Page 23 of Dating A Fae
I hate watching him leave, but the look in his eye tells me he’s ready to conquer his work problem, and I’m glad he’s going back in good spirits.
Chapter 13
Johnny
I finish at two in the morning, and I’m buzzing. The books are perfect again. I knew I could do it. Greg surely knew too. That’s why he gave me skewed work, to see what I can do. Clever, clever. Though I wonder if it was a waste of time. I could have practiced with actual work. But I’ve never questioned Greg’s methods before, he clearly knows what he’s doing.
I feel bad texting Milton, though. It’s so late. He should be in bed since he’ll be up early. He told me once he wakes up at four to get the pastries going, does a bit of extra cleaning, and whatever accounting that needs to be done. Then he opens at six. I don’t envy him his schedule.
But I want to lay next to him, even if it’s only for a few hours. When I text, he answers immediately.
I stare at the message. We have an audience with one of the kings of the Faelands courts in two days. Holy hell. My heart pounds. This is huge. I scratch out a reminder on my calendar to ask for the time off, and I head back to Milton’s.
Milton greets me at the cafe, dishtowel in his hands.
“Did you sleep at all?” I pull him into my embrace and kiss his pretty plush lips.
“Not a wink. I got a lot of extra cleaning done, though.” He laughs and throws the dishtowel over his shoulder. “You need to burn, don’t you?”
“How can you tell?” I bounce on my toes.
He quirks a brow. “You’re always hyper when you need to let out the extra energy. Plus, your glow pulses.”
I run a hand over my arm, indeed light pulses under my skin. “Neat.”
Milton bursts into a laugh before dropping a kiss to my head. “Go. Burn. I’ll make sure your clothes and everything make it up to my apartment.
With that I erupt into a ball of light and buzz around his head to make him laugh again. He holds out his hand, and I hover inside, letting him hold me for an instant before I’m gone again.
I bounce against the walls, the ceiling. Zoom through the entire cafe until finally I slide under the door and burn through the night knowing Milton will be waiting.
Chapter 14
Milton
My stomach flutters. What if Johnny hates the Faelands? That’s ridiculous. He’s been wanting to go since he was a child, and I get to help him live a dream. Johnny bounces on his toes as we stand waiting for the portal to appear.
Soon the shimmery silver pond morphs in front of us.
A trio of fae rise through the portal to take my place in protecting it. They still wear the old-fashioned clothes I ditched long ago. They look like they should be part of a Renaissance fair. Fae don’t like change. Not when they can manipulate people into thinking what they want. Most fae don’t know what the modern human world is like and how many creature comforts the humans have invented. As much as I love my homeland, I love the human world more. It’s where Johnny lives.
I’ve met these three fae on occasion, when I’ve requested vacation. They’re always the ones that come through. Because apparently one fae can protect it full-time, but three have to be here when I’m gone.
When they step into the human world and out of the pool, they’re dry. Each sports long hair plaited back. Blonds, the lot of them.
“Raven.” I bow to the leader. She usually wears a scowl, but today her eyes flint over Johnny like she could eat him.
“Mil-ton.” She always says my human name as if it were too strange for her.
“Benton. Ralph.” I greet the other two. “Thank you for coming so I can take Johnny through.”
Johnny holds out his hand to shake theirs. He’s all smiles, still giddy as a child. “I’m so excited. Thank you, thank you!”
Raven gives him a rare smile. “You’re a respected ally of the fae for helping Milton.”
“Never met a wisp before,” Benton says.
Ralph nods his head in agreement. “You’re all bright and glowy. Like a lightning bug’s ass.”
