Page 42 of Dating and Dragons
My eyes widen when Sloane places my plate on the table a few moments later. The stack is enormous. There’s no way I can eat all this.
Mark gives me a knowing smile. “Just wait and see.”
Everyone dives in without another word and the table is silent as we add butter and syrup to our stacks. I lift the first bite to my mouth. They’reglorious.I’m in pancake heaven, frolicking through soft clouds of pancake pillows. If I were smaller, I’d make myself a pancake bed to sleep in and then wake up and nibble them for breakfast. I moan in bliss.
The rest of the table laughs, and I open my eyes to all five of them staring and grinning at me.
“She doubted us,” Mark says to the group.
“Last time she’ll do that,” Sanjiv says.
“How are they so good?” I ask Sloane, and they shrug, pulling over a chair and sitting down at the end of the booth. “Don’t look at me, I don’t make them.”
“Oh my god, I’m only eating these for the rest of my life. Every meal, right here. Pancakes.”
“I tried that,” Logan says. “I wouldn’t recommend it. I almost had to miss school my stomach hurt so bad.”
“Sounds like a bonus to me.”
I peek up at him, but eye contact is not a good idea. Best to keep my eyes down on my new favorite thing in the world.
We don’t stay too long after we’ve scraped our plates clean. We pay and pitch in to tip Sloane, then head for the parking lot.
Kashvi, Sanjiv, and Mark huddle at the door, finishing up a discussion about their upcoming history test, but I drift back toward Kashvi’s car.
“Quinn.”
It’s honestly distressing the way his voice affects me. I turn and Logan holds up a finger.
“Just a sec.” He opens his truck door, grabs something, and walks to me. “I think you can use these more than I can.” He holds up a quart-sized plastic bag filled with dice.
I take the bag and hold it up so I can see the dice better in the dim light of the parking lot. The bag is bulging with dice of all kinds—mostly simple primary colors, but I see a few other types, along with the glittery ones he sent the picture of.
I shake my head. “You don’t need to give all these to me. That’s really nice, but I’m sure we can order dice online for the jewelry.”
“Yeah, but I’m not using these and they’re weighing down my bag.”
“Are you vying for a cut of our profits like Sanjiv?” I ask, because I’m not really sure how to respond.
“Pancakes are on you next time.”
“Fair.” I smile shyly. I truly have no idea how to act around Logan now, but I also don’t want him to drive away yet. “Is this the pancake place you mentioned before?”
His expression lights up. “You remember? Yeah, this is it. The secret is ruined now.”
Wind gusts around us, whipping my hair into my face and sending shivers through me.
“You should be wearing your hat.” Logan points to my coat pocket where I shoved it.
I pull it out, but it’s hard to put it on with one hand since I’m holding the dice.
“Let me.”
I expect him to take the bag, but instead he takes the green hat and steps closer. He gingerly tugs it over my forehead, flattening my bangs over my eyes and making the back of the hat rise up to the crown of my head. I giggle and he gives an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, this is harder to do than I thought it’d be.”
“Here, I can do it.” I hand him the dice, shake out my hair, and pull the hat down so it covers my ears. “How’sthat?”