Page 18 of D'Vaire or Nothing
“Okay.”
Although Gryphon made a big production of inhaling deeply then releasing it annoyingly slowly, Shane wasn’t worried. They were best friends as well as mates, and Shane detected no genuine stress on Gryphon’s indisputably handsome face.
“It doesn’t matter how many years we’re together or how often you decide to offer me blowjobs of apology, I will always hate the nickname Gryphie.”
Shane chuckled and wrapped his free arm around the dark jacket of Gryphon’s suit. “Thanks for sharing.”
“What if I found something equally annoying to call you, like Shae-Shae or something?”
“You can do better than that. However, no matter what nickname you come up with, I’m not going to answer to it.”
Gryphon’s black brows drew together in a deep scowl as they strolled through the area of the resort ripe with restaurants and shops. “So, why do you expect me to put up with Gryphie?”
“Easy. You’re nicer than me. Everyone knows I’m the moody, dramatic, spoiled one of this relationship.”
“Normally, I’d disagree with those statements, but you’re ruining my ability to fully enjoy the amount of stress my body is handling right now as it strains to digest the truly appalling amount of food we scarfed down.”
“The staff must be gossiping about us. Two professional dancers out on the town and we both ordered two entrees.”
“And dessert. We’re pigs.”
“That is probably insulting to pig shifters.”
“Do those exist?”
Shane shrugged and lifted a finger to his face to dislodge the mascara-coated eyelashes at the corner of his eye that were determined to get tangled a million times that night. “Why not? I’m a pony. You’re a griffin. There are all kinds of beasts, including dragons. Why not something common like a pig?”
“Why aren’t they in the Council?”
“Baby, I don’t pay any attention to politics, how would I know?”
“I don’t know. Any theories?”
“Not a one.”
“Do you want to grab a drink at this fancy bar full of hearts?” Gryphon asked as they grew closer to the largeestablishment. It was about halfway full of people lucky enough to be considered part of the enormous D’Vaire clan.
Shane opened his mouth to answer in the affirmative, but a sound caught his attention. “Do I hear music?”
“Your hearing is better than mine. Lead the way.”
It was at the tip of Shane’s tongue to argue that Gryphon wasn’t inferior to him in any way, but he reined in the part of himself that hated to hear anyone disparage his mate. As a hybrid, Gryphon’s ears weren’t as finely tuned as Shane’s. That annoyed Shane. Fate should not have slighted Gryphon and granted him anything less than stellar abilities.
Ignoring the unruly part of him that wanted to bash the face of anyone who mistreated Gryphon, Shane allowed his pony to lead him toward another bar not that far from Hearts. The lavish hallway they were traversing widened significantly, and they saw that the bar was in the center of the floor. Instead of walls, there were fancy iron railings separating it from walking patrons.
In addition to the drinks area, there was a low stage. Tonight, instead of a band, they had a DJ playing slow moody music.
“Want to dance with me, Shane?”
Six days a week, Shane was in a studio at Gryphon’s side. With their father acting as choreographer and director, they were often worked past their known limits. Once, Shane had been sure there was far more to life than hollowing out his emotions to give audiences a stellar performance and had ended his career. But combining his soul with Gryphon’s had reignited the passion Shane had for dance in a way that exceeded the love he’d had as a youth for his chosen profession.
Despite the way Shane and Gryphon busted their asses each week, they never tired of taking the floor together.
“I’d love to.”
“Want to grab a drink first?”
“I think after everything we ate, we should probably make some space in our bellies out on the dance floor.”
