Page 25 of Tiger's Quest
“Three altogether—Li, Jason, and Artie. If you can count Artie. Ren, why all the questions? What are you getting at?”
“I’m just curious about modern courtship rituals. What did you do on thesedates?”
“I’ve been out to see a couple of movies, I went out to dinner, I went with Li to a wedding, and I saw a football game with Jason.”
“Did you kiss all these men?”
“No! I’ve only kissed Li, and this was the first time.”
“So Li is the one you favor.” Ren started mumbling to himself. Turning to face me, he took my hands in his. “Kelsey, I think you should keep dating.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about it while you were gone. You talked about giving me choices. I’ve made mine, but you still haven’t made yours.”
“Ren, this is crazy! What are you talking about?”
“Date Li or Jason or whoever you want to, and I promise I won’t interfere. But I also want a fair chance. I want you to datemetoo.”
“I don’t think you understand how dating works, Ren. I can’t just date three or four men forever. The point of dating is that you end up becoming exclusive with someone you hit it off with.”
He shook his head. “Youdateto find the person youlove, Kelsey.”
I sputtered, “So what am I supposed to tell Li, ‘By the way, Ren is back, and he thought it would be great if I dated you both?’”
He shrugged. “If Li can’t handle a little honest competition, then it’s better for you to know that now.”
“That’s going to make attending wushu class very awkward.”
“Why?”
“He’s my teacher.”
Ren grinned. “Good. I’ll tag along. I want to meet him and I could use a good workout anyway.”
“Uh, Ren, it’s a beginner’s class. You don’t belong, and I don’t want you fighting with Li. I’d really rather you didn’t go.”
“I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” He tilted his head, considering me. “Are you afraid that I’d be the obvious choice?”
“No,” I replied testily. “I’m more afraid you’d squash him like a bug!”
“I wouldn’t do that, Kelsey.PresumingI wanted to, that wouldn’t be the way to win your affections. EvenIknow that. So will you date me?”
“Dating you would be . . .hard.”
“Why is it easier to date other men than me? And don’t give me the radish explanation again. It’s ridiculous.”
“Because,” I continued quietly, “if it didn’t work out, I could survive without those other men.”
Kissing my fingers, Ren looked intently into my eyes and said, “Iadala, you willneverlose me. I’ll always be near you. Give me a chance, Kells. Please.”
I sighed and looked at his beautiful face. “Okay. We’ll try it.”
“Thank you.” He leaned back against the sofa very pleased with himself. “Just treat me like all the other guys.”
Right. No problem there. Just treat the most perfect and beautiful man on Earth, who happens to be an ancient prince of India that was cursed to be a tiger, like he’s just a regular, average guy. No girl in her right mind could look at him—even without knowing everything I know—and think he was average.
He leaned over to peck me on the cheek. “Goodnight,rajkumari. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
