Page 40 of How Not to Date a Griffin

Oh god, would the ground swallow him up already? “Nothing, just that we could go. She said we make a great team.”

Reid pretended to straighten a tie at his throat. “Well, that’s because we do. We killed that.”

Suddenly, he lifted his hand and gave it a sniff. Then tilted his head and sniffed his shoulder. “Is that… normal?”

Nolan chuckled. “Oh, yes. The smell clings.”

Reid glanced over his shoulder, toward the parking lot. “Well, now what?”

“Are you hungry?” Nolan asked, accidentally overlapping his words with Reid’s. He chuckled. “Sorry.”

Once again, he didn’t want the night to end. The sun had only just set; surely he didn’t have to say goodbye already?

“I could eat,” Reid answered, a smile tugging at his lips. “Have something in mind?”

The words almost got stuck in his throat, but he forced them out. “Room service has quite the selection.”

His eyes widened at the same time Reid’s did, the implication of his words far too loud to ignore. “No—I just mean, a shower! You could take a shower, for the smell. Oh my god, not that you smell, I mean, the cats. Smell. Oh my god.” Nolan lowered his head into his hands and sighed.

And suddenly Reid was laughing, and a palm curled over Nolan’s shoulder to give him a gentle shake. “I could go for a shower. And some room service. Do you want to call a car, or can I be your taxi for the evening?”

Nolan lifted his head slowly, absolutely certain steam would be curling off the heat from his cheeks. “Do you want to be the taxi?”

He nodded, a small grin still playing at his lips. “Yes.”

And so it was there, in the gravel parking lot of the pet rescue, that Nolan got to see Reid change again. It was so smooth and fluid, he would’ve missed it if he’d blinked. But instead, his eyes were wide open. He was awake and alive, and there was a thrill running through him at the idea of flying through the sky again, clutching at the warmth of Reid.

Nolan shook himself back to the moment, back to Reid, still very much human, but with two huge, feathered wings extending from his back.

It had been so dark the last time he’d seen Reid’s wings, and now they practically glowed in the light of the setting sun.

Nolan’s eyes were surely as big as the moon cresting the trees. “Reid, you’re amazing.”

The wings were huge, a creamy hue with dark tips, complimenting the spun gold of Reid’s hair like a renaissance painting.

Nolan tried to circle him but Reid shifted away, keeping his hands behind his back as he turned, and Nolan came to a stop at the worried expression on his face. “What is it?” Nolan asked.

Reid’s cheeks were flushing, and Nolan decided he liked the look on him, very much so. “Well, there’s, like – you know about the feathers, the fur. I have wings, but they come with something else. I didn’t show you the first time because it’s… well, you’re not allowed to laugh.”

Nolan couldn’t imagine laughing at Reid for anything, but nodded solemnly. “I won’t laugh, promise.”

Reid huffed, nostrils flaring before he released his hands. At first, Nolan frowned in confusion, because his hands were empty. But then, something caught his eye, twitching behind Reid’s back in a familiar kind of manner.

Nolan gasped. “Reid! Is that…”

“Yes, it’s a fucking tail!” he blurted, crossing his arms. “Just don’t pull it and we won’t have any problems.”

It was a lion’s tail, the flared tip flicking around in that way a cat’s did when it was irritated.

Oh dear, was Reid irritated?

Nolan stepped forward, took Reid’s hands, and untucked them from his arms. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You have wings! I can see them better in this light. You’re beautiful.”

Reid shuffled his steps, glancing down. “Ah, that’s... Thanks. They’re just my wings.”

He spread them out, the span extending far wider than Nolan had expected, even after having seen them in action.

“Wow,” he breathed. “Can I touch them?”