The Worth of a Coin (BxB)

Chapter 25

-Ruarc Brennan-

I love this man, I thought to myself as I scooped some more macaroni onto my fork. I had been the one surprised by Quan tonight. He had cooked me dinner, put romantic music on his record player, and he joked with me. He laughed and told stories like he never had a conversation in his life. I wondered if he ever had a date before, he must have, because he did this perfectly.

"So, how was today's lesson?" he asked and placed his hands on his lap. I couldn't tell if this was still the flirting Quan, the one who teased and was ruthless with comebacks. Or if this was just him being curious.

"Extremely successful and fruitful. It has been very much appreciated." I put the last piece of food in my mouth and began to collect the dishes.

He opened his mouth to protest, but I shushed him with a grin. "You made the dinner, I'll clean up. It's your time to sit sexily on the settee and drink the wine."

He barked a laugh. His cheeks had turned slightly red throughout the evening, his shoulders had relaxed, and his tongue had loosened.

"Alright, I can't complain," Quan said and stood up with me. "Wouldn't mind watching you clean the dishes; means I don't have to."

I huffed and filled the sink with hot water. "Yeah? I guess you're not a fan?" I didn't blame him, it was one of the more undesirable chores.

"I don't like touching wet food, and it's unavoidable when you can't tell if there's food on the dishes." He shrugged.

I bit my lip. That was probably because he couldn't see any food on the dishes. I tried not to talk about work throughout the evening, but it always seemed to trickle back into the conversation.

Instead, I found out a lot about his family. His mother and father were a part of an arranged marriage, which I thought was a little strange, but I kept my thoughts to myself. I would never understand the supernatural community. His mother was a love witch, and his father is a fire witch. The two of them would've been an extremely powerful couple, which is the reason he thought they were paired together. They had created one of the most powerful psychic witches, if he said so himself.

I tried to avoid talking about my parents and my brother, as that would make the conversation even more depressing. But Quan's expression was like a mask. He didn't blink at the thought of death, he was so used to discussing it, that he hardly reacted.

"I don't mind, I could honestly do this in a blink of an eye." I looked over my shoulder at him, a smirk on my face. "Then you wouldn't get the view, would you."

Quan scoffed, his cheeks reddening. "You know, nobody has ever had that kind of tone with me."

I focused on the dishes, so he couldn't see the eyebrow that I had raised. "And? Should I be proud to be the first?" I was anxious to hear the answer. I wanted to know if I had overstepped and prayed that I hadn't.

"You're brave. I like brave, but I'm also very hesitant to go along with what I'm not used to."

I tried not to let the hurt show on my expression. It was understandable though, from what I've been told. Comfort zones are comfortable for a reason.

"Hesitant? Does that mean there's a chance?" I asked lightly, struggling to keep my voice even.

"It means that I'm giving you a chance, yes." Quen nodded his head in my peripheral vision.

I let a breath escape. Then a burning erupted in my throat. I rested my hands on the side of Quan's sink, trying my hardest not to bend the steel.

"You should go to the bar tonight," Quan said. "In the mood for an outing?"