Chapter 408 Blue Dress

Before visiting Bridget, I made Lukas promise not to buy anything that required a crane, a funeral deposit, or the phrase technically legal when used indoors.

He considered the conditions while sitting on his expensive new bed, which suggested he had already spotted at least one questionable opportunity downstairs.

"I can entertain myself for an evening," he said. "You’ve left me paid meals, a working boat, and an entire town that thinks we’re interesting."

I asked him to repeat the part about a whole town finding us interesting, then decided I didn’t want the explanation. Bridget had offered me dinner, and staying here would only encourage him to explain his evening plans.

I explained the return point, the maximum eight hours, and my plan to come back after roughly six. He knew where the spare room key was and agreed not to move the furniture around the marked clear space.

Then I settled in the quiet room for the required ten minutes, with the door locked and no emergency waiting outside.

[System: Ten quiet minutes, mate. Reckon you can manage that without deciding the anchor needs a racing stripe? Your woman accepted a visit, not a bloody renovation.]

Keep laughing, but if you appear between us at dinner I am charging you rent for the chair.

I left the treasure and our waterproof lamp locked up and took only my ordinary belongings. Bridget’s acceptance glowed, I activated Missus Express, and the ugly seaside wallpaper vanished before I could find another reason to delay.

She was waiting at home in a soft blue dress, with her hair loosely gathered and the expression of someone trying to pretend she hadn’t watched the arrival space for several minutes.

I moved straight to her. She crouched enough to meet me comfortably, laid a hand against the side of my head, and kissed me with a quiet relief that made every joke I had prepared feel less urgent.

"I had something clever planned, but you answered the door looking like that and now I mostly want to stay."

"You’ve only been here ten seconds," she said, but her fingers stayed against me. "At least inspect the food before making commitments."

"I’m allowed to know what I like before checking the menu."

Old Mate appeared to me on the couch and raised his drink, looking pleased enough to claim credit for dinner. Bridget saw an empty seat and carried on setting out our food while his voice stayed inside my head.

[System: There you go, mate. Six hours without discussing boat parts and she might believe you came home for her.]

Dinner was already warm. She had made something simple enough that we could talk without spending the evening discussing which fork represented a personal failure.

I settled beside her at my usual size and told her about the fish. She laughed at my underwater demand for applause, then asked whether Lukas had been forced to applaud before I let him out of the tunnel.

"He gave me a finger, which I chose to accept as a very compact standing ovation."

"You kept track of him while you were showing off, didn’t you?" she asked. "You keep mentioning where he was, even in the parts where you’re being terribly impressive."

"He was keeping the gate shut so I could stay terribly impressive." I nudged her hand with my head. "Don’t tell him I said that, because he’ll want it engraved on the boat."

She promised nothing, then stole a bite from my plate. I asked what she had been doing, partly because I wanted to know and partly to distract her from taking another.

Lyra had settled a small household argument with food, she told me, while Cherry had made everyone laugh before Bridget could finish being annoyed. Then Lyra had saved her a seat, and Bridget described that part twice without seeming to notice.

"I didn’t expect the ordinary parts to matter this much," she admitted. "Someone saving a seat, or asking what I wanted before deciding for me."

"Those parts aren’t small to me. I want you there when nothing exciting happens, too, even if I’m clearly making that difficult as a lifestyle."

She touched the side of my head and called me impossible, but her smile stayed when I asked whether that meant she’d saved me dessert.

I rested loosely around her waist while she sat beside me. She drew me closer herself, and I forgot the clever remark I had been building about deserting Lukas for a better dinner companion.

[System: I’m off before you start feeding each other, you soppy bastards. If anyone mentions shipping records, I’m coming back with a whistle.]

Bridget laughed at the face I made after he disappeared. I told her a pest had finally left, and she asked whether that meant I could pay attention properly now.

Later, we left the dishes for morning and went somewhere quieter. She took my face between her hands, kissed me again, and told me I could stop trying to turn every affectionate thought into a joke.

I told her I might need practice, and she said she had time.

We kept the rest of the evening to ourselves, with the door closed and no audience demanding that it become anything other than ours.

I grab her dress like I’ve been waiting all night to do it, and honestly, I have.

One pull. That’s all it takes. The fabric tears clean down the middle and falls away in two pieces, and Bridget makes this noise in her throat that’s half gasp, half complaint.

"That was a good dress," she says, but she’s not pulling away from me. If anything she steps closer, chest brushing against my scales.

"I’ll buy you the whole store." I mean it too. Every rack, every mannequin, I don’t care. "Every dress in this city, you can have them all, and I’ll rip every single one off you just like that."

"Expensive habit."

"Worth it." I drag my tongue over my lower lip, tasting the air around her, sweet and warm and electric. "Nobody down there even comes close to you. Not one. You know that, right?"

She doesn’t answer with words. She answers by grabbing the back of my head and pulling my mouth to hers.

I kiss her hard, no hesitation, and my tongue pushes past her lips before she even finishes gasping.