Chapter 6
Myrran
Suddenly, I have nerves.
She smiles, warm and hesitant. “You waited all evening for me?”
“I left and came back,” I explain, holding out the insulated bag I brought with me. “Thought you might be hungry after a long day at work.”
Her brows raise skeptically as we walk toward the bus stop bench. “You brought food?”
“Maybe a little too much,” I admit, pulling out two neatly packed containers. I would have brought more, but it didn’t fit in the bag. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I made a couple options.”
“You made these yourself?” Her eyes widen as she peeks inside one container, revealing perfectly grilled vegetables and spicy-sweet ribs. The steam from the still-hot meal curls into the frigid air. “This smells incredible.”
“I did,” I say, fighting the urge to tell her everything right now.
I try and narrow it down from I’ll happily cook for you every day for the rest of your life to something more digestible.
“Cooking is kind of my thing. It started because—well, in human terms, dragons allergic to gluten, and a lot of prepared food is tricky to navigate. Cooking for myself led to cooking for others. I like seeing people enjoy what I’ve made. ”
I especially like seeing my mate enjoy it.
She smiles at me as she brushes new snowfall off the bench with her free hand. “Well, thank you! Hot food sounds great right now.”
I offer her the second container, which holds fragrant saffron rice and skewered shrimp. “This one has the hot sauce on the side, in case you’re not into spicy food.”
“Are you kidding? It all looks so good.” She settles onto the bench, choosing the container with the seafood. Her face softens as she takes her first bite. “Okay, this is...wow. You should do this for a living.”
“I do, actually.” I say, sitting beside her. “I’m a flame-griller at a restaurant in the South Scales neighborhood. I especially love cooking for friends and family, though. There’s a lot of love and memories tied up in what we eat. I like being part of that, you know?”
“I do.” She reaches out to squeeze my hand, and for a moment, I forget the biting cold around us. “I miss being around my family. They’re always cooking something, especially this time of year.”
“What kind of dishes?” I ask, eager to know every detail about her. “Any in particular you’ve been craving?”
She eats a few more bites, thinking, then says, “My parents own a walnut orchard, so our family faves all have walnuts: chiles en nogada, my abuela’s legendary mole.
My craving right now is polvorones, though.
They’re a type of cookie that melts in your mouth.
My mom sent me a box, but I ate them all already, and the ones from the bakeries here are all made with almonds, not walnuts. ” She sighs wistfully.
“Sounds incredible.” I mentally file it all away—if she likes a dish, I’ll learn how to make it exactly the way she likes. “Do you miss it? The orchard, I mean.”
“Yeah,” she admits. “I love the city and everything it has to offer, but...it’s hard being so far away from everyone back home.
Especially during the holidays. I have five siblings and a ton of cousins, so I’m used to a lot of company and noise.
I don’t regret moving here, but…it’s lonely sometimes. ”
I nod, understanding all too well. “I don’t know how much you know about dragons, but we live in communal hives. I can’t imagine living by myself. It seems like a lot of pressure to manage everything on your own.”
She nods, her eyes welling with moisture. Gods, I didn’t mean to upset her. Thankfully, she seems to shake it off, trading containers with me to try the ribs.
“Do dragons celebrate Christmas?” she asks after a few bites, licking the spicy sauce from her lips. She ducks her head slightly. “Sorry if that’s an ignorant question.”
“It’s not at all. Um, it’s a human holiday, but we’ve kind of adopted it…
.because if there are two things dragons love, it’s feasting and giving gifts!
Every hive does a big thing,” I frown, remembering what she said about being lonely this time of year.
“What about you? Are you doing something with friends?”
Her smile fades and she shakes her head. “Work.”
I sit up straighter. “That’s unacceptable.”
Her lips twitch with amusement. “You’re going to march into Hoardstrom’s and tell them that?”
“Maybe.” I grin, but inside, I’m serious. She deserves so much more than a lonely Christmas shift. I’m going to make sure this holiday is unforgettable—for both of us.