Page 22 of Shade
Shade
The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. Diego went to work, and sometimes he called me during his lunch break. Sometimes, I only saw him once he came home and I went overto visit. I'd thought about broaching the subject of me coming to work with him more than once, but I'd decided against it.
Maybe we could do that once we were closer, but right now, it might be too much for Diego. I didn't want to hover, or make him feel like I thought he couldn't take care of himself.
It was Friday, and I was counting down the minutes until Diego went home so I could visit him while also planning our date tomorrow.
I'd asked him yesterday if he'd want to go on a date with me on Saturday, and he'd said yes. While I couldn't be physically by his side, I would be in his shadow, and with my new phone, I'd be able to talk to him the whole time.
I'd worried that wouldn't be enough, that it wouldn't feel like a date to Diego, but he'd waved me off. He'd said that as long asheknew I was there, it was enough for him. I hoped he was right, because I wanted tomorrow to be good for him.
Keoni and Zamir had helped me a lot. While I knew what I wanted to do with Diego tomorrow, I had no idea what the best places around town were. Zamir and Keoni had made a lot of trips ever since Draven created a wheelchair that allowed supes with non-human lower halves to hide away parts of themselves so they could go out in the human realm without raising suspicion.
Zamir looked completely human, so he knew his way around town, and with both of their help, I had a mental map of all the places I wanted to take Diego to, and the best shadowy corners near every spot so Diego wouldn't have to waste his hard-earned money on cab fares. He would have to pay for our meals, though, but he'd assured me it wasn't a problem, while the headmaster—upon hearing about my date via the Sanctuary grapevine—had just handed me a stack ofbills that had made Diego gasp when I told him the amount over call earlier today.
All in all, everything was set, and all I needed to do now was wait for Diego to call me tomorrow, and then I could teleport to his shadow and take him to the best date ever.
"You're really excited, huh?"
I blinked, then remembered Zamir was still here. Crap, how long had I been lost in thought while he waited patiently?
"Oh, sorry! I got distracted. And yes, I am."
Zamir grinned, making his dark brown eyes light up. He was dressed in a turtleneck like usual, this one a soft blue shade with dark blue jeans. His curly black hair was like a crown on his head, a singular ringlet falling over his forehead. He had a full, styled beard, and a trimmed mustache the same dark shade as his hair. While he appeared to be in his late twenties, I knew he was much older, though not his actual age. He could be anywhere from a few decades to a few centuries old.
"You know, with all of you finding mates one by one, I'm starting to feel a little jealous," he joked, but I couldn't help wondering if a part of him wasn't serious.
"If we trace the pattern, it's very likely you'll find your mate next. Well, you or Keoni," I amended, and he raised a brow at me.
"What pattern?"
"Well, Khush and Haruto are both Forest members, right? They found their mates one after the other, so it's possible someone from the Forest area will be next. Draven's aroace and doesn't go out at all, so it's unlikely he'll meet his platonic mate anytime soon. That leaves you and Keoni."
"You don't live in Forest," Zamir pointed out, clearly determined to poke holes in my theory. Then again, two instancesweren't enough to form a theory in the first place, but that wasn't going to stop me.
"That's true. Diego only found me because of the glitch in the wards that allowed him to enter the Sanctuary, and that could be lucky timing, or an intervention on Fate's part."
Zamir shook his head, then reached over to clap my shoulder. "Whatever it was, I'm happy for you. I've always hated the fact that you were stuck here alone."
"It wasn't so bad," I assured him, and I meant it. Before the Sanctuary, before Diego, I'd spent centuries alone. Compared to that, this was heaven.
"You know, you should come with me to the dining room for lunch. You can hide in my shadow too, right?"
"Yeah," I agreed, perking up. Diego was eating with his class today, so there would be no calls during lunch time.
"Awesome! Then you can join me. I'll slip you a dish into your shadow. You can call my phone, and I'll put it on speaker so you can talk to everyone. It'll be fun."
When I was in my home, I didn't need to hide in the shadows, which made talking possible. But outside, I needed to be completely inside a shadow to shield myself from the light, which meant I'd had no way of talking to anyone until I got my phone.
Eating with everyone did sound fun, and it would be a good distraction from overthinking about my date tomorrow.
"Let's do this!"
Having lunch with everyone made me feel like a part of the family in a way I'd never experienced before, and I understood now why the others liked eating together every day. I pictured Diego moving in with me someday, and doing this with me every day, and it made me unbelievably happy.
If our date tomorrow went well, I'd be one step closer to making it a reality.
Ten
