“I wish I could say the same, but no, I eat like this often.”
“Every time you can sneak away to Amir’s?” Remi asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Cristie said, finishing off her dessert and grabbing her tea to sip on while she turned to see what Remi had decided to watch. “Oh, it’s Abbott Elementary. I startedwatching that a few months ago. It’s really funny. The writers have a dry sense of humor. I love it.”
“That makes sense,” Remi said.
“Why” Cristie asked.
“You. You have a dry sense of humor. One of the reasons I like it is it reminds me of you.”
Cristie smiled at him as he focused on the television screen, then she got up and started to clean up the remnants of their meal.
“What are you doing? Leave it. I’ll get it.”
“No, I’m going to at least help you get it into the kitchen.”
“Cristie, leave it. Seriously.”
“Why?”
“You’re all about the why’s tonight, you know?”
She chuckled. “No, I’m really not.”
Remi sensed there was more behind her comment but was in no mood to risk the nice evening they’d had by pushing deeper so he chose to answer her question instead of asking more of his own. “Because you spent the whole evening making sure my house would be nice, then you introduced me to my new favorite food. Laid it all out for me and even served me, in my own home. You didn’t have to do that. I appreciate it. I’ll clean it up.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s getting late and we both have to get some rest for tomorrow. Why don’t you go on home and I’ll clean it up.”
“If you’re sure,” Cristie said.
“Very.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast, then.”
“I’ll have it ready.”
Cristie nodded, then walked over and picked up her purse. She rested its strap on her shoulder, and hesitated by the doorwith her keys in her hand as she looked back at Remi. “I guess I’ll go ahead home.”
“Okay. Be safe crossing the road.”
She nodded, then opened the door and stepped outside. “Sleep well, Remi.”
“You, too, Cristie.”
She nodded, seemed like she was going to say something else, then changed her mind and quietly closed the door behind herself.
A minute or two later he heard her car start. Remi got up off the floor and watched through the window as she backed up, then turned around and drove across the street to her house. He stayed put while he watched her enter the code to cause the gate to open and drove in. He continued to watch her until he saw the brake lights of her car when she parked in front of her house, then saw her open the front door and go inside. He rested his head against his own door and closed his eyes.
Mate stay here.
Remi huffed a sad laugh at his Dragon’s words. “If only. Maybe one day soon. But not yet.”
His Dragon scowled at him and stalked to the back of his mind.
“Don’t blame you a bit,” Remi said, walking over to the coffee table and picking up a few of the dishes, before taking them into the kitchen. It didn’t take long at all for him have it all cleaned up, and the left overs packed up for the fridge. He closed the refrigerator door, then stopped and thought about it, opened it again and took out one of his apple drinks. He unscrewed the top like you would on a beer, then went outside and sat on his front porch in the dark, thinking about the way his night might have ended had Cristie been spending the night with him.
