Chapter 4
Bastet
I plastered a smile on my face as my date changed and someone new sat down opposite me.
One look at the man told me all I needed to know about how this was going to go.
As if on cue, he started to drone on about a club I'd never heard of and how he was an important member of it.
Not wanting to encourage him any further than I had to, I just made noises that sounded like I was listening.
A small bubble of guilt formed within me as I thought about what I was doing, but I pushed it to the side. Things obviously weren't clicking with…
I squinted my eyes to make out his name tag.
Donald? That couldn't be his real name, could it?
After what felt like an age, the bell rang.
"It was nice to meet you," Donald said.
"Mmhmm, likewise." I flashed him a tight smile and waited for him to move on before marking my card as a definite no.
Why had I let myself get talked into this? I hadn't been around this many people in a long time, and there was a good reason for that. I was much more comfortable in a one-on-one situation.
Or even better, one-on-cat. I understood the felines in a way that escaped me with people.
"Hello, Bastet," a familiar voice said.
I looked up, slightly alarmed despite knowing he was in the room. "Ptah." His name came out as a cracked whisper, one I hadn't used in a long time.
He pulled his chair out and sat down, his gorgeous dark eyes piercing me and seeing right into my soul.
There was something about Ptah that always made me feel as if he understood me in a way no one else ever had. It was a skill of his, and one that probably made us both complacent in the care of our relationship.
"I didn't expect to see you tonight," he said.
"Surprised I'm dating?"
He chuckled, a throaty sound that reminded me of intimate moments and stolen kisses. "I'm more surprised that I am," he joked. "This is my first time."
"What made you decide to join in?"
A smirk lifted the corner of his lips. "Let's just say there was something that intrigued me about tonight."
The way he studied me made it almost possible to think he was doing all of this because of me. But I doubted that. We hadn't been together for a long time, and we broke up for very real reasons. Though with the way the world had progressed since then, perhaps they weren't as relevant now.
I blinked a couple of times and attempted to chase away the traitorous thoughts swimming through my head. I'd promised Sekhmet I'd do speed dating in an attempt to make a connection with someone, but she probably didn't intend that person to be my ex.
And nor should it be.
"How are your cats?" he asked.
"They're good. I've gotten more since you last saw me." A lot more.
"I assumed as much. You never could resist picking up a stray."
"I never heard you complaining about that."
"It was beneficial when I was the stray," he joked.
Despite knowing I shouldn't let him affect me, I melted a little at his words. I had to remember that Ptah was a charmer. It wouldn't just be me he convinced with his sweet talk, it would be everyone he'd talked to so far.
And yet I still felt as if I was the only person in his world. If I let this continue, then I was doomed to make the same mistakes I already had, and I wasn't sure whether my heart could take it.
I glanced at the man across from me. Perhaps risking my heart would be worth it.
Except that I couldn't let myself think like that.
It would be dangerous for both of us and would just end up in more pain than I was able to stand.
There was a reason things hadn't worked out between us, and I needed to remember what it was.
"I like your new haircut, it suits you," he said.
I lifted a hand to touch the side of my head, as if surprised to discover my hair was cut into a neat bob. "Thank you. I thought it would be more practical and lead to fewer bad hair days."
"I don't think you've ever had one."
A small snort of a laugh escaped from me.
"Then you must be flirting with me intentionally, because we both know that isn't true.
Don't you remember the day of the terrible sandstorm?
Bubastis ended up covered in sand, and I had to call on you and your builder priests to come to my rescue.
" I smiled. "It wasn't long after I became a goddess. "
He leaned back in his chair with an amused smile on his face. "That was the day we met."
"It wasn't. We met at a banquet about a hundred years earlier," I corrected him. "I think it was the banquet Ra hosted to celebrate becoming a god. We were both still just immortals at the time."
"All right, then the sandstorm was the day we properly introduced ourselves. You weren't sure what you were supposed to be asking me to do," he said.
"It was the first time I'd been in charge of a temple as big as Bubastis." Even thinking about it was enough for me to feel the warm air around me, and the soft breeze coming from the Nile.
"Do you miss it?" he asked.
"No. There were always too many people there. I prefer to live quietly." Somehow, that sounded less certain when I was telling him compared to when I'd said the same to Sekhmet.
"If I remember correctly, there was never anything quiet about your cats." He chuckled softly as if recalling the many nights he'd spent lamenting just how loud they were.
I didn't blame him. They took some getting used to, especially if one of them had a complaint.
"What about you?" I asked, curious about his response. "Do you long for the old days?"
His gaze met mine, and an intense expression crossed through his eyes. "There are some things that I wish were still the same."
He didn't need to say the words out loud for me to know that he was referring to us. A small part of me wanted to probe him further, to find out what it was he missed, and if there was really any chance of having our relationship back.
Questions swarmed around my mind, but I couldn't settle on which to ask.
The bell rang out, robbing me of the chance to ask any of them.
"I'll see you soon, Bastet," he said. "Enjoy the rest of your dates." The twinkle in his eye suggested that he didn't hope as much.
"You too," I whispered after him, but he was already getting settled at the next table.
"Good evening," a well-dressed woman said as she sat down opposite me.
The smell emanating from her, as well as the look in her eyes suggested that she was a big-cat shifter, though I doubted I'd find out during the short date we'd have together.
I tried to pay attention to what she was saying, but my gaze kept slipping back to Ptah at the table next to me.
At one point, I was certain our gazes met, but it was so fleeting that I might have been imagining it.
Eventually, the final bell sounded, and my last date got to her feet and said goodbye, disappearing to fill in her card.
I leaned back in my chair and let out a loud sigh.
"That bad?" Menhit asked as she leaned over from the next table.
"It was a lot of people," I admitted. "I don't think I'm cut out for it."
The wide smile on her face suggested that she didn't have the same problem. "It's a lot to take in the first time," she responded. "But I saw you had a little moment with your ex there. I thought you said you were over him?"
"I am," I murmured.
"You're not fooling anyone. At all. The way the two of you were looking at one another, you'd have thought there wasn't anyone else in the room."
A blush rose to my cheeks despite the fact I was an immortal goddess who shouldn't embarrass so easily. "It was nothing."
"Mmhmm. So why were you such a terrible date to the rest of them?"
I groaned. "You noticed that?"
"I did, but I don't think half of them did, they probably just thought that you were a good listener. You'll probably still get plenty of ticks."
I glanced down at the card in front of me.
"Are you going to mark anyone off?" Menhit asked.
I shook my head. "It's better if I don't. I really was a terrible date."
"Not even Ptah?"
"No. We had our time, and it's passed now. I don't think either of us wants to revisit it."
"Mmhmm." She didn't seem convinced.
If I was honest with myself, I wasn't completely sure either.
"But I'd love it if you came around for dinner sometime? We could catch up properly?" I suggested. I might not have found myself another date, but that didn't mean I'd come away empty-handed. Reconnecting with an old friend was just as good, if not better.
"I like the sound of that," she agreed. "But I'll warn you in advance that I'll try and convince you to come back here again."
"You can try." But even I had to admit that if she succeeded, it wouldn't be the worst thing.