“Stop worrying, Sage. I’m fine,” he said. “Although… I’d be better with some ice cream or gelato. Even you have to admit that’d be good right now.”

It would, actually, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “What is it with you and frozen desserts? Why do you always want them?”

“Because we live in a desert.”

I couldn’t argue with that reasoning. We reached his place, and I swapped cars. Before he went inside, I inundated him with advice about getting water and resting. Then, I spoke the words that had been burning inside of me.

“Thank you for the poolside outing,” I said. “Your near-sun-stroke aside, that was pretty amazing.”

He gave me a cocky smile. “Maybe you’ll get used to vampire magic after all.”

“No,” I said automatically. “I’ll never get used to that.”

His smile immediately disappeared. “Of course not,” he murmured. “See you around.”

I finally made it to dinner. I’d chosen an Italian restaurant, filled with the scents of garlic and cheese. Brayden sat at a corner table, sipping water and earning glares from the waitress, who was probably impatient for him to order. I sat down opposite him, dropping my satchel beside me.

“I am so sorry,” I told him. “I had to do this thing with my, uh, brother.”

If Brayden was mad, he didn’t show it. That was his way. He did, however, give me a scrutinizing look. “Was it something athletic? You look like you ran a marathon.”

It wasn’t an insult, not by any means, but it did take me aback—mostly because I was thinking of Adrian’s comment. Brayden had had almost nothing to say about my Halloween costume, but he noticed this?

“We were out in Santa Sofia, getting his car looked at.”

“Nice area. Keep going up the highway, and you can get to Joshua Tree National Park. Ever been there?”

“No. Just read about it.”

“Iconic place. The geology’s fascinating.”

The waitress came by, and I gratefully ordered an iced latte. Brayden was more than happy to tell me about some of the park’s geology, and we soon fell into our comfortable rhythm of intellectual discussion. I didn’t know the park’s specific makeup, but I knew more than enough about geology in general to keep up. In fact, I was able to talk on autopilot while my mind wandered back to Adrian. I recalled again what he’d said about the red dress. I also couldn’t shake the comment about me being happy, and how that was worth his suffering.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm?” I realized I’d lost the thread of our conversation after all.

“I asked which type of desert you find more striking,” Brayden explained. “The Mojave region gets all the hype, but I actually prefer the Colorado Desert.”

“Ah.” I slipped back into the flow. “Um, Mojave. I like the rock formations better.”

This triggered a debate of the regions while we ate, and Brayden seemed happier and happier. He really did like having someone who could keep up with him, I realized. None of my books had said anything about the way to a man’s heart being through academic debates. I didn’t mind it, though. I liked the conversation, but it didn’t exactly send thrills through me. I had to remind myself it was still early in our relationship—if I could even call it that. Surely the head over heels part would come soon.