Page 86 of Soar

This fucking tease. Gregori could count on one hand the number of times Salem had teased him, and to see him doing it while on a date sent Gregori’s head spinning. He’d tease back, but only after he got his brain firing again. Right now, it was too busy crooning and making happy noises to be of any use.

Thankfully, the server returned a moment later, saving him from blurting out all kinds of ridiculous things. He shoved the warm, crusty bread with the soft interior into his mouth as he listened to the specials.

“Would you like a selection of cheese to start?” the dark-haired server inquired.

“No, I’m good. Salem is giving me all the cheese I can handle.”

“Wine. Let me order some wine while we figure out our meals,” Salem cut in when the server just looked confused.

Gregori placed his flowers on the edge of the table and turned his attention to his menu, leaving the wine selection to Salem. The rest of the dinner passed enjoyably, and the food ended up being as spectacular as Dimitri’s claims.

But it didn’t compare to Gregori’s lively dinner companion. Salem told story after story of university mischief and shenanigans, from streaking across the campus to cadaver mayhem. There were even a few mentions of childhood nonsense with Sam. The only thing he didn’t talk about was work. There were a few times it seemed like he came close, but Salem caught himself at the last second, smiled, and changed the direction of the conversation.

It wasn’t until they were sharing a delicious flaky fruit tart that Gregori called him out over it.

“Do you miss it?”

Salem blinked wide eyes at him. “College?”

“The hospital. Your job.”

“Oh! Nah. I’m good.”

Gregori totally didn’t believe the ridiculous denial.

He shook his head as he stabbed a strawberry, then held it out on the end of his fork toward Salem. “I don’t want the hospital and your job to be a dirty word between us. Yes, I think you pushed yourself a little too hard, but you also saved a lot oflives, and the kids loved you. I’m proud of all you accomplished there.”

A soft blush stained Salem’s cheeks as he bit the strawberry off the fork and chewed. “Well, a little, I guess. Alexis sent an email, updating me on a few of the patients I was particularly worried about, and she told me which doctors were assigned which of my patients. They’re all in good hands, so I find myself thinking about it a lot less than I would have expected. Definitely less than when I was here before for Sam’s bonding ceremony. But I don’t find myself missing it, per se. Maybe just the routine and the camaraderie. I’m more excited about what I’m learning here with the other mages. And, to be honest, it’s only been three days. Right now, it feels more like I’m on vacation. I might miss it later. Are you worried?”

“You did cite your job as one of the reasons why you wouldn’t move to Brazil,” Gregori pointed out. “I’m right to be worried.”

“Eh. Yeah, okay, good point. But it wasn’t so much the job, it was turning my life upside down for a man and not having it work out. I’ve done it before. It…was an absolute disaster, and I didn’t want to do it again.”

“You were scared.”

“True, but that’s not a good reason to hurt other people or to run from things. It’s just…I had this set plan in my head for my life, and I couldn’t fathom changing it for a guy who was little more than a stranger. Yet, if I’d sat down and simply talked to you, or called my brother and talked to him, so much frustration and animosity could have been avoided. You would have at least felt more comfortable about telling me you were sick. I’m sorry.”

Gregori flipped over his hand and squeezed Salem’s. “Don’t. You have nothing to apologize for. Just because we’re fated mates doesn’t mean our coming together is easy. It’s still a relationship that requires work. You had zero reason to trust me when we first met. I’m glad we’re getting a shot now. So, no moreregrets tonight.” He lifted Salem’s hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across the knuckles. “Now, do you have something else planned for our night out?”

“I do.” He twisted in his seat and motioned to the hostess. She smiled and hurried over with a large brown envelope that she handed to him. When Salem turned back to him, he was back to bouncing in his seat. His grin was so wide it nearly split his face in half. “This is for you.”

“I wasn’t expecting a gift. This is too much, Salem,” Gregori murmured as he opened the envelope and slid out a playbill forWest Side Story. But it wasn’t an ordinary playbill. It was covered in autographs from the cast who were currently performing the musical at Teatro Riachuelo Rio.

“I know we talked about going to seeWickedtogether for a date, but the touring company isn’t coming to town for another four months.” Salem paused, reached inside his jacket, and pulled out a pair of tickets. “I’ve got us covered for that performance. However, you did stateWest Side Storywas one of your favorite musicals, and it just happens to be in town right now. So, I got us tickets to tonight’s performance.”

Gregori dropped his gaze back down to the playbill he was very carefully holding in both of his hands as his brain tried to remember how to make words. His mate had not only gotten him tickets to one of his favorite musicals, but he’d also managed to acquire a signed playbill for him.Salem added something to his hoard! And he’d gotten additional tickets to a musical four months away.

It was almost like he was planning to stay with Gregori here in Brazil.

He was already starting to plan their life together.

“Unless you’re not in the mood to see a play tonight,” Salem said a little slowly, uneasiness creeping into his tone. “It’s okay if you’re not. I was also thinking we could?—”

“No!” Gregori’s head shot up. He’d been silent too long and Salem had started to panic. This needed to be fixed. He had to stop his dragon from hopping around in his chest and squealing like a six-year-old. “A play sounds amazing. Perfect.” He shifted the playbill to his left hand and glanced at his watch. “But if we’re going to make the curtain, we’ll need to leave now.”

Salem’s grin returned and he signaled for the check while Gregori carefully placed the playbill back into the protective envelope. Salem paid the bill and summoned the driver over to pick them up. From the tiny restaurant, they were whisked across the city to Teatro Riachuelo Rio, where Gregori got to share his first love with his true love. It was the perfect night. Most of the performance was spent holding Salem’s hand as they lost themselves in the music, colorful costumes, and performance.

Gregori had traveled around the world, watched plays and musical performances on some of the grandest stages of all, but nothing compared to spending this moment with his mate. To knowing Salem had planned all of this with him in mind.

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