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“Hey.” Sandy was there, touching his face gently, lifting his chin to face her. “Don’t give me that look.”
“What look am I giving you?”
“This adorable one,” she smiled, resting her forehead against his cheek. “I don’t mind doing all the work running the house while you’re out playing ball and earning money. I just meant that I would need some help.”
“Well, now,” Drevor spoke up from the front, “as it happens, that is what I’m paid for.”
The two of them turned, focusing on him again.
“You, Drevor?” Sandy asked with a smile.
“You think Elffa keeps me around for my good looks?” He asked sardonically. “She doesn’t want to do any of those tedious things either. She pays me to do them. They need her approval, of course, but I’m the one who does all the work to make the manor run and manage the team.”
“Really?” Rane asked, surprised. “I thought you were just her assistant.”
“What does she do all day then?” Sandy sneered in disgust. “Sit around and think of new ways to torment Rane?”
“Don’t be silly. That only takes up part of her day.”
“I can’t even tell if you’re joking or not.”
“She socializes,” Drevor said, ignoring her unspoken question. “She builds connections. She finds new ways to invest Rane’s money to increase her own wealth. She has beauty treatments, and appointments with her tailor and jeweler. There are many things she does.”
“Yeah, that’s just a lot of words for saying she does nothing,” Sandy grumbled. “Look, I’m not saying I don’t get the appeal, but she can’t seriously be acting like her shit don’t stink when she’s basically a trophy wife without a husband. A trophy mom? Is that a thing?”
“Trophy wife?” Rane repeated, confused.
“Shit don’t stink?” Drevor repeated, disgusted.
“Focus. Actually, cancel that. Don’t focus. I’m not going to spend another minute tonight thinking about your horrible mother. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“We’re going to have fun for the next mark and a half. Then, Drevor is going to fly us back home before curfew. And one day, in the future, we’re going to give Drevor a nice, fat bonus for putting up with our shenanigans.”
Rane was laughing again as Drevor gave a long-suffering sigh from the front. But he didn’t argue, and his crest was starting to lift. As if he was enjoying himself. Like, even though he was complaining, he wasn’t actually annoyed.
Rane had known Drevor for years. He’d been by his mother’s side for a long time. He’d never really liked him, but he could also say that he’d never really exchanged more than a few words with him. But Sandy had come to trust him, and he couldn’t help but see him in that new light.
He didn’t know where Sandy had decided to bring them tonight, but he also wasn’t that concerned. It was freeing, somehow, to trust a female so implicitly. He’d followed his mother without question as well, letting her lead him wherever she liked. But he always knew that he would either not like the destination, or not like what he had to do at that destination. It wasn’t so much that he trusted her to lead him but that he had no choice but to go wherever she wanted, so why bother asking?
But it was different with Sandy. He felt a strange warmth, a sense of safety, as she leaned against his chest, smiling as she stared out the window of the hover at the city they were flying over. To whatever destination she wanted.
Because he honestly didn’t care. Regardless of the destination or what they would be doing there, he just wanted to be there with her. That was enough.
Then, Drevor pulled in front of an arcade.
Raz and Taz and Fuz was a popular place for games and fun. It was about halfway up a tall building, with two drop off locations for people who had someone to drive them straight to the entrances on the outside. It was covered in neon lights, pumped loud, fun music, and wasn’t the kind of place where intoxicants of any kind were served. It was more like a family location.
“Here?” He turned to Sandy, surprised. He didn’t know why, but he had fully expected her to bring him to a club or someplace equally adult.
“Definitely here,” she grinned wickedly, taking his hand. “I looked this place up on the subnet. It looks like a lot of fun.”
“I mean, I suppose…”
“Did you not want to come here?” She hesitated, one hand on the button that would open the door.
He hesitated before smiling. “I’ve just never been here before. This is the kind of place you take your mate and younglings.”
