That's all it is. Rebellion. Dani didn't like being told what she could and couldn't do. When Dani came down the stairs to eat breakfast, the first thing she saw was Ethan teasing Maya at the kitchen table. Dani's jaw tightened at the sight. She wasn't allowed to flirt with Ethan, but she didn't want him to flirt with anyone else either.
“I told you I don't like fruit on my pancakes.” Maya giggled and tried to scoop the berries that Ethan had put there off her breakfast.
“They're good for you, and trust me, they're delicious. They're not like anything we have back home. Come on,” he said, and dumped another load on top. Only he miscalculated and the contents of the entire bowl fell onto her plate. “Oops.”
Maya sighed and flung a berry at his head. “Now you've done it.”
Let it go, Dani thought, as she sat down at the table and focused on Tyson. He ate, watching Maya, and Dani noticed how he looked at the girl. Someone put off the scent of lust, because it smelled an awful lot like cinnamon at the table, but there was none to be found. Her father must have noticed it too because he frowned a lot. The boys might not have known what the smell meant, but she did. It was one of the first things her parents had taught her about boys to help her protect herself from them.
Dani smiled at Tyson in what she hoped was a flirtatious manner. They'd never done that before, and maybe that was part of the problem. They were so comfortable with each other, they didn't try to spark any kind of passion. Watching Maya could give Dani a few good tips, that was for sure. If there was one thing the girl did well, it was flirt. Maya knew how to bat her eyes, pout her lips perfectly, and touch in just the right ways. They had to be right, because when Maya did them to Ethan, he didn't tense up and pull away. He responded. Even Tyson responded, because he watched with an almost jealous fascination.
“Ugh, I got berries down my blouse,” Maya said with a sigh, and dabbed at the dark purple splotches on her collarbone. “I'm going to go change quick. Hopefully I have something clean.”
Dani stood again, taking this as a good opportunity to get her alone. “You can wear something of mine.”
“Thanks,” Maya said quietly. The two went upstairs silently, and Dani got the feeling Maya did not like her much.
“Can I ask you something?” Dani asked as she opened her bedroom door. She then motioned for Maya to go ahead and search through her dresser drawers for whatever she wanted.
“Okay?” Maya raised an eyebrow and pulled a drawer open. It didn't take long for her to find a new, light blue blouse that brought out the color of her eyes. The shirt also fit her curves perfectly, and Dani was even more jealous. She'd inherited so much of her mother's petite figure. Her curves, compared to Maya’s, were like a hill to a mountain.
Dani chewed on her lower lip, trying to find the right way to ask what she wanted. “Can you teach me how to be girlie and cute and desirable?”
“What?” Maya blinked.
“I want to be flirty. For Tyson. Make him excited. For the wedding, I mean, not…” Dani could feel her cheeks growing hot at the idea of making love to Tyson. Not something she felt ready for just yet, but hopefully that feeling would pass.
She shook her head. “I'm asking because you seem to do it so naturally. I grew up with only brothers, and I never picked up on the whole being girlie thing from my mom. The guys both seem to enjoy it. Maybe you don't notice, but I do.”
Maya smiled. “It's not something I do intentionally. I'm not one of those kinds of girls, but good to know.” She paused. “Even Ethan?”
“Especially him,” Dani said, trying to sound encouraging. It was better for him to return Maya's affections. This was a good thing.
“Oh good, because I couldn't tell. He's so hard to read,” Maya said, then glanced Dani over. “You should put something else on too. Your t-shirt is okay, but your jeans are so baggy. Let's see,” she went to Dani's closet and pulled out a white sundress trimmed with small red flowers. She handed it to Dani.
“Are you sure?” Dani asked.
“Positive,” she said. “Besides, aren't you doing wedding stuff today? You need to look like a bride who means business. I mean, you want people to take you seriously, right?”
“Right,” she said softly.
“And I think this is Tyson's style too. What else do you know about him? Like, what is he into?”
“Skateboarding and hiking and—” Dani started.
Maya laughed. “You're so clueless! It's cute. No, I mean, what does he like about girls?”
“We haven't talked about that ever.”
“Oh.” Maya tapped her chin with her index finger. “We'll figure it out. I'll do some research for you and let you know.”
“Thanks,” Dani said.
Though she couldn't help but wonder how Maya knew so much about guys. From what she remembered, Maya spent so much time at home, when would she have ever learned how to do any of this? I guess she has an active imagination? Or maybe she watched a lot of movies? Or her Mom. Dani didn't know much about Maya's parents, but she'd heard a few comments from her mother about Miss Navi. Most civil, but the impression Dani got was that Navi knew a lot about men.
She went into her bathroom to put the dress on, then came back out and twirled. “Better?”
“So adorable. Come on. Your mom said something about an appointment with a florist?”
“Yeah, I guess those need to be figured out fairly quickly so there can be enough ordered,” Dani said with a sigh. They walked down the stairs, and as soon as they stepped into the kitchen she noticed how everyone stopped what they did and stared at her.
“What?” she asked, playing with her hair.
“Nothing,” her dad said and shook his head, but he still frowned.
Cedar laughed. “You look like a girl!”
“She is a girl,” Tyson pointed out, and his eyes fixed on her.
She felt her cheeks grow hot again, which was a first when it came to Tyson, but the way he looked at her was different. In fact, it was the same look he'd been giving Maya, and still gave her for that matter, because once his eyes left Dani, they were all over the other girl. Then his gaze bounced between the two, as if he couldn't make up his mind at whom he wanted to gawk more. Finally, they settled on Dani.
Ethan stood from his chair and walked over to them, fumbling for his shoes by the door. “We should, um, we should go.”
Tyson nodded, doing the same, and then the two young men almost ran into each other as they tried to get their shoes on as well as help the girls. In fact, both stumbled to help her. The smell of cinnamon was more overwhelming than before, and Dani couldn't figure out which guy reeked of it more.
Maya also faltered slightly, but Dani noticed how the girl's otherwise tan skin paled in shade.
“Ethan?” Maya whimpered, and then her knees gave out from underneath her, knocking her into Dani, who also started to fall.
Dani braced herself against the wall, and she watched as Ethan caught Maya before she hit the ground. She was unconscious.
“What happened? Is she okay?” Tyson asked.
“I think so. She might be overwhelmed is all,” Ethan said quietly. “She's not cold or clammy. If anything, she's warmer than usual. Maya? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”
Maya's eyes fluttered open for a moment. “Sorry, too much excitement all at once, I guess. You're not going to squeal and tell my parents, are you?”
Both of Dani's parents glanced between one another, no doubt having a private conversation through telepathy—one of the gifts dragons had with their spouse after they mated. Her mother looked worried; her father, on the other hand, did not.
“We'll see how she is after a rest,” her mother said. “Your dad will stay back here while we look at color schemes, and then we can check out some flowers together after meeting up for lunch. Assuming things are better by then, of course.”
“Brad's out anyway,” Ethan said. “Running some errands. Not like he's going to be gone long, but we can't go
anywhere right now.”
“I promise I'm fine,” Maya insisted.
“We'll meet with you for lunch,” Ethan said. He then helped Maya sit at the table.
Tyson shifted his weight from foot to foot, as if he were hesitant to leave. Dani sighed and grabbed his hand, ready to drag him to the door.
“Come on,” she mumbled.
“What?” Tyson asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Her girlish charms had worked for all of a minute, but it would take a lot more for her to be anything like Maya. Dani could handle Ethan being affectionate to the girl, barely, but if she couldn't win Tyson over, then there had to be something wrong with her.
Chapter Eleven
Ethan stayed with Maya until she fell asleep. She was more tired than he expected. The girl was even better at faking well than he was. Once she fell asleep, he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He went down to the living room, figuring he'd also take a nap on the couch. Then he spotted Dani's father in there. The man wasn't reading or watching the television, almost as if he were waiting for Ethan to enter.
Without a word, he gathered up his things so he could go find another place to rest, not wanting to intrude.
“You can stay in here. I wasn't going to stay long. There's some gardening out back that I need to do,” Matthias explained. “I did want to talk to you though.”
“About?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Her.” He pointed toward where Maya slept. “She did that on purpose, you know.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “No she didn't. She's sick.”
“I'm aware of this. I've seen her sick before. That's how I know she faked it. When you've been around for a while, you'll pick up on different smells and understand better what they mean. Especially when it comes to a woman. She didn't smell like death, not like she usually does. She smelled like jealousy.”
With a sigh, Ethan stopped what he was doing and simply stared at Dani's father in disbelief. He opened his mouth to call the man out on his idiocy, but was cut off.
Matthias took in a deep breath. “I'm not telling you this because I think she's a bad person. She's a nice girl. In fact, I like her a lot, which is really saying something, because I'm not a fan of her parents. And see, that's part of the thing. I know her parents, more particularly her mother. The woman knows how to lie and manipulate, and we emulate our parents. If there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's definitely that.”
“So why are you telling me this?” Ethan asked.
“I just want you to be aware of it, and be careful. Mostly because I think she's jealous of you and Danielle. Every time you come here, I notice how attracted you are to her. You try to hide it well, but my nose doesn't lie. Maybe you don't realize it yet because you're still young, but I'm telling you about it now. Nobody wants to see a heart get broken.”
“No,” Ethan whispered. “Look, about Dani, I don't want her. She's beautiful is all. It's hard to not notice, so don't get the wrong idea. I'm not trying to cause problems or steal her from Tyson. I wouldn't do something like that. As for Maya, I'll be more aware of her intentions, I guess.”
It baffled him that she would get jealous, though. Why? It seemed like such a waste of time. Ethan didn't think anything more of Dani than his best friend. A special best friend, but nothing more. She'd always be important to him, but he'd understood his place in her life right away. Besides, Maya being jealous implied that she had a thing for him. Maya didn't want to date him. The idea almost made him laugh. We'd be a weird match.
“I need you to do one more thing for me,” Matthias said.
“Hmm?”
“Tyson, he seems to be pretty into Maya. Nip that one at the bud for me? I noticed how sad Danielle got over it, and it's not appropriate any more than you looking at my daughter is. They're spoken for. Their eyes should only be on each other. Don't do anything to mess with that, and help them to do the same. Whatever his fascination is with your friend, fix it please.”
“Okay,” Ethan said with a nod. He had noticed Tyson's infatuation with Maya, but didn't think much of it. Still, best to make it stop while things were simple and playful instead of intense.
With a small smile, Dani's father stood. He put a hand on Ethan's shoulder encouragingly. “Maybe you won't have to wait until school to find a good bride for yourself after all.”
“Huh?” Ethan asked, confused.
“You know what I mean.” He laughed. “Have a good nap.”
“Thanks,” Ethan mumbled and laid down on the couch. What a weird conversation. Who is he thinking I can marry? He shrugged and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. It did, swiftly. His dreams were filled of visions of Dani in her beautiful white dress.
Chapter Twelve
Tyson came back to Dani's house to collect her father, Ethan, and Maya. There was only so much talking about different shades of red and pink that he could handle. Neither were colors he was into. Red he tolerated, pink was bright and annoying, and it shocked him that Dani would be interested in it. She'd never been much of a girlie girl before. The dress she wore, and her whole attitude with him today, threw him off.
First she batted her eyes at him, giggled an awful lot while clinging to his arm, and wouldn't stop rubbing his arm with her hands. Did she get abducted by aliens? It wasn't like her at all. In a way, he sort of liked it. The attention was nice, and it accented a different part of her personality that he didn't get to see often. On the other hand, it didn't feel completely natural to him. He only wanted Dani to be herself.
He entered the house, knocking quietly before he did so to announce his presence for anyone inside. Dani's father had been outside working in the garden and would be done shortly, but Tyson didn't know what her brothers were doing, or Ethan and Maya for that matter.
Upon entering the house, he found Ethan asleep on the couch. In the kitchen was his cousin Brad, playing cards with a couple of Dani's brothers. Tyson did not know too much about the guy outside of he and Ethan apparently being close. One time Ethan mentioned something about Brad having a thing for one of the girls on the island, and that's why he liked to come along so often. Something both of the Oceina men kept from their parents no doubt, which made Tyson curious about how deep this relationship really was. Brad still smelled pure, but he might have been planning to marry whoever this girl was.
Hardly any dragon mated outside of marriage, given all of the genetic complications that came along with it. One would have to be a huge rebel. When the human woman made love to a dragon man, the dragon magic entered into the woman and changed her DNA. She became like a dragon, gaining magic and other attributes so she could bear dragon sons. Outside of Dani, all dragons born were male. The process of this change was referred to as the transition. It could be deadly to a woman sometimes.
Maya acts like she's stuck in a transition, with how sick she is. I wonder… if she were to mate with a dragon, would that make her better? Complete the process? But how could she have been stuck in one? Tyson didn't know a whole lot about Maya's family or upbringing for that matter. I'll have to ask Ethan.
Tyson walked over to the couch and shoved Ethan a few times to try and wake him. The guy slept like the dead, and it was near impossible to get him up without being rough. Tyson grabbed the pillow out from under Ethan's head and was satisfied to see his blue eyes snap open.
“What?” Ethan groaned.
“Time for lunch,” Tyson said with a shrug, and then went upstairs to see what Maya was doing.
Knocking on the door gently, he waited to see if she answered. When none came, he slowly turned the knob.
“Maya,” he said loudly, making sure she knew it was him. “Are you awake?”
He found her sitting by the window, looking out at the ocean.
She gave him a wide smile. “I am. Sorry, I should have answered I just…”
“Love the water?” he asked, moving behind her. Nervously, he put a hand on he
r shoulder. He didn't know how she would interpret the touch, or even how he wanted her to. But he did enjoy the softness of her skin. She felt warmer today than the last time he'd touched her, and she didn't smell so much of death. It still lingered on her, a subtle, bland scent that broke his heart.
I'd touch Dani or Ethan. I can do the same to her. He decided, and relaxed.
“The water is wonderful,” she agreed. “But I just want to take in every moment I can.”
Tyson nodded and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Feel up to eating something?”
“I'm starving.”
“Okay, because it's about time to go to lunch.”
She shifted her body so she no longer faced the window and carefully stood. When she stumbled into his arms, he frowned.
Maya shook her head. “I'm fine. I promise. I can—”
“You should probably stay here if you don't want them to ship you back home. But I'll tell you what. If you give me your order, I'll pick you something up, and we can have a little picnic up here? Eating alone wouldn't be any fun.”
“You'd do that for me?” she asked, her eyes wide and glittering.
Tyson beamed. “Of course! What kind of pasta do you like?”
He knew he shouldn't have been checking her out, or bending over backwards to make her happy. But if Dani got to indulge in a forbidden crush, why couldn't he?
Chapter Thirteen
“So you picked red and gold for your colors,” Ethan said as he walked Dani through the flower shop. She appreciated the company since Tyson wanted to go back to the house to take a break. Sure, her mother was still around too, but a friend made a much better wall for bouncing off ideas.
Dani nodded, looking at all of the flowers and not knowing where to begin. There were a lot of red flowers to choose from. “I like red. It's strong. At first I was going toward pink, because I thought it might be more appropriate or that Tyson would like it more.” She sighed. “Like me more.”
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