Page 78 of How Not to Date an Angel

The heap of bubbles was up to their flat chest, and they chuckled softly before shutting the water off. With such a thick layer, they felt completely protected from the wandering gaze of any demon. So with a confidence they were hesitant to feel, they called out.

“I’m settled!”

There was a thump against the door before they heard Julian’s throat clear. “Awesome. Coming in,” he said.

The door pushed inward and Rami glanced over, met with… Julian’s back.

“Told you, I won’t peek. Let me just grab— you left your wine! Can’t have that,” he rambled, and gathered the pastry box and both their wine glasses before he attempted to walk backwards again.

Rami covered their mouth with a hand, stifling more laughter at Julian’s stiff movements.

“Please don’t fall,” Rami asked.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Julian muttered, and stopped about two feet away from the tub. He held a hand out behind him, Rami’s wine glass lopsided in his grip.

With an exasperated sigh, Rami took the glass.

“Hurry up and sit down,” Rami told him, smothering a laugh.

“I’m going, I’m going, jeez,” Julian retorted.

With a single deft move, he bent his knees and lowered himself to the floor as he crossed his legs.

Rami was staring right at the back of his head, horns—well, one of them—tall and proud, and unless Julianreallycranked his neck around, he wouldn’t be able to see Rami very well at all.

They relaxed a bit more and sipped their wine, feeling the warmth of the glass and a half they’d already had working through them.

Their face was flushed from the steam and they leaned their head back against the lip of the tub.

“How is it?” Julian asked.

Rami gazed down at the tub full of bubbles and back to the demon on their right.

“It’s lovely, actually,” Rami murmured.

“See? I have good ideas.”

“You hadonegood idea,” Rami pointed out.

“The wine and pastries was part of that, too.”

Their lips curled around the edge of their wine glass. “Okay, so three good ideas.”

“That’s basically a pattern,” Julian argued.

Rami rolled their eyes, amusement curling through them more than any kind of annoyance.

“So, now what?” Rami asked.

“Are you feeling relaxed?” Julian asked. The cardboard of the pastry box scraped as he opened it once more. “Which one do you want?”

“Pick for me,” Rami said, and wiped their hand on the towel Julian offered before he lifted a danish out. “Will you tear it in half?” Rami asked, and bit down on their lower lip as Julian sighed like it was such a chore.

“At least if I drop it you’ll still have the other half to try,” Rami explained.

They accepted the pastry from Julian when he handed it over blindly, and…

It felt really rather divine to eat a pastry from one hand and sip wine from another all while they soaked in the hot water, bubbles popping and whispering around them. Very indulgent.

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