn gave me his trademark bright smile I'd seen on so many magazine photos. "We're usually pretty pumped after a show. It gets the adrenaline going like nothing else."
"Oh. Okay then." I fumbled for something else to say, but couldn't come up with anything. I was so not equipped for this situation. While I was still searching for words, Zed took our orders and went to the bar.
"I noticed you were singing along," Lowen said and I nearly jumped at being spoken to. "Thanks for that. It means a lot to us when people learn the lyrics."
"I um... didn't really... I mean... it's no big deal."Smooth, Zim.I still wasn't looking at Lowen, but now that he was talking to me that was rude, wasn't it? Chewing my bottom lip, I turned to my right.
Mistake.
I was caught in Lowen's gaze the moment our eyes met. All the attraction that wasn't there when I looked at Finn and Zed? It hit me threefold when I looked at the drummer next to me. There was justsomethingdrawing me to the man. Part of me wanted to run away and hide. The other part of me wanted to jump at the dragon and urge him to have his way with me. Caught in the middle between these two conflicting ideas, I froze.
