“Thank you, Sadie. You helped tremendously.”
She nodded. “Thanks for the drink. Next time, buy one for yourself. You need it more than I do.”
***
Bliss had never felt so isolated in her life. Drake had asked her not to leave the building until he was able to deal with Zina. That meant she had two options. Sit in her apartment and try to work on another card, or sit in the bar and socialize. She had tried watching TV, but there was nothing on she wanted to watch. Angie didn’t have a way to record shows, and Bliss hadn’t planned to live there long enough to care.
She didn’t dare get hooked on a soap opera. Her schedule wouldn’t allow for it, although she’d heard viewers could miss several episodes and still pick up where they’d left off. Sounded like some kind of ripple in the time-space continuum.
She really didn’t feel like socializing. Something as bizarre as learning there were dragons in the world made “Look at this adorable necklace I got at a flea market” seem inane. She didn’t think she could concentrate on designing her cards, and there might not be any books that would hold her attention when her mind inevitably wandered to dragons… Hey, wait. Maybe I can find an ebook on dragons!
It was a long shot. She was fairly sure anything she read would be legend, but as Drake had said, “Legends come from somewhere.” Maybe she could do some digging and find out more than what she knew now… which was next to nothing.
She grinned. Wouldn’t it blow Drake’s mind if I could spout a few dragon facts he hadn’t told me yet?
But what if she blew her own mind? And how would she know fact from legend? She dropped down onto her bed. “Argh! All this stuff is mucking up my mind.”
Damn it. I’m going to talk to the one person who has never deserted me. The smartest, most loyal friend I have… me.
She rifled through her purse and grabbed the little notebook she carried just in case ideas struck while she was on a subway or shopping or anywhere away from her computer. It came with a little pencil she liked because she could erase the stupid words and leave only the good ones when she eventually made it home.
She wrote, Dear damn diary…
“Heh-heh. Good start. Give yourself hell, Bliss. If anyone can take it, you can.”
What was I thinking? Maybe my mother was right. “No, no. Scratch that.”
She flipped the pencil over and scrubbed the ridiculous words off the paper.
A dragon? Seriously? A dragon. I think I’ve finally met a guy who might be worth a shot, and he turns out to be some kind of circus freak.
I’d never have believed him if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Transform? Yeah, right… Then he did it! Ack!
I keep waiting to wake up and find out this is just a crazy nightmare. Nope. I’ve pinched myself and then slapped myself for pinching myself. Still not popping out of any coma.
I’ve even wondered if I was drugged. Drake never slipped me any pills. He didn’t even bring me a beer. Nope. Nothing went into my mouth except, well… him. Heh-heh.
Hey, I wonder if dragon penis can cause hallucinations? Naw. That doesn’t make sense. Because if it does, that means he’s a dragon and I didn’t hallucinate anything but the truth.
“Oh my God.” Bliss slapped the side of her head and stared at the words she had just written. She sighed and mumbled her own reassurance. “It’s okay… no one is going to read this. Just go ahead and let out all the crazy.”
And while we’re at it, no wonder he said he can’t get me pregnant. We’re not even the same species! Oh, man. If we ever got married, my mother would be in seventh heaven until she learned that little fun fact. Then she’d descend to the seventh circle of hell and never be seen again.
Why do I care what my mother thinks? Haven’t I always known she means well, but…
Yeah, there are no words following that “but.” Never have been. Never will be. Some things are better left alone.
So, back to Drake. What am I supposed to do with this information? He seemed relieved after he told me, but now I’m the one who’s all jiggy. I don’t know how I’ll feel next time I look at him… if there is a next time. Didn’t he say that biker chick was probably setting the fires and he had to stop her?
I may not have known him long, but one thing I’m certain of—he won’t hit a girl. I doubt he’d even fight back unless his life depended on it, and it well might. She must be some kind of psycho to beat him up and then set fires all over the place. All because he brought me flowers? I swear, if he lives through this, I’ll ask him never to bring me flowers again.