Page 5 of Dating A Fae
The chair across from me scrapes against the floor, and Milton sits. “I like you too, that’s why I invited you tonight.”
I lift my head to see his bright shining smile.
“Youlikeme? Like like?”
He chuckles. “I want to get to know you beyond your daily orders.”
“Why?” There’s nothing interesting about me. By humanandsupe standards I am boring with a capital B.
He shrugs. “You’re fun to talk to when the shop’s quiet and you let yourself loose.”
“I talk about numbers. And the dogs I run into on the way to work. And—”
“The other day you passionately talked about how sad you were when you were a kid and learned the library of Alexandria burned down centuries ago. That was the day I decided I’d push back my fears and…” Milton threads a hand through his hair. “Okay I didn’t ask you on a date, but—”
“You want to ask me on a date? Wait,you’reafraid to talk tome?”
Milton is usually so smooth and easy to talk to. Seeing him flustered is strange.
“Not afraid per se, just…” Milton puffs out a breath and thumbs the edge of the table, not looking at me. “I’m shaped like a lumpy potato, not something someone associates with fae.” His shoulders drop.
Wait.What?Milton’s perfect.
He continues, and it breaks my heart. “Fae are supposed to be lithe and—”
“That’s human expectations. Don’t let them muddy how you view yourself. You’re beautiful.” Why does my face burn so much today? But it’s true. Milton has such a pretty glow, and his eyes shine, his smile dazzles. And his laugh. His laugh is one of my favorite sounds in the world.
I lift my gaze to his, his mouth twitches like he’s trying to hold back his emotions. He gives me a nod, his lips tip to a crooked smile.
“The apron is beautiful. Thank you.” He pushes to his feet. “You didn’t need to bring anything, though.”
“I wanted to.” I stand, bringing my dishes with me.
His shift in conversation washes calm over us both.
Milton waves for me to walk through the kitchen with him. I’ve never been back here. I imagine it’s a baker’s dream. Several ovens, a huge worktop. I can’t even name most of what I see. Milton chuckles behind me and takes my dishes while I gawk. Everything’s so clean. There’s what appears to be mini quiches on the work table. Perfect sugar cookies cool on racks.
“Go on, grab some.”
Milton loads my dishes into what I assume is a dishwasher, though it doesn’t look anything like what I have at home. I take him up on the offer and grab one for each hand. He brings a serving tray to the table and starts loading up the quiches.
The chime on the door sings out. My heart sinks knowing our time alone has come to an end, but I learned a few things about Milton. One… he likes me, which blows my mind. Two, he’s as insecure as the rest of us. He gives me a knowing smile and leads me from the kitchen.
“Johnny!” Rain yells out my name. He’s followed by three others I haven’t met before. “Gettin’ freaky in the kitchen. Good job, Milton.”
The heat of my face could get a lava lamp going.
“Just getting snacks situated. You know how I like a tidy kitchen.”
“True true.”
I take another step forward, willing my feet to move. “I’m Johnny.” I hold out my hand.
“Avery,” the massively tall one says. I’m assuming they’re a dragon by the neck scales and huge energy.
“Josh.” A blond fae.
“Brendon.” A brunet fae.
