Chapter 6
ARCHIE
I've never looked forward to studying as much as I am today, though that might be because most of the studying I've done is under the intense watch of my tutors.
Lottie is different though, and not just because of the way my mind seems to whisper mate around her.
If anything, that's making the situation more complicated, not less.
I head into the dining hall, easily spotting Lottie's stunning brown wings.
I've not spent enough time around fairies to know if all of them have wings like hers, but they are spectacular.
I make my way over, making sure not to trip over the scaly tail that's lying across the floor.
It makes me glad that my tail is of the dexterous type.
Not only is it useful when it comes to being able to hold more things at once, but it doesn't get in the way nearly so much.
I clear my throat as I approach Lottie, not wanting to spook her.
She turns around, pushing her dark hair behind her ear as she looks at me. The smile she gives me makes my heart constrict.
"Anything good for lunch?" I ask.
"That depends on how you feel about salad."
"I feel like it could be used as a torture device," I respond.
She laughs. "Then no."
"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll just load it up with croutons and dressing, that will have to do."
"There's some fried chicken too. And bread."
"Sounds like I can just make a sandwich." I take a seat beside her and look around to check what's what. "Or do you think the plates are going to be magic that will stop me from having a sandwich?"
"I don't see what the point of that would be," she says. "You're an adult, you're perfectly capable of deciding that you don't like salad."
"Salad is fine so long as it's in a sandwich."
A confused, but amused, expression crosses her face. "What's wrong with it when it's not between bread?"
"It's the lettuce ratio," I say as I start loading up the slices of bread that I've put on my plate.
"Fair enough." She doesn't seem to have the same issue if her plate is anything to go by. "So, ready for our study date?" she asks.
I raise an eyebrow. "I've been looking forward to our study date," I respond with a grin.
The moment I say the words, she looks a little flustered.
"I didn't mean it like that. I know that it's just us studying." Her words come out so fast that it takes me a moment to recognise them.
"You can call it whatever you want," I assure her, secretly pleased that she's been thinking of studying with me as a study date, even if that wasn't what we suggested.
She clears her throat. "I didn't mean it like a date, I know that this isn't a date."
Her words make my heart constrict, especially combined with the way she's looking at me.
"Today isn't a date," I say. "But what about tomorrow?"
Surprise shows on Lottie's face. "Are you asking me on an actual date?"
"Yes. Will you go on a date with me?" We've said the word date a lot, but I don't want there to be any confusion about what I'm asking.
"You're serious?"
I clear my throat, realising that this is getting a lot more serious than I intended it to.
While I've been thinking of asking her on a date, I intended to have more of a plan when I did it, rather than just blurting it out when we're supposed to be having lunch and then studying.
"I like spending time with you, and you could be my.
.." I trail off, not wanting to say the word mate out loud and put more pressure on her than there needs to be.
It's not like a mate bond is undeniable, though it does make some things harder to resist, but it comes with expectations that are hard to ignore.
She swallows hard. "I know," she whispers.
Surprise shoots through me, and I completely forget about the food in front of me, turning so that I'm facing her instead. "You do?"
She meets my gaze. "I feel it whenever we're close enough."
I take a shaky breath, trying to think straight and not let myself get too affected by how close she is to me. "I didn't know if fairies could tell."
"I didn't know if demons could," she responds. "But I think the answer is that not all fairies can. But I've heard enough about it to know what it means when I think the word when I'm around you."
"Are we really not saying the word?" I ask.
"No. Not yet. Not until we know if it's something we want to be true."
It takes everything I have in order not to tell her that I need it to be true. I know that's not the point she's trying to make, and it's exactly why she's not saying mate, and why I should respect her wishes and not say it out loud either, even if every part of me wants to.
"So, a date?" she asks. "What do you have in mind?"
"That depends. Do you want something like a meal? Something fun? Something chill?"
"Do you really have suggestions for all of those?" she asks curiously.
"No, but I can think of something with enough time," I promise. "So? What kind of date do you want?"
"Maybe the fun kind?"
An idea springs to mind. "Have you been to the magi-tag place in town?"
She frowns. "No?"
"Me neither, but I've gone to other magi-tag places. We could go."
"It's an interesting choice for a date," Lottie muses.
"You said you wanted fun," I point out.
"All right, but you can't be upset when I beat you," she jokes.
I chuckle. "Then I'll make sure we're on the same team and we can win together."
"Don't tell me you're a sore loser?" It's impossible to miss the fact that she's more relaxed now, and I like that a lot.
"Didn't you hear, I'm a prince," I remind her. "Of course I'm a sore loser."
She laughs and picks her fork up, reminding me that we're supposed to be eating. "You can't be that bad. I can't imagine Sophia's a good loser either, and you can't both win all the time."
"Or can we?" I tease. "Twins have special powers."
"I'm only interested in one twin."
"That's fine by me," I promise. "And Sophia is a worse loser than me. But that doesn't stop me beating her."
She smiles in a way that makes my heart constrict and the urge to reach out and touch her grow within me.
It's going to be a long study session if this is how I'm going to feel throughout it.
But it will be worth it to get to spend time with Lottie, and it will just let me look forward to our date more.