I’m such a goddamn doormat.
Grayson perched at the edge of his seat, staring unseeingly at the menu. He’d arrived first, which caused a mingled sense of terror and relief. He was wearing a pale blue shirt with short sleeves and pearl buttons. Aureli said it brought out his eyes. Aureli had also helpfully selected a matching pair of cream slacks while Grayson was busy edging toward a total crashout.
Grayson blinked at the menu, not entirely sure it was even written in English.
“Grayson Miller?”
A low, smooth voice crested Grayson’s shoulder, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. He jerked his head around, too fast, and found himself face to face with a knit polo. It was attached to a broad-shouldered Mer with scales like pirate gold.
“Y—Yes,” Grayson squeaked.
The Alpha circled the table, taking the seat opposite Grayson. His auburn hair was tied back from his face, with the bottom section cascading over his shoulders
Mer hair had a strange bounce and stiffness to it, almost like it was made of fine wire. Most Mer Grayson saw wore it in protective or practical hairstyles—rarely did he see it unbound like this.
“I’m Keld Vihinu.” The Alpha stretched out a hand across the table. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Grayson took it, praying his date wouldn’t notice the tremors. “Nice to meet you too.”
Keld’s face looked human enough, with light skin that matched the golden cast of his scales. His ear fins were a burnished bronze that complimented his hair, and he was shorter than most Alphas in the room.
Of course, “short,” in Mer terms meant he stood around six foot two.
Grayson’s gaze traced Keld’s wide shoulders, also out of the ordinary for his kind. He looked… powerful.
“So,” Keld said, breaking through the silence. “I heard you’re a nurse.”
“Oh!” Grayson flushed. How long had he just beenstaringat him? “Yes, I’m a nurse and a midwife. That’s how I met Beau.” Grayson dropped his eyes back to the menu. Looking into Keld’s fiery amber eyes felt like staring into the sun.
“You must see a lot of agitated Alphas.”
Grayson peeked back up. Keld’s lips were quirked in a grin.
“I guess,” he mumbled. “They get a little upset when their Omegas are in pain.”
Keld snorted. “That’s putting it mildly.”
Another silence descended as Grayson frantically cast his mind around for something to say.
“So, um, you work with Loriun?” he finally managed.
Keld scanned the menu as he replied, “Yes. For a long time now.”
“Accounting, right?”
“Yeah, not exactly glamorous, but I’m good at it.”
Keld didn’t speak in the stilted way most Mer his age did, but rather as if he’d been amongst humans for a very long time.
“Did you attend university on the mainland?” Grayson asked.
Keld glanced up, a little crease between his brows. “No. Why?”
“Oh. Just… You talk like a human.” Grayson felt his face go hot. Was that rude to say?
Evidently, it wasn’t, because Keld let out a chuckle. “I’ve been working with humans since I was twenty-two, and spend a lot of recreational time in human-dominated places.”
Grayson blinked. “Like where?”
