Dragon Soul

Chapter 11

11

"So, you're getting married?" Porter fiddled with the straw in his drink, stirring it around and creating a mini whirlpool I couldn't take my eyes off.

"Yes," I answered in a small voice.

"Do you know who too?"

"No. I'm the younger dragon. Mum let it slip that my mate is male but that's all I know."

"I see."

We lapsed into awkward silence. I didn't know what he was thinking but if it was anything like where my thoughts were going, it wasn't nice.

"I mean, I'm twenty-four, you had to know that..."

"I know," he replied. "It's just not something I expected to be confronted with."

"No, me neither."

"Are you looking forward to it?"

"Like a root canal," I muttered.

He laughed. "I feel the same way. I just don't see how marrying someone I don't know will lead to a happy life."

My stomach dropped. We both had mates waiting for us. I knew this. And yet...the idea of him with another woman lanced through my heart.

"That's how I feel too." I took a sip of the drink Zara had provided me with, doing everything I could to avoid his gaze. If the two of us weren't careful, we were going to both end up heart broken and with nothing to show for it. And if there was one thing that would ensure an unhappy marriage, it'd be being in love with another man.

No. I wasn’t in love with him and he certainly didn’t like me in that way either. Not after this.

“So…” I curled the headset cable around my finger.

Porter coughed. “So.”

I racked my brain, hoping to find something to talk about. Anything to break the awkward silence. So, I picked the first thing that popped to mind. “Why is your gamer handle Pete?”

“Ummm…” He ran his hand over his mouth, the stubble of his beard scratchy sounding. “I’m not sure you want to hear this story.”

Great. I had to pick the question that made him uncomfortable. I couldn’t stop myself and placed my hand over his. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just difficult” He stared at our hands and I quickly pulled mine away. I didn’t want to make this harder than it needed to be.

I smiled, hoping to be reassuring. “I can handle difficult.”

“My brother’s name is Pete. Well…” His voice broke. “Was.”

Instinctively, I reached out for his hand again and gave him a soft squeeze. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to continue.”

Porter ignored me, the words falling from his lips. “He was the talented one. The handsome one. The one with the bright future.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “At least, isn’t that what you’re supposed to say when your younger twin dies?”

“I guess?”

He chuckled bitterly. “That’s what I’ve been telling everyone. Truth is… Pete was an asshole. He always asked me for help, but pretended he came up with it. He disrespected all women, elderly people, and cats. There wasn’t a red light he wouldn’t run and he always put the empty milk carton back in the fridge. He wasn’t a great guy, not by a long shot.”

I bit my lip. “Okay?”

“I know, I’m awful. You’re not supposed to think those things when your brother dies.”

“Hey, you’re not awful.”

“Am I not? My brother died, but all I have are bad memories. It isn’t fair. He wasn’t supposed to go before we mended bridges, not before I could make him a good man. That’s what I was supposed to do. I was his big brother, even if it was just by a couple of minutes. But I never got to. He died an asshole.”

“Then why did you use his name?”

“Cause he’s my brother… I figured if I paid some kind of homage to him, to do something to remember him by… I could make Pete into the man he should’ve become.”

I stared at him, his eyes swimming with memories of the past. Suddenly aware I was still holding his hand, I pulled it back and scratched my neck. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“No.” He reached for my hand again. “I wanted to tell you.”

I stared down, his nails surprisingly clean and polished for a man. There was something to the way he held my hand, something sweet and yet strong. I could get used to it.

No, those were dangerous thoughts. Porter and I were both getting married. Soon. This was already hard enough.

“Do you need some space?”

He shook his head. “No. Unless this is your way of asking for some space? I know it’s a lot to take.”

“I don’t think so.” I reached for my cup and gulped down the last sip. “But I could use another drink.”

Porter nodded. “Coming right up.”

“Thank you.” It hadn’t been a hint, but it was nice that he was so attentive.

The scent of burnt coals brushed past me. “Hey, baby.” An arm curled around my shoulders and I stared at the grey eyes of a stranger.

“Excuse me?” I shrugged his arm away and scooted as far back as I could. I tried to catch a glimpse of the bar, but couldn’t see Porter or Zara.

He clacked his tongue. “You by yourself?”

I stared the sleazeball up and down. I recognised him. He’d been sitting by the bar the entire time and couldn’t have missed both me and Porter come out of the bathroom. “No, I’m not alone, but you knew that. You waited until my friend left.”

“Tell me something ‘bout you.”

“No thanks.” Couldn’t this guy take a hint? If only I wasn’t trapped by the rows of computers and tables.

“You’re a wild one, aren’t you? What’s your sign?”

“My sign is stop,” I answered sarcastically.

He chuckled. “Your star sign, baby.”

“I’m not your baby.”

He moved in a little closer, the burning coal intensifying. “But you could be.”

I held out my hand. I didn’t like when people invaded my personal space. Why men thought this was acceptable, I’d never understand. “I’ll pass.”

“Hey, man. What are you doing?” Porter put two drinks down and puffed up his chest. His green shirt looked really nice around his arms. Not that I was paying attention.

Grey-eyes ruckled. “Dude. I’m talking to the lady.”

“No, he’s not.” I stood up so Porter didn’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t want this guy to talk to me. “He just came over and started chatting to me.”

Porter’s nose flared and a puff of smoke escaped from his nostrils. A low rumble emitted from his chest, low and dangerous. Something dark flashed through his eyes, something terrifying. He turned to grey-eyes, his voice deeper than before. “Get. Out.”

Grey-eyes shrugged. “Listen man, the lady was sitting by herself. Fair game.”

“The lady is spoken for,” Porter thundered. The ground shook, the makings of an earthquake rolling from him. “Get lost.”

“I ain't taking orders from you.”

Another rumble coursed through him, his brown eyes flitting green. His pupils turned into slits as some scales rippled across his face.

Oh, holy rocks. Porter’s dragon was emerging and it didn’t seem to be a very gentle one. Why was grey-eyes not just leaving us to it?

“Move.” Porter grabbed the guy by his shirt, his muscles coiling under his shirt. An image of his avatar flashed through my head and it was if he was standing right in front of me. This wasn’t Porter, this was Pete3, the purple warrior.

“Oi, get you filthy hands off of me.” Grey-eyes shoved my friend back and I sucked in a breath. This wasn’t going to end well. For him.

More green scales popped up along his arm, his fist connecting to grey-eyes temple. With a loud thud, the guy tumbled to the ground. Smoke curled out of Porter’s nose and mouth, his eyes flashing menacingly. “Don’t. Get. Up.”

I clawed over the chairs and stepped over grey-eyes so I could get to Porter. He was terrifying me, but I wasn’t afraid of him. This was Porter, my friend. I pulled his arm down, hoping I could settle him. “That’s enough.”

“I’ll kill him.” He growled.

“Porter, it’s just an annoying guy.” I ran my hand along his scales, the edges satisfyingly smooth. I curled my fingers into his arm, hoping to get through to him. “Let’s just go sit somewhere else.”

It took a moment or two before his eyes shifted back to their brown colour and the scales retracted back into his skin. “Fine.”

I fished our bags from behind the computer and ushered Porter to one of the tables on the other side of Dragon Soul. He blew out the last puff of smoke and rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry, I lost control of myself.”

“That’s okay.” Now that the tension was gone, his words from earlier echoed through my head. I didn’t want to put any thought to them, but they wouldn’t leave me alone. Why did he say it like that? Had he meant it? Or was it just his protective friend side?

“You look like you’re breaking your head. What’s wrong?” His hand found mine again, his touch gentle once more. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“No, no, that’s not it.” I grew up with multiple boys in the commune. This wasn’t the first macho show-down I witnessed. No, something else was bugging me. “What did you mean what you said… The lady is spoken for?”

Porter blushed red, the colour creeping to his ears. “I…” He cleared his throat uneasily as he pulled his hand from mine. “It didn’t mean anything, I was just being a good friend.”

“A good… friend,” I repeated.

“Yes. That’s what we are, right? Friends. Gamer buddies. Mates. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” A heavy rock fell on my heart and I bit back the disappointment. There it was. The truth. He just saw me as a friend and nothing more.

Why did I do this to myself? Why had I kept gaming with him, even when I knew my feelings for him were growing? Why did I invite him to Dragon Soul, right before my wedding? How could I be so stupid?

“I need another drink.” I pushed the chair back, the legs shrieking along the wooden floor.

“Hey…” Porter’s concern just made it worse. I didn’t need to be reminded just how much of a decent guy he was, how kind and attentive he treated me. “JJ—”

“No, it’s fine.” I reached for my bag and clutched it against me. “I’m just grabbing another drink. Yeah, a drink.”

I turned my back to Porter, my face falling now he couldn’t see me anymore. I held back the heartache threatening to spill out and crossed the open space to the bar. Every step weighed heavy, every passing moment bittersweet because I knew what it all meant. Reality check.

"Can I get you anything else?" Zara asked.

I glanced at Porter, my heart sinking. He looked so handsome with his stubble and his light brown eyes. I admired the way he sipped from his drink and the smile he shot me across the room. My Porter. My friend.

I knew what to do.

"A Tibetan Earthquake." My voice shook and my unshed tears threatened to make themselves known. I couldn't cry. Not here.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I need to get out of here. Please."

"Okay." She signalled at another dragon across the room and he made his way over to the table Porter was still sat at.

His tan skin and boyish face did nothing to detract from the muscles rippling under his shirt as he leaned down on the table and started talking to Porter.

"Who is he?" I asked.

"Hector. One of the owners," Zara responded. "Now go, before he realises."

I nodded. "Thank you for everything."

"No problem."

I turned to walk out the door.

"JJ?"

I spun back around to see her sliding a card across the bar. "Yes?"

"When you're ready to talk about it, call me."

Grabbing the card from the bar, I didn't wait to run out of the door, leaving Porter and Dragon Soul far behind. My heart couldn't take anymore of the evening. And yet...it had still been worth it.