Page 28 of Fire Dancing For Icey Dragons

I laugh. "Aren't all of them pretty much the same?"

"Yes. But sometimes it's nice to be reminded of that."

"Well, the pizza will arrive in ten minutes, and I have all the movies we decided on queued up."

"Great." She smiles at me, making my chest feel tighter. She gets onto my bed and props herself up, looking very at home.

"Though I'm somewhat surprised you're eating pizza." From all of the meals we've shared so far, I've learned a few things about Zara's eating habits, and one of them is definitely that pizza breaks several of her rules about what she can and can't eat.

"I love pizza," she responds. "And now competition season is over, I can eat some. Within reason, obviously."

"Ah." I hit play on the movie and send it to the large screen I normally use for gaming. "Your tea is on the windowsill. Piping hot, but if it gets too cold, there's a kettle over there."

"You have a kettle in your room?"

"Sometimes the walk from the kitchen to the bedroom is enough for my coffee to get too cold," I respond. "This way, I can have it boiling."

Zara laughs. "You're such a dragon."

"Correct." I take my seat next to her and pick up my mug. I hold out an arm so she can shuffle closer and she does, leaning her head against my shoulder. It's surprisingly natural, especially since we haven't had a date like this before. I was honestly surprised when she suggested it.

Zara lets out a contented sigh. "I love competing, but it's nice to be able to relax and know that I'm not going to have to for a bit."

"Ah, so you're already planning your comeback to competitive cheer?" I ask.

"I'd like to. If I can find a squad to join when I get a job," she responds. "It's one of the reasons I'm looking at a big city."

"Ah, that makes sense. Where are you thinking?"

"Birmingham, maybe. It's close enough to home that I can visit, but it's big enough to have everything I want." She pauses,but I don't have to ask what's going through her mind. "What about you?"

"Same, actually. Though it's not really near home, my family lives closer to London, but I'm not foolish enough to believe I can live there on a graduate salary."

Zara laughs. "No, probably not. So, we're going to try and be in the same place."

"So it seems."

"I mean, that's good for us, right? It means we can keep dating?"

"I'd like that," I respond.

She lets out a sigh of relief. "I was worried," she admits. "I know it's silly, but we started seeing each other so close to graduation, and I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd wanted to call things off because it's impractical, but that was also going to hurt."

"I don't want to stop seeing you, Zara," I assure her.

"Good." She leans in and I know exactly what she has planned. I close the gap between us and press my lips against hers, kissing her deeply and hoping she knows I mean what I say. It's going to be a hard road ahead, especially when we have no idea what's in store for us once we leave the academy, but I'm certain it's going to be worth it.

Chapter 17

ZARA

Approaching the Sapphire Sparks practice grounds for the final time is a lot more bittersweet than I ever imagined it would be. I've been part of the team for four years, spending countless hours here and at the pitches cheering on the Obscure Academy sports teams. And now it's time for me to say goodbye to all of that.

I know I have the rest of my life to experience, and hopefully, other cheer squads to be part of, but saying goodbye to this part of my life is going to be difficult. At least I can do it with the satisfaction of being able to say that I led the squad to the trophy now proudly displayed in the academy's trophy room.

Yuri gives me a reassuring smile as I appear and I take heart from that. She knows as well as I do that saying goodbye is hard, especially as we're passing on the leadership to someone else.

"Hey everyone," I say.

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