When we leave his place, he reaches a hand out for me. It hangs there in the air, expectant, hopeful. But the look on his face is downright pleased.
I slip my fingers through his, reveling at how warm and rough they are. We talk about his childhood and his parents, who still live in Arcadia.
We get the occasional stare and whisper as we pass through town. I wonder how the pack feels about their Second dating? Are they excited for him? Feel weird because I have no wolf? I wonder…
But he pays them no mind, focused on me from door to door. When we get to Alkemi, I struggle to untwine my fingers from his. I don’t want to let him go.
Eventually, after a couple parting kisses, I manage to get myself in the door. But I miss him.
I miss them both.
And I’m falling in love. I’m definitely falling in love.
“Okay, so you want to plan something special for Dirk?”
Malik glances down at me as we arrange a new window display of aragonite crystals. I stare at the gorgeous yellowy-amber color, musing about how, if I had any sort of power, these crystals would help to channel it. But I don’t, and they are completely wasted on me.
“Yeah.” I glance up at Malik. “Is it weird to talk about me dating two males?”
He snorts and turns the largest crystal in the display, angling it so the sunlight outside filters through the crystal to cast yellow light on the whole tabletop.
“Not hardly, Lou. Many monsters mate in throuples or even in groups. Are humans not the same?”
“Some.” I shrug. “For a long time, I think it’s something people did behind closed doors and simply whispered about.Nowadays, it’s more common and accepted, but you still can’t marry multiple people.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Who would keep you from your mates? What do you mean?”
“I mean in a legal sense.” I stare up at him. “Does Hearth HQ not have rules about mating?”
He shakes his head, stomping one foreleg. “Hardly. There are so many species of monster, it would be impossible for them to capture the nuance of mating habits. Plus, they differ all around the world. The Hearth is more focused on the haven system itself, and its administration, less so on individual monsters and their customs.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
Malik reaches into a box and withdraws the next large crystal. “Well, if you wanted to plan something fun for Dirk, you could always take home a couple of the enhancing potions we just got in.”
I stare up at my boss. “You haven’t explained those to me yet. What exactly do they enhance?” I give him a meaningful look.
A pink blush steals over his pale cheeks. “Not physical enhancement. It’s a mental stimulant. They make sensations feel more…well, more powerful. Every touch, every look is enhanced. They were originally designed by a pegasus warlock like me who mated a human. Because of the size difference, things were challenging.”
I laugh as I retrieve another crystal from the box between us. “Do you mean challenging in that he had a giant dong, and she was my size?”
Malik clears his throat and chuckles as he blushes scarlet. “Something like that, yes.”
I focus on setting the crystal carefully down. “My niece Wren used something like that when she and Ohken mated.”
He shakes his head. “Ah. That’s different. That’s a traditional troll potion and wouldn’t be something you could buy in a store. It has to be brewed by the troll for his or her intended.”
“Right, right. How does one use this enhancer potion?”
Malik’s grin grows wicked. “Massage it into the skin, of course.”
I grin as I mull that idea over. I’m definitely liking the idea of this.
Three hours later, my shift is over and nothing notable has happened. I leave Alkemi and head toward the gnome village to check on how it’s coming along. Bellami hasn’t asked for more help, which makes me wonder if we irritated him too badly with all the flirting on the job.
When I arrive, the village is bustling. I glance around but don’t see my grouchy, bossy friend.
“Lou!” One of the other gnomes jogs up. “Need something?”
