24. Cheribelle #2
He chuckled, silver notes of amusement dancing up above his head and ascending through the ceiling. I liked to think that whoever sat at the table after us would also be able to feel the gentle hum of his mirth.
“You know, that might have had something to do with it. How is the Whisper, by the way? I think she mentioned something about branding one of us?”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “No, that was a branding deal. Apparently, she has been wanting to open a community garden in a derelict section of the park around her parts, but she hasn’t been able to make the right connections.
Obviously, it’s a bit more difficult to do in her position.
So, she reached out to me, the empath everyone’s talking about right now, and wanted to know if I would be interested in putting my face on it so it would get approved. ”
“A dryad wanting a community garden. Who could have predicted that?”
We were both grinning at this point and it felt so good.
“She does play pretty close to type, doesn’t she?”
“She does. I’m just glad she didn’t hold getting burned so terribly against us. For a while there, I was afraid all of her talk of an alliance had been turned to a crisp along with her that day.”
“Nah, she’s almost fully healed anyway. It’s not like she’s human,” I answered. “If she was, she’d still be in intensive care.”
Paul nodded along. “I’m grateful for it.”
We chit-chatted a bit more, nothing too serious, and it was probably the most mundane conversation we’d ever had. No discussion of murders, assassination contracts, enemies, or anything serious. It was just fun.
It proved to me that the connection I felt with Paul wasn’t just fueled by adrenaline and intrigue. I wasn’t just swept up in the excitement of solving a case like a real detective and he wasn’t looking for some sort of respite in the hell he’d accidentally walked into.
We were just Cheribelle and Paul.
And that was enough.
Eventually, however, I realized we’d been camped out at the waitress’s table for three hours.
While I hoped she was getting good enough tips at such a high-scale restaurant that it wouldn’t be a huge issue, I did ask Paul if we should head home.
I didn’t want the date to end, but there was no rule that I couldn’t immediately ask for a second one.
However, once the query was out of my mouth, Paul gave me a quizzical sort of look. “This was just part one of the date. I’m certain I told you I had a whole evening planned.”
“You did, you did. I just didn’t know if us chatting here as long as we wanted was part of it. Is this where you reveal your master plan?”
“No, not quite yet. I think I’ll let you simmer with...” he trailed off, little shimmers of mischievous cerulean permeating the air. It was difficult, but I waited for whatever punchline he was cooking up. “ Anticipation. ”
“You just stole that from The Rocky Horror Picture Show .”
“Excuse you, I learned it from the legendary actor Tim Curry.”
Fair enough. “All right, mystery man, take me to our secondary location!”
While I was utterly delighted at the way things were going, I also had absolutely no idea where he could possibly be taking me.
And while I was quite the creative person —at least in my own opinion— if given an entire century, I didn’t think I would ever accurately predict where he ended up taking me.
Thank goodness I didn’t have to pretend to be a psychic anymore!
“Am I suffering from a post-concussion hallucination?” I asked as we came to a stop. “Or are we at an actual skate park?”
Paul chuckled as he got out of the car and opened my door. “After you,” he said with a bow.
“But I didn’t even bring my board!”
But those gray eyes of his twinkled, and I couldn’t help but be in awe at the radiant display all around him.
I saw periwinkle streamers that came with the accomplishment of a task.
I saw a scintillating grid of the deep plum of satisfaction and sparkling amethyst of excitement.
Rays of watermelon pink shone through boughs blushing berry in anticipation.
It was beautiful and wondrous all at once, and he was feeling that for me .
Giddy, I didn’t even try to stop the giggles that escaped me as I jumped out of the car and rounded to the back. Sure enough, once he popped the trunk for me, I saw not only my board, but a spare, a bag with protective gear spilling out of the top, and a change of clothes for both of us.
“Did... I... Holy shit, are you for real right now?”
Clearly, I was Shakespeare.
“As real as I can be,” he said, and the masterpiece of his emotions grew even brighter with sparks of sapphire happiness shooting through it. “But now it’s my turn to ask you something really important.”
“Yeah?” I asked breathlessly.
“Cheribelle Donmoue, would you to teach me how to skateboard?”
I stared at him, unblinking, and I knew my jaw was slack. Like something out of a cartoon, I had to use my hand to close it. The motion jumpstarted my brain back into action.
“Paul VanMarche the Third, I have never been so turned on in my entire life!”
I threw my arms around him and kissed him for all I was worth.
Our lips moved against each other as he held me, and it was so tempting to get back into his car and see how fast we could get banned from the premises, but as much as I was burning from the inside out with attraction and joy, I really did want to teach him how to skateboard. Or at least show him the basics.
Although it pained me, I grabbed the supplies and hurried to the bathroom to change. “I hope that you ate enough seafood to keep your energy up,” I called over my shoulder. “Because once we’re done here, I’m going to ride you until my bed breaks.”
A lusty sangria bled beautifully into the edges of his emotions. “Yes, ma’am! ”