Four

Khush

"You sure you don't want me to stay?" Bellamy asked, and I shot him a look.

"I'm sure."

Out of all my friends, I wasn't really all that close to Bellamy. He was one of the newest residents of the Sanctuary, and he was a human. But I knew that out of the people able to accompany me, he was the least likely to gossip about me and my date with the others.

Bellamy listened whenever someone talked to him, but he never said more than he needed to unless he was talking to his mate. I respected the hell out of him for that.

"Okay, then. I'll be at the coffee shop over there. Text me when you're done, and I'll come get you."

The headmaster had opened a portal for us close to the movie theater, and it'd stay open—but only accessible by Bellamy and me—until we returned. Bellamy could just as easily go home and come back later, but he knew that, so I didn't mention it.

"Sounds good. Thank you for coming with me," I said, and Bellamy nodded before making his way to the coffee shop.

I'd parked myself out of the main path, my senses on alert for anything out of the ordinary.

Slipping my tongue out, I scented the air. While I could use my nose, my tongue was much better at parsing all the smells, and I preferred it to my nose.

I didn't have to wait long before I spotted Dustin climbing out of a car. I watched him as he started walking toward me, and marveled again at how lucky I was.

Dustin looked stunning in a pink sweater, jeans that clung to his legs, and heeled boots that made him at least four inches taller than he was. A few strands of his wavy brown hair hung over his forehead, and his light blue eyes brightened the moment he spotted me. He waved at me as his pace increased, and he almost ran the rest of the way, coming to a stop before me.

"Hey," he said, panting slightly as he smiled at me.

"Hey, Dustin." I returned his smile, taking a moment to just admire him. He really was a stunning man.

Dustin glanced at his watch, then smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry I'm a bit late. We should get going if we don't want to miss the previews."

"Lead the way," I said, grabbing the wheels of my chair.

Dustin opened his mouth as if to say something before snapping it shut. Nodding, he turned around and started walking, and I wheeled after him, making sure not to trample anyone.

I knew exactly what Dustin had stopped himself from saying. He'd been about to offer his help, and I was glad he hadn't.

I'd spent most of my life swinging from tree to tree using my arms and tail, and I had more than enough strength to wheel this chair around for a few hours without breaking a sweat. As a naga, my strength was considerably more than the strongest human too.

"Here we are," Dustin said, and I stopped at his side, glancing up at the entrance of the movie theater. There was a ramp leading into the place, and I wheeled inside, Dustin following close by.

Dustin showed the tickets on his phone, and then we made our way to the lift. I'd never been in a lift before, and I was surprised how smooth the ride was. Humans sure knew how to get around their distinct lack of magic.

"This one's ours," Dustin said, pointing to a door. "There's still a few minutes left. Wanna get some snacks?"

"Sounds good," I said, wheeling toward the concession stand.

We picked a giant popcorn tub with cheesy popcorn, and some cold drinks. I placed the tray on my "lap," then followed Dustin to our screen.

The previews hadn't started yet, and the lights were still on, so we quickly made our way to the middle where a bunch of empty areas were coupled and sometimes grouped with seats.

"Here we are," Dustin said, stopping at a seat beside an empty spot. It was just the right distance from the screen so we wouldn't need to crane our necks, and the platform was just high enough that I could see over the head of the person in front of us.

Dustin took his seat as I parked my chair into the spot properly, and then glanced over at me. "Is this okay?"

For the first time, I noticed a hint of nerves in Dustin's actions, and I realized I wasn't the only one excited and anxious about this date.

"It's perfect," I assured him just as the lights dimmed, and he smiled, his blue eyes sparkling even more in the near dark.

The headmaster had spelled my eyes so they would look normal and brown, but I wondered what Dustin would think if he could see my real eyes. Would he think they were cool, or would he freak out?

Knowing his love of snakes, I assumed he would think I was wearing contact lenses to impress him, which wouldn't have been all that bad either. Maybe next time.

"Oh! It's starting!" Dustin exclaimed, his hand clamping down on mine.

I glanced over at him, meeting his wide eyes, and he quickly jerked his hand back, placing it firmly on his armrest.

Slowly, I raised my arm and placed it beside his, taking his hand in mine, and while he didn't look at me, his lips curved in a pleased smile.

Glad I was able to make him smile, I turned my attention to the screen, though I couldn't ignore just how soft and smooth his hand felt in mine. His hand, like the rest of him, was smaller than mine, and I wanted to keep holding it and hopefully never let go.

I could've spent the whole movie admiring his hand, but I turned my focus to the movie since he'd said he'd been looking forward to watching it.

Dustin brought his other hand over to grab some popcorn, pushing his shoulder into mine, and I realized placing the popcorn tub on my fake-lap had been a genius idea because now every time he wanted some popcorn, he'd have to press against me, pulling us closer every time.

At some point, Dustin removed the armrest between us after a small fight with it—I was 80 percent sure he'd broken something—and leaned more fully into me as our joined hands rested on my chair's wheel.

This date was going much, much better than I'd expected, and I hoped I hadn't just jinxed it.

Dustin

I wondered how Khush managed to look sexy at all times of the day. The other day, I'd met him in the morning, and he'd caught my eye the moment I walked into the shop. And now, he looked just as hot, maybe even more so since I knew more about him.

For our date, he'd dressed up in a white button-down with a denim jacket thrown over it, and a thick, heavy-looking cloth covered his lap, tucked around his hips. I assumed it was part of the 'strapping down' he'd mentioned, since the cloth seemed quite firmly wrapped around him, hiding his lower half from view. I didn't mind, though, since his upper half was already hotter than I could handle.

When he took my hand in his? I almost combusted right there. His palm was all tough skin and calluses, and I wondered if it was because of all the wheeling he had to do.

We watched the movie with minimal conversation, but when it was intermission, we talked about the movie at length, guessing how it'd end, declaring our favorite characters, pointing out how over the top certain scenes were. It was more fun than I'd had on a date in a long time, and I knew even before the movie ended that I would do everything in my power to hold onto Khush. He was unlike any of the men I'd dated before (in personality. Appearance-wise, I seemed to have a type, namely dark-haired dudes who looked like they could pick me up with one hand), and I really wanted to make this work.

After the movie was over, we left the room, dumped the empty tub and cups into the trash, and made our way outside. The weather had gotten cold in the last two hours, and I shivered slightly as a breeze washed over me. The sweater was warm enough, but I could almost feel my nose turning a few shades pinker from the cold.

"Are you okay?" Khush asked, and I glanced at him, smiling.

"Yep, I'm fine. What about you? Is your jacket warm enough?"

Khush nodded, and my smile widened. Hesitantly, I placed a hand on his shoulder, and when he didn't say anything, I left it there. We couldn't hold hands, but we could do this.

"Are you hungry? I made dinner reservations at a restaurant close by," I said, and Khush tilted his head to the side as if checking in with his stomach before nodding.

I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling as I squeezed his shoulder. "It's this way."

This time, I stuck to his side, making sure not to step in his way but keeping pace with him. I was as close as I could be without tripping us up, and when we reached the restaurant, I held the door open for Khush.

The host smiled as they greeted us, and then led us to our table. Like promised, it was out of the way, and yet cozy and pretty damned romantic. Khush expertly wheeled himself into the spot across from the only chair, and I took my seat as the host told us our server would be by soon.

"This place looks great," Khush said as he glanced around, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I was glad all my planning had panned out. I'd been worried something would go wrong at the last moment—like we'd lose our table, or the lift at the theater would be out of order—but everything had gone smoothly so far.

"It does, doesn't it? Are you having fun?" I asked as the server brought us drink menus. Khush asked for water, and I did the same. I wasn't much of a drinker except a beer with dinner sometimes.

Once the server left, Khush gazed at me, his light brown eyes boring into mine. For some reason, his eyes didn't look…right to me, as if they didn't match his face. It was a dumb thing to think, and I shook my head, waving off the thought.

"I am. Watching a movie on the big screen is very different from watching it on TV," he said, then added, "So is watching it with someone as stunning as you."

I sputtered, and my brain beeped loudly before going offline as I stared blankly at him. I restarted soon enough, waving a hand in front of my face as I tried to catch my breath.

"You can't say things like that!" I gasped out, flustered beyond belief. Then the rest of what he'd said sank in, and I asked, "Wait. You'd never been to the movies before?"

Khush shook his head, then ducked his head as if embarrassed. His arms rested on the table, and he drew figures on the wood with his finger as he spoke, eyes firmly rooted on his hands. "I don't really go out much. Yesterday, when we met, that was the first time I'd been out in a long time."

I had a feeling whatever I thought of as 'long' was nothing compared to the span he was talking about, but I didn't ask for clarification. We weren't close enough yet for me to go digging like that, so I asked him something else.

"The list you mentioned before. Can I ask what it is?"

Khush's eyes snapped up to mine, full of surprise. Had he not expected me to remember? Or had he forgotten he'd mentioned it?

Either way, it took him a moment to find his voice, and when he did, his eyes slid back to his hands as he spoke.

"It's a list of places I want to go now that I can, things I want to try. A bucket list of sorts."

A bucket list, huh?

"Have you had dinner in a restaurant before?" I asked, and Khush shook his head, then glanced up at me.

Smiling, I reached over and took his hand in mine, giving it a light squeeze. "So we've already crossed off two items from your list, huh? I'd love to cross off more of them with you if you'll have me."

Khush's eyes widened, and then he clasped my hand back, his grip just a tad too tight. "I'd love that."

I smiled and hoped Khush wouldn't break my heart, because despite every promise I'd made to myself, I was already in too deep.