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Instead of immediately ordering Kai looks to me and waits.

“Iced tea?”

“With lemon.” Kai adds.

Becca rolls away on her skates, with a huge smile plastered on her face, to put in our order.

Turning to face Kai, I fiddle with the frayed hem of my jean shorts under the table. “You didn’t have to do that. I don’t mind if you want to eat a steak.”

“I didn’t do it for you. I told you, stuffed shells sounded better than a steak.” He shrugs and acts like he didn’t just change his entire order to match mine on purpose. He acts all cool and tough, but really he’s a softy.

“Okay, sure.”

“Have you always been a vegetarian?”

“For a long time yeah. I think ever since I met Delphi when I was a kid. I couldn’t imagine eating another creature that was as sweet as her.”

Kai’s thumb brushes over my shoulder and the movement shifts the neckline of my cardigan enough for his finger to connect with my skin. My attention instantly focuses on that touch, but Kai just continues talking as if this is nothing new.

“How old were you when you found Delphi?”

“About ten. She was just a kit, and I heard her crying. She was all alone and when I asked mom if we could bring her home, she said yes. We made a house for her on the back porch so she could learn to live outside like a normal sprite. We didn’t want her becoming completely dependent on us. That wouldn’t be fair, when she is likely to outlive us all. Well, except maybe Tobias.”

Talking about Delphi puts me at ease, and it gets easier to talk to Kai without my heart practically leaping out of my chest through my throat.

“And who’s Tobias?”

“He’s Sage's husband and mate. He’s a fairy. You’ll meet him at dinner tomorrow night.”

“Is he the one who works atUgly Mugand tells you what coffee you need to order?”

“That’s the one.” I laugh and relax even further.

“And he lives with you and your brother Sage?”

“Yeah. He and Sage moved back to Snowberry when I was born. We’ve always been a pretty close family. Tobias is just as much my brother as Sage is.”

“I wish my family was more like yours,” Kai admits quietly, his voice becoming wistful.

From the little information I’ve managed to pick up on, Kai doesn’t seem to get along well with his family. He mentioned siblings. He has at least two sisters and I still don’t know how Endo is related to him.

“You mentioned your sisters weren’t your only siblings. How many do you have?”

“Total, there are five of us. I’m the middle child. Two older and two younger. Ren is my oldest brother, Airi my sister after him, then me, then Keiko, my favorite sister, followed by youngest brother, Endo. I’m closest with Endo but would choose Keiko’s company over any of them any day.”

Well, now I know how he’s related to Endo. Since non-humans don’t always have physical similarities to our siblings, it’s not as easy to spot familial resemblances.

“Wow. That’s a lot of siblings. Must have been crazy in your house as a kid.”

Kai scoffs. “Not really. We’re all so far apart from each other in age, that by the time the next was born the previous was already grown and on their own. Not to mention we spent more time in exclusive non-human boarding schools, than at home. My childhood was filled with rulers to the knuckles and many hours spent in detention. If you couldn’t tell, I was a bit of a troublemaker.”

Kai gives me a mischievous grin and I can tell he’s recalling fond memories of all the trouble he got into in school. I had issues in school as well, but mine involved getting bullied by kids, both human and non-human. Being introverted and unable to glamour made me the strange kid in school, which also made me an easy target for childish taunts.

I know now none of them were being truthfully malicious. It’s just what kids do. But still it was enough to make me ask to be homeschooled. I didn’t have to hide my markings or ears, explain why the grass was literally greener where I sat in the field for lunch, or why I was talking to the flowers. With my parents, Sage, and Tobias I had more than enough educated and intelligent individuals to teach me everything I needed to know.

“What about you, Blossom? Were you a troublemaker? I bet you drove all the boys crazy, didn’t you?”

I laugh with little humor. “Not even close. I left public schooling before my second year of high school to be homeschooled. I didn’t fit in with the other kids and it was just easier for me to stay home.”