Page 1 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Ryan
Iwokeup with my head resting on my best friend’s shoulder. The TV in front of us was already playing the credits to the movie we’d been watching and without wanting to, I yawned.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Finn joked, and I realized that I was leaning on him. He was warm and comfortable and he smelled nice—a bit like the popcorn we’d had and a lot like himself.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doze off,” I said, reluctantly lifting my head from his shoulder.
“I didn’t mind,” Finn said, and I wasn’t sure whether he was talking about the fact that I’d fallen asleep, or that I’d used him as a pillow. We were friends, but we didn’t cuddle much. Truth was, I didn’t trust myself to get that close to him while I was awake, too afraid that the urge to kiss him might get the better of me.
Finn stopped the movie and stood to take the DVD out of the player. “I thought this was your favorite of the bunch. Didn’t think it would make you fall asleep.”
“Not the movie’s fault!” We’d been watching Disney movies lately as Finn had never seen them as a child. For reasons I couldn’t imagine, they weren’t too popular among dragons. Tonight, I’d picked The Lion King, which really was my favorite.
I’d wanted to spend a nice evening with my friend because I was spending the following week with my parents. Or that’s what I’d told Finn. In reality, I suspected we both knew I was going to see my boyfriend, but he didn’t like to hear that, and so I didn’t mention it.
Of course, there was onemorereason for my visit, but I didn’t tell Finn about that either. My boyfriend wanted something that was in this house, and that night was my last chance to get my hands on it.
I really didn’t want to steal from Finn or his family, but…
Finn snapped his fingers in front of my face and made me look up. “Hey, I asked you something. You alright?”
“Yeah.” I shook my head. “Sorry. I was just thinking and got distracted.”
Finn’s expression grew concerned. “You do that a lot lately.”
“I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“It's cool. But you know you can tell me if something's troubling you, right? I mean, that's what friends are for, after all.”
“Yeah.” I made myself smile, hoping it looked genuine.
“Well, anyway, I asked if you’re hungry. My mom’s out, but she’s prepared some food for us.”
“I could eat.”
“Great. C’mon then.” Finn headed toward the kitchen and I followed. His mother was one of the few rich dragon ladies who… wasn’t much like a rich dragon lady at all. She made all her food herself, and she was pretty damn good at it too.
“You’ll have to tell your mom thank you from me.”
“You can tell her yourself when you’re back. You won’t be gone for long, will you?”
“No, probably not.”
“I’ll miss you, so hurry back, alright?” Finn entered the kitchen and shot me a grin over his shoulder that warmed my heart. Finn had the brightest smile out of anyone I knew. And it was always real. His honesty was one of my favorite things about him. He didn’t just say things—he meant them, too. He was really going to miss me, and he wasn’t afraid to say it. Sometimes I wondered what it might be like to date someone like him, but I tried not to linger on those thoughts. They weren’t productive, or realistic.
I stepped into the kitchen after Finn and sat at the small table. This house had a dining room too, of course, but when it was just the two of us, we liked to eat here. “You can focus more on your band while I’m gone.”
“Yeah, but who’ll watch all those terrible horror movies with me?” Finn pulled a large bowl with food out of the fridge. His mother always cooked as if she had at least five children to feed instead of just one. “Zed is busy with his mate and his baby these days, and Lowen gets too scared.”
“Oh, like you don’t get scared.”
“But I don’t mind getting scared!”
“You’re weird.”
Finn put the bowl in the microwave and turned to me. “I just believe that you have to face your fears, you know?”
“I guess you're right about that,” I said, although I'd never been particularly good at that myself.
