mean, you could, but that might not go over so well.”
Claire giggled, trying to picture his face the first time she called him that. “Maybe not. Although, I was thinking maybe of calling him Ro.”
Lilly considered that. “You were, were you? So you’ve been thinking, been putting effort into a cute short form to call him? Do you perhaps have other questions?”
At Claire’s shocked expression, Lilly just laughed lightly and got out a cutting board from one of the cupboards. One of her bags revealed several cuts of meat and cheese, and she went to work methodically slicing them all up for consumption.
“I’m honestly a bit surprised it took this long,” Lilly said, sweeping the knife under a pile of meat and slipping it onto the board in a long line.
“Why?”
Lilly considered her answer. “I had a feeling, I guess.”
“That’s not all,” Claire said immediately. “Is it?”
“I don’t think so, no,” Lilly said. “But some things aren’t up to me to explain. I couldn’t betray Trent and Ro like that.”
Claire frowned. “Betray them?”
Lilly bit her lip as she worked, preparing their snacks. She seemed to be pondering what she could or couldn’t say, so Claire remained silent and started stacking up some crackers, also pouring out some wine. She paused, then added a splash more to both of their glasses.
“I’m in a hard place here,” Lilly said at last. “You and Ro are getting closer, I think we all know that. But since he’s a dragon, there are things about dragons that I’ve found out that…well if I told you, then it would potentially spoil things.”
Claire scratched at an itch on her face as she watched the troubled look on her friend’s face. “Would it have changed anything with you, if you’d known earlier?”
Lilly sighed. “Honestly, it probably would have made things easier, but I can only say that in hindsight. At the time, I mean, things were far more contentious between Trent and I than they are with you and Ro. Our desire for each other was burning bright under the guise of frustration at each other. So, I can’t say with you two how it will go.”
“I can’t make a decision on what to do if I don’t have the full picture,” Claire said. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you Lil. Because I need more information. I need to know more about the dragons, about life with one, and just what that entails.”
Claire grabbed the glasses and held out one to her best friend.
“I know,” Lilly said slowly, staring down at the cutting board.
Eventually, she put the knife down and took the glass. The pair clinked them together and sipped. “You have a right to know everything going in.”
“Exactly my thoughts. If I’m going to let things get serious with Ro, I need to know everything. Can’t go getting a boyfriend like you have without knowing what I’m getting into.”
Claire realized she’d never said that thought out loud to anyone yet. Letting things get serious with Ro. Commitment. With a nice guy. Something she’d never really considered before she’d met him.
Maybe I just needed to find the ‘right’ nice guy.
“Mate,” Lilly said.
“Pardon me?”
Lilly looked up, took a drink of wine. She let it linger, swallowed, and then took another. “Trent isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my mate.”
“I’ve heard you use that term before,” Claire said quietly. “But I thought you were just using it as a cute nickname for each other.”
“It’s more than that,” Lilly said. “Much more. In fact, it’s kind of everything.”
“Everything? I don’t understand.
Lilly put her glass of wine down and stared at her friend. “It’s tough to explain; it’s really something you need to experience. But I’ll do my best.
“Tell me everything,” Claire said quietly, preparing herself for whatever her friend was about to say.
“The dragons, their other halves, I mean. That animal part in them. You’ve seen it?” Lilly asked cautiously.
Claire stiffened. “You mean that look in their eye that sometimes seems almost not human? Or during sex, that animalistic tendency that sometimes overcomes them? A more raw side of them?”
Lilly nodded. “Exactly that, yes. Has Ro explained it to you?”
“Sort of. That there is another, like, thing, inside him. It’s not in charge, but it’s distinctly its own thing, and they’re sort of a pair?”
“Yeah. Um, okay, well basically, they only ever fall in love once. With one person,” Lilly said quietly.
“Ro hasn’t said anything about love,” Claire said.
“If he’s anything like Trent, he won’t,” Lilly said with a laugh. “Just