Human Date

Part 5

Emma and Rayna sit in the back seat while Galen and Toraf converse in the front seat. Emma leans in toward Rayna. “You didn’t tell Toraf what you’re doing, did you.” It’s not a question.

Rayna cuts her a look. “Of course not,” she whispers. “He wouldn’t go if I told him.”

“You don’t think the choice should be left up to him?”

“He’ll like it after it’s done.” Actually, Rayna’s pretty sure he won’t. He might even pass out. She’s already considered that he may even puke on her. But she’s willing to find out. All the videos on Emma’s computer look too fun to miss out on.

They get to the park just before it closes. Crowds of humans are loading up into their vehicles and driving away. It looks like they’ll be the last ones to go. Rayna gives Toraf her most sparkling smile. “This time we’re doing it together.” The words sound nice and cozy even though they mean something that Toraf will not find cozy at all. Still, Toraf is fooled.

“Whatever you say, princess.”

He allows himself to be harnessed, then strapped to Rayna. It’s awkward to walk around this way. Which is why we won’t be walking for very long. They enter what Emma calls an elevator at the bottom of the towering metal structure. Galen and Emma wave to them as the doors shut. Rayna’s thankful for the walls blocking Toraf’s view as they ascend. So far so good.

Toraf takes advantage of their privacy, nuzzling her neck with his nose. “Hmmm. You smell good.”

She needs no further encouragement; she melts against him amid the fire rushing all over her body. “This dating thing is fun, isn’t it?”

“Anything is fun with you.”

Hopefully you’ll still feel that way in a few minutes. When they reach the top, the elevator doors open. And that’s when Toraf’s hands drop to his side, almost causing her to topple over. “Why are we in the sky, Rayna? I thought the ride was over.”

She gives him an encouraging smile. “No silly, that’s not the ride.” She moves out of the elevator, forcing him to come along too, since he’s already strapped to her. “The ride is this way.”

With as much patience as she can muster, she coaxes him to the human waiting at the end of the platform. The man seems uninterested in them, at best. “Park’s closed,” he says. “You’ll need to be quick.”

“What exactly does this ride do?” Toraf asks him.

“Do? It doesn’t do anything.” The man gives Rayna a quizzical look.

She cups Toraf’s cheek in her hand. “We’re going to jump off that ledge. Together.”

He looks at the end of the platform, and back at her. “We’re not, actually.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Not happening.”

“You see these ropes and straps and big metal hooks? They’re going to bounce us back up before we hit the ground.”

“Would you prefer to walk to the elevator, or should I just carry you?”

“What happened to ‘Anything is fun with you’? Was that a lie?”

He blinks. “You tricked me. Again.” His face is pale. The lips she usually finds delectable are now thin with worry.

“I won’t make you do this,” she says finally. “But I’m doing it.”

He shakes his head, his expression solemn. “No, you’re not. Not while there’s breath in my body.”

She stomps her foot then, patience running out of her like flowing water. “You’ll have to drag me back down there kicking and screaming.”

The human listens to their conversation, his head snapping back and forth between them. “Remember when I said you need to be quick about this?” he says. “Do it—or don’t, I really don’t care—but make a decision.”

“I’m sorry we’ve wasted your time,” Toraf tells him, grabbing Rayna’s wrist. “We’re leaving.”

She yanks her arm away from him. “Toraf, you’ve done a lot of things I don’t like. Including having us mated behind my back. But I never had us unsealed. You owe me this.” Bringing that up is unfair and she knows it. She forgave him long ago for that.

Guilt flashes across his face. “We were always going to end up together. We both knew it.”

She nods. “And we’re together now. So stay with me Toraf. Please? Do this with me. Be my mate, not just another person who makes decisions for me.”

He laces his fingers behind his head, letting out a long breath, as if he’d been holding it for a hundred seasons. He’s quiet for a long time. “Okay,” he says finally. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

She claps like an excited seal. “Really? You’ll do it with me?”

“I’ll do anything with you.” He looks at the human then, who’s watching them with a curious expression. She’d forgotten to say “married” instead of “mated.” Oh well. Humans are weird.

“What are you waiting for?” Toraf tells him. “Get us ready to jump.”

The man needs no further encouragement. He straps them to the long cord, and ushers them to the very edge of the platform. He instructs them to face each other and hold on tight. “When I count to three, you jump,” he says. “Simple as that.”

A rush of energy surges through her. “Thank you,” she says to Toraf.

“No, thank you. For not unsealing us.”

And then they jump.