Smoke Signals by Meredith Katz

Author:Meredith Katz [Katz, Meredith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dragon shifter shape-shifter shapeshifter m/m romance urban fantasy gay
Publisher: Soft Cryptid
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

***

They spent the rest of the day talking while Mike worked—and talking after, too. Zali'thurg accompanied him to dinner, which was not just steak but a freaking beef wellington, which was a dish that he'd only ever seen on the Cooking Channel.

Mike went to bed full and with his throat hoarse from talking. Not only had Zali'thurg been playing some of the games he'd bought, he had a lot of thoughts about them—then again, maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise that he had a head for game design, given how much he'd collected over the years.

The next day, Zali'thurg came to visit him again. After Mike mentioned his delighted surprise about the beef wellington, he learned that Zali'thurg had never watched a cooking show and immediately brought his laptop in. The two of them watched cooking shows all day while Mike downloaded games and ran installs.

"How do you not get hungry all the time?" Zali'thurg demanded halfway through the afternoon. Mike had to laugh and admit that he snacked constantly at home.

Which sent Zali'thurg to go talk to the cook, Alice, who had just arrived, and somehow ended with the three of them all sitting together and watching television, eating the snacks she brought up with her.

She didn't have time for video games, she told them when Mike asked, since Zali'thurg wasn't the only person employing her as a private chef, but she used to play DDR.

"I am excellent at DDR," Zali'thurg told her solemnly, and Mike had to turn away and pretend an installation was giving him trouble to keep himself from laughing at the mental image.

On the third day, Zali'thurg showed up later in the morning, rapping on the door, and said, "I should… probably do other things today. But I didn't want you to think... well, I wanted you to know I enjoyed this. All this."

"Me too," Mike said, and genuinely meant it. "I should be done in the early afternoon, so I thought I'd head home after."

"Ah," Zali'thurg said, and sounded a little stiff abruptly. "Couldn't you stay the night?"

"No, I mean," Mike said, "It's the weekend, and my cat probably misses me."

For a moment, Zali'thurg stared at him with that same puffed-up expression that Mike had at first taken as offense, but was slowly learning to recognize as some other form of tension, though he hadn't quite been quite able to identify the specifics.

"Of course," Zali'thurg said. "Your cat. No, actually, that is likely for the best. I may not be able to see you off."

Had he said something wrong? "Sure. No problem," Mike said, and stared after Zali'thurg as the dragon spun on a heel and left.

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