Page 85 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

Bastion looks at her, holding his arm, expression aghast. “What is wrong with you, you brute?!”

“Guys, can I go back to showing Damien around, please?” I finally ask. “As much as I love you guys for looking for solutions for me, I really just want to hang out with my cute boyfriend.”

“Aww,” Damien says. “You think I’m cute?”

My heart balloons with sudden affection as I lean into him and pepper him with kisses on his cheeks and neck and lips. “Obviously.”

“Gods, please leave,” Bastion gripes.

“On it,” Damien says, picking me up unceremoniously and throwing me over his shoulder as I squeal. “Thanks for all the fun, kids. We’ll see you later.”

“Do you even know where you’re taking me?” I ask, voice full of laughter, trying to crane my neck to look at him.

“No idea,” Damien says. “But you definitely need some cheering up, and I believe that’s my job.” He gives my ass a couple of friendly pats. I lift a hand and wave to Wren, who beams brightly at me.

“Make good choices!” Wren says after us as we exit her bookshop. Bastion looks pointedly away from our new-relationship bliss.

Damien keeps me hitched over his shoulder as he heads down the cobbled streets of The Buried City. Something occurs to me as we pass a restaurant that serves primarily fae patrons. Something we could do.

“Hey, Damien?”

“What’s up, sweetheart?”

“What do you say to having our second official date?”

Gravity shifts as he drops me from his shoulder, capturing me in a bridal carry. His two-toned eyes are warm and crinkled at the edges, his sharpened teeth shining in the illumination of the gaslamps on the street.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he says.

“Good,” I say. “Let’s you and I head back to the Cat’s cradle.”

He sets me down on my feet, presumably to have me lead the way. But he slows a bit.

I look up at him as I come to a stop. “Something wrong?”

“Is there like... a currency exchange or something? I mean, do you guys use cash to pay for stuff here?”

I snort a laugh. “Most people take mortal money down here, and other places accept different forms of currency. But not money—not like you’re thinking. There’s no physical currency that The Buried City uses. Some business owners ask for secrets, some of them ask for blood, some of them just want little trinkets,” I say. “But even if they didn’t, I don’t mind paying for you. I don’t care about that sort of thing.”

His lips press and his dark brows dip.

“Damien—I thought we were feminists.”

“We are. But that has nothing to do with me wanting to take care of you. I acknowledge that you’ve been fully able to provide for yourself without needing my dumb ass, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to spoil you. And if we can’t do it in Del Lune anymore, I’m going to try to do it here.”

I step toward him and he lazily drapes an arm over my shoulders before pulling me in and leaning down to kiss the top of my head. “You’ve had a really stressful few weeks,” he says. “All I want to do is get your mind off things and show you how nice things can be between us, even if circumstances make things hard.”

“I know I have almost a whole week before you go, but I don’t want you to leave,” I say, my chest aching. “I really wish I could just throw caution to the wind and follow you everywhere you go.”

“I know. And believe me, nothing sounds sweeter to me than seeing you backstage or finishing a set and collapsing into your arms in the green room,” he says. “We’ll do our best to make it happen, I promise.”

“And what if we can’t? What if I really am confined to Del Lune forever?”

“Then I’ll move to Del Lune, and when you’re ready, I’ll move in with you,” he says as if he’s talking about choosing a different restaurant to eat at, and not completely uprooting his life to be with me.

Can it really be that easy? What about his band? What about future records, future tours?

I know his band means everything to him. I knew that even before I met him. How successful can he be if he’s shackled to me? I’m not foolish enough to demand all or nothing, but how happy can we be if he has to be on the road for an entire year and can’t come home to see me? I don’t need Wren’s abilities to know long distance would put a strain on us. We’re both such physically affectionate people, Damien even more so than me. Not being able to touch for that long would be a damned nightmare.