The Dreamer

Chapter 26

"Eira?" I snap back into reality and turn to Zeke who's holding the car door open while holding a hand out for me. "Oh, sorry." I smile shyly and take it. My nerves start to flare up when I spot the restaurant. "Here? This is really expensive. How'd you get a spot here?"

"Apparently Rose also has a job that helps to pass the time and allow her to earn money."

"Really? What job?"

"CEO of a company. I can't remember its name though." My jaw drops when I hear the unexpected news. "Wait, CEO?! How did I not know about this?" Zeke leads me towards the door and we walk into the carefully decorated building. "She's a fairy and she always stays at home. Plus she doesn't look very professional." He's not wrong. In fact, she's almost like a young adult who wants to experience more in life. "She said it was to pass time. She said it almost like it's a hobby."

I laugh when I try to imagine Rose as CEO. "How though? She's lived in the middle of the woods in a secret hideout." Zeke shrugs as a waiter leads us to a table after Zeke announced our names. "I don't know. She told me to not ask for too many details. She also said something about running temporarily until her parents get back. Her dad plans to give it to her when he thinks it's the right time. He wanted to make themselves look like a normal family so they also lived in a normal house, visiting our hideout every now and then to check up on things."

"Interesting." We sat down and the waiter places two menus down in front of us. I scan it to the beverages and ordered sweet tea to drink and Zeke ordered the same. We look through the menu and I'm surprised that Zeke knows more about it than me. Wasn't he the one who was locked up in a zoo?

The waiter came back just in time with our drinks and we order our food. I just got a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce and Zeke got something I can't even pronounce. The waiter took our menus and we're left alone to talk. "So, how much time do you have?"

"Well, I've used up only an hour or two and I used to have four but since we came back with the next prize, I would guess still quite a while." He smirks at me while casually crossing his arms and leaning back into the seat. "You can't get rid of me that easily." I laugh at his playful words and tone. "You proved that last night when you wouldn't leave me alone to sleep in your own bed." This time it's his turn to laugh and the sound of his laughter rings in my ears like music. I notice that I'm not the only one. Women turn their heads and their eyes widen before they try to steal his attention by brushing their fingers through their hair. The anger and disappointment of the guys were hilarious. I was glad to find a few girls who weren't distracted though. They kept their full attention on their date. Now those are the people I admire. This time, I just amusedly smile and ignore the other girls. "Speaking of which, you're sleeping in your own room tonight."

"As you saw last night as well, I can still go in." I lean forward and rest my chin against the palm of my hand. "Is that so?" He nods and one side of my mouth quirks up. Challenge accepted. Our food arrives and we start eating. As I'm about to take another bite, I suddenly remember something else. "A have a question for you."

"I might have an answer."

"Last night, I felt you use your powers." He nods, taking another bite of his food. "Can you actually feel it?"

"What do you mean?" I sigh and try to reword the question better. "Like if you were to use your powers to hold hands with me, would it feel like you're actually holding my hand. Would you feel any warmth?" I see his face grow a little gloomy but it quickly disappeared as quickly as it showed up. "No, I don't. What about you?"

"I can feel that it's you, but it's not warm either." I can tell that my smile falters as I said the last part of the sentence. I quickly cover it up by taking another bite of my food and changing the topic. "Wow, this is good." I smile at him when his expression goes blank. Plan failed. So I thought of something else. "I actually thought you didn't have anything planned." Now he smirks.