Page 27 of Frederick
I looked at my cousin and raised an eyebrow.
“He’s curious is all. And excited. He won’t admit it, but I think he’s a bit lonely, despite Eli being next door on the other side.”
I relented and instead of grabbing the to-go container, I instead opted for a tray. I placed a plate and a bowl on it, then started down the line. It was probably a good thing that Sebastian had been able to talk me into eating in the cafeteria with him because my plate and bowl were both overflowing by the time I reached the end of the line. Coffee was next. I had a mug filled with the steaming liquid and then I started toward the first available table. Sebastian was right behind me, and once we sat down, he didn’t wait long to start asking questions.
“I’ve read the files. Everyone who was on the rotation has.”
“What files?” I asked.
“Personnel files. Specifically on Dominic.”
Immediately my guard was up and I glared at Sebastian.
“Stop. It’s not like that. We all know he’s not a bad guy, and I honestly really like him. But what I was trying to get at wasthat the files are quite flat and don’t really share with us what a person is like in real life. I was curious if you could help with that.” Sebastian sighed. “Drew loves Caspian, but with Caspian being so sick with pregnancy sickness, he’s not getting to spend a whole lot of time with him lately.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Just basics. What does Dominic like to do? Does he read? Watch movies? Things like that.”
I nodded. “Well, he does read, but it’s mostly suspense thrillers.” That had been a surprise to me when I’d helped him unpack his books. He had a large collection, and had easily filled a couple of bookshelves with all of his books.
“Really?” Sebastian asked. “Thrillers? But he seemed so nice when we had dinner.”
I glared. “He is nice,” I told him before I tore off a piece of pancake and tossed it at him. Sebastian looked down at the sticky piece of quick bread before he scowled at me. I raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Sebastian shook his head, used some magic to clean his shirt, and then rolled his eyes at me. “Stop. I wasn’t saying he wasn’t nice. Only that I was a bit surprised because he was so nice at dinner and I wouldn’t have expected him to go for thrillers. Romances, absolutely. Or even something sci-fi. But not thriller.”
I shook my head. “Whatever. He likes thrillers. What of it?”
Sebastian shook his head. “That won’t do. Drew doesn’t like thrillers so he can’t relate to him through that. What else?”
I chuckled. “We don’t really watch a whole lot of television. Dominic prefers to have discussions after our supper. It’s really helped us to connect.”
“Really? You can’t give me anything at all that can help Drew feel like he has something in common with Dominic? He’s a lotyounger than we are, and I know that bothers him at times. He feels like we’ve lived entire lives before he was ever born.”
I looked at Sebastian to see if he was serious. Apparently he was and I became concerned. “We have lived entire lives before he was born. Multiple times,” I told him. Drew was in his late twenties while the rest of us were several centuries old. I didn’t know exactly what he would have in common with Dominic, if anything.
“Fine. What have the two of you talked about? Maybe there’s something there that I can help Drew relate to.” I shook my head.
“Dominic and I talk. But in all honesty, most of the time we have together is spent in our bedroom, if you understand what I’m saying.”
“Seriously? You two don’t have anything other than sex in common?”
I narrowed my eyes. “He’s pregnant and doesn’t have any sickness symptoms. It’s already caused a spike in his libido. Yes, we talk. Yes, we have lots of things in common. I’m not sure what that has to do with Drew though. Just tell Drew to talk to. him. Dominic likes pasta, and loves to cook. The non-magical way. He likes to read thrillers, and loves to go for walks along the canal in Venice. He misses Italy, and hopes to visit someday in the near future.” I was going to take him there as soon as I could. I wanted him to have his walks along the canal. Unfortunately, until we were certain it was safe, he had agreed to remain here in Montana for my own sanity.
“Walks along the canal? Do you think he’d like to go for walks here?”
I nodded. “In the summer, yes. Dominic isn’t exactly a fan of the winter weather here. He wasn’t a big fan of the weather in Amherst either. Do you think he and Drew will have fun goingfor a walk in the spring or summer? Absolutely. But not until the weather warms up.”
Sebastian nodded. “That I can certainly understand and appreciate. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the cold here. I don’t think it would be nearly as bad as it is if the windchills weren’t quite so cold. When the humidity is high, it just feels so much colder.”
I agreed with that whole heartedly. Was I trying to run back to Spain and it’s more temperate climate? No. Would I move back to Europe with Dominic? Absolutely. If he told me tomorrow that he really wanted to move back to Europe, and wanted to raise our family there, I would resign my position and relocate. It was that simple.
“Have Drew talk about pregnancy. Maybe have him go over and just hang out. I don’t know what to tell you. He can go and ask him what his favorite meal is to cook.”
“Trust me, I’ve tried to tell him that. He just feels as if he’s lacking when compared to Dominic. Drew is a shifter among a family of mostly warlocks. Sure, there’s Dimitri, but…and to quote Drew…‘he’s a flippin’ dragon, Seb. A dragon. Complete awesomeness there.’”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. That was true—Dimitri was a dragon. A rather large one. One who also happened to be the grandson of the created dragon, Alpha Sergei. So yeah, there was that.
