AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Are you alright with this?" he asks.
"With what?"
As we start walking, he catches my hand in his own and gives it a gentle squeeze.
"With being on a date with me."
"Why would I be here if it's not okay?" I'm a little confused by that one. He may have jokingly asked me out as a little bit of a bribe, but that doesn't mean I'm not serious when I say I want to be here.
"Because I know you like Caspian, and he likes you, and I don't want to come between you."
He's rambling a little bit, so I put a gentle hand on his arm, hoping it'll help calm his nerves.
"Caspian and I have an agreement. One that won't interfere with me dating you. So long as you don't try and stop me dating him." The words fly out faster than I'm ready for. But it's better for both of us if I'm upfront about any potential relationship now.
Ryan stops in his tracks and a brief moment of panic slips through me. Does he not like that idea? I'm still not completely sure how I feel about it myself yet.
"You're saying that he's okay if you date me too?"
"Yes." I shuffle my feet, unsure how he's going to take this.
"And the only thing that changes for me is that I have to be okay letting him date you too?"
"Theoretically other people too," I whisper.
"Aren't you full of surprises." He chuckles, which I hope is a good sign. I want him to be okay with this. It'll make things a lot simpler in my mind.
Though I'm not naive enough to think that the way ahead will be completely easy.
"That's not a no..."
"It's a let's-see-how-this-goes. I haven't ever really thought about it before."
"Me neither," I admit. "It was Daphne that brought it up."
He groans, but still holds the car door open for me. "Please don't tell me you're planning on dating my sister too?"
"Absolutely not. We're friends, nothing more." Why would he even think that? Dating a brother and sister is a little weird, even from where I'm standing, and I produce magical kittens on an almost weekly basis.
It only takes ten minutes for us to get to the fair, but the place is buzzing with academy students, as well as other people from around and about.
"Want to watch me beat you at the ring toss?" I ask. "No magic allowed."
"Sure thing. But only because I know you won't win."
A genuine smile comes to my face. Daphne is right, I do need this. More than I thought I did, that's for certain.
"Oh, I know what I'm winning you," he says with a wicked grin.
One look at the prizes beyond the stall and I know what he's going to try and win. The cat emoji cushion is easily one of the biggest prizes in there.
"You'll need to be really good to get it," I joke.
"Just watch me. I'll manage it."
I know he will. And then I'll have to find an obvious but not in my face place to put it in my room. If I'm lucky, one of the kittens will claim it. Or I'll make them and then use it as an excuse when he visits.
Uh-oh, now I'm thinking about him visiting my room. Something Ryan doesn't normally do. He sticks to the kitchen of our flat, or just his sister's room.
