I showered first, using my abilities to dry off quickly. Fox jumped in after me, giving me a chance to surprise him a little. I looked through my closet for one of my cuter outfits and landed on a long sleeve, knee length dress that complimented my eyes. I also put on some of my mom’s jewelry, a pair of understated, drop earrings and the matching necklace. I quickly styled my hair so that only one of my shaved sides was showing, threw on some ankle boot heels, and walked back into the bedroom where Fox was sitting in the chair waiting for me.
When he looked up from his phone his face broke out into a massive grin, and I ran my hand nervously down the front of my dress. “Is this okay?”
He stalked over to me, putting his hands on my hips and pulling me to him once he reached me. His hands moved up my torso until they reached my face. He pulled my lips to his and kissed me deeply before pulling back with the same smile on his face as before, “You look beautiful and absolutely perfect. Are you ready?” I nodded with a grin and blush breaking out on my face, “Okay let’s go.”
We walked out to some of the cars we have at the complex and Fox drove us toward Virginia Beach. “Where are we going?” I asked about halfway there.
He smiled, “You’ll see.”
We drove for about forty minutes until we made it to the coast. He pulled into a small dive on the beach. Before I had the chance to open my door, he was around on my side opening it for me and helping me out of the car. I looked around before looking back at him, “What is this place?”
He gave me a grin and grabbed my hand as we walked in, “My favorite place to eat. My family and I have been coming here since I was a kid. I even worked here off and on in high school.”
I looked up at him with a smile, “Thank you for bringing me here.”
We stopped at the hostess stand and he gave me a quick peck on the temple. He didn’t get to say anything as an older woman walked up to us, “Is that you Nicholas?” He nodded, causing her to squeal, “It’s been too long! Who is this you have with you?”
“Jo, this is my girlfriend Amaya. Amaya, this is Jo,” he said with a smile.
Jo looked at him, “It’s about time!” She looked over at me, “He was a real heartbreaker growing up. Had a new girl every week, but you’re the first one he’s brought here as an adult.”
I laughed, looking at him, “Quite the heartbreaker huh?”
“Jo’s exaggerating,” he said with an eye roll.
“Like hell I am,” she said, making me chuckle, “Now get over here and give me a hug.”
Fox did as she told him. When they pulled apart she looked at me expectantly, so I fell into her open arms. “Where’s Pops?”
“Where do you think he is? He’s in the back like always. Come on, let’s get you guys seated and I’ll let him know you’re here,” she led us to a table at the back of the small building.
Out of habit I took in a breath, checking for any supers in the dive. I was hit with the scent of pineapple, causing me to look around for it’s source. I found it tucked in the front corner of the small restaurant. The moment my eyes found him he looked directly at me. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, “Nothing. I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone I knew here.”
He looked in the direction of Maverick, “Who’s he?”
“DOD agent. Maverick.”
“What kind of name is Maverick?” He asked just as Maverick got up and walked over to us.
“A nickname,” he stuck his hand out to Fox, “I take it you’re the boyfriend.”
Fox looked over at me before turning back to Maverick and shaking his hand. “Yeah. Fox, it’s nice to meet you.”
Maverick snorted, “And I’m the one with the weird name,” he turned to me, “Date night before a big meeting tomorrow, really?”
I shrugged, “We haven’t gotten a lot of time to ourselves. What are you doing here?”
“A friend told me about this place, and since I don’t have to be at the meeting until nine, I thought I’d check it out. You’re really not worried?”
“There’s nothing they can do to me that hasn’t already been done.” Fox reached a hand across and gave mine a gentle squeeze.
“Right. I meant to thank you for shutting those guys down. My cousin disappeared, and is thought to be dead because of those guys, not to mention the number of clan mates I lost to them. I really appreciate it,” he looked down, “I’m sorry it cost so much though.”
I gave him a small smile, “It’s okay. It was worth it to shut them down.”
Maverick gave a small nod, “Right. Well you guys enjoy tonight, and I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
“Thanks for coming down Mav,” I said. He waved me off before returning to his table.
The door Jo disappeared through flew open, revealing a man in his sixties. “Nicholas!” Fox chuckled, standing up to embrace the man, who I could only assume was Pops.
Fox hugged Pops tight with a slap on the back, he pulled away from Pops. “It’s good to see you Pops,” Fox gestured to me, so I stood up, “This is my girlfriend Amaya. Amaya, this is Pops.”
I offered my hand for a handshake, causing Pops to scoff, “Get in here,” he said with outstretched arms. I did as he demanded and embraced him. He pulled back, “It’s good to meet you, Amaya.”
“Nice to meet you too,” I said with a smile.
He smiled at me before looking back at Fox, “It’s about time you brought someone home.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t start. Jo’s already started on that.”
Pops looked over at me with a small smirk, “Did she tell you about the string of girls he left behind him?”
I nodded, “I can’t believe I got such a heartbreaker. I should count myself lucky to have landed him.”
Pops chuckled while Fox groaned, “I’m not going to live this down am I?”
I grinned at him, “Nope.”
Pops chuckled loudly again, “I like this one,” he leaned in and whispered loudly, “Make sure he hangs onto you.”
I laughed, “Oh I’m not letting him go any time soon.”
Pops smacked both of our shoulders, “Good. I’ll get your favorite started Nicholas. Amaya, did you get a chance to look over the menu?”
I shook my head, “But I’ll have whatever you’re fixing him. Thank you.”
Pops nodded and headed back to the kitchen. Jo set a couple of waters on the table. “So are you at all worried about tomorrow?” Fox asked after Jo left.
I shook my head, “What I said to Maverick was true. They can’t levy a punishment on me that’s worse than what I’ve gone through already.”
“You’ve gone through so much already though. You don’t think they’ll actually punish you do you?”
Pops brought out our food, “You two enjoy.”
“Thanks Pops,” we both said.
I looked over the food Pops brought out, a shrimp po’ boy and a mixture of fries and onion rings. “I hope you like it,” Fox said after Pops went back to the kitchen.
“I’m sure I will. It smells delicious.” I moaned when I took my first bite. “God this is good.”
“Right? There’s a reason it’s my favorite. It’s the best thing Pops fixes.” He took a big bite, “So do you really think they’ll punish you?” He said with his mouth full.
I shrugged and finished my bite before responding, “I think I have at least one problematic person that will be there tomorrow, and he can be very persuasive. I also have friends and family that are royals so that helps my case. We’ll see.” The rest of the date passed quickly as we chatted about nothing and everything. On our drive home we fell into a comfortable silence.
“Would you like me to stay?” Fox asked once we got back to the complex.
“If you want to, I won’t say no,” I said with a small smile.
He smiled back at me, “Okay,” he gave me a quick kiss on the lips, “Will you go to the Naval Ball with me?”
I pretended to contemplate his invitation before smiling, “I guess so. I mean we can’t have you going dateless considering how embarrassing that would be for you.”
He laughed, “Thank you so much for sparing me the embarrassment.”
“Anytime, babe,” I said with a cheeky grin on my face.
We made our way into my bedroom, “What time do you have to be up in the morning?”
“I have to be in the conference room at eight.”
“At least you get to sleep in,” he said as we slipped into bed.
I curled into him, and Niamh immediately started purring as he wrapped his arms around me. “True. Although I should be getting back to my regular sleep cycle soon, which means I should be waking up much earlier.”
“How much earlier?”
“Depends when we go to sleep, but I only really need to sleep a few hours at night to be good.”
He yawned, “Will I end up on that cycle after we mate?”
“I’m not sure. I doubt it though,” I gave him a quick peck on the lips and settled my head on his arm, buried in his chest.
“Hmm,” he started sleepily, “That’s too bad.”
I chuckled quietly. As soon as I heard his breathing slow, I quickly fell asleep.
Author: Kailan Counahan 