Page 38

AREZOO

A t five-forty in the afternoon only a handful of customers remained in the café, nursing their cappuccinos while Arezoo wiped clean the vacant tables and, together with Aliya, lifted all the chairs on top of them so they could hose down the floor.

The stragglers still had time, though. The café didn't close until Wonder closed the shutters on the serve-out window, so Arezoo couldn't tell them to get up and leave.

Ruvon should have gotten there already, though, and she wondered what was keeping him. Maybe he wasn't coming today?

For some reason, the prospect of him missing one of their poetry reading sessions upset her.

It shouldn't bother her since she wasn't really interested in him.

Well, she wasn't interested in him romantically, but she considered him a friend, and she liked spending time with him. She didn't want to lose him.

She enjoyed their routine of coffee, pastries, and poetry.

Nothing more. Nothing that should make her check her reflection in the espresso machine's chrome surface or wonder if she should have worn the blue blouse instead of the green.

She didn't do that because of him. She just wanted to look well put together and professional.

She was done lifting the chairs on table five when Drova strode in, still wearing her Guardian-in-training uniform.

Unlike other times, though, it wasn't in immaculate condition.

Sweat darkened the fabric at her collar, and her usually severe expression held a hint of satisfaction that suggested a particularly grueling training session, at which she'd excelled and put the other trainees to shame.

She waved at Arezoo and continued to the counter. "Got some of those juice boxes in the fridge? I could use something cold and full of protein."

"Coming right up." Wonder reached for the special refrigerator they kept stocked for their Kra-ell customers. "Good training session?"

"The best." Drova's rare smile transformed her face. "We did hand-to-hand combat drills all afternoon. I dominated the session."

"Of course you did." Wonder handed her a box.

"Thank you." She took the box and turned around, leaning against the counter. "Guess who showed up at the gym today asking about private coaching?"

Something in Drova's tone made Arezoo pause. "Who?"

"Your poet."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmm." Drova's eyes glinted with amusement. "I overheard him talking to Morrison about private strength training. Morrison passed him off to Gareth, who's apparently taking him on as a project."

Arezoo couldn't quite picture it. Ruvon seemed fragile and breakable next to the burly Guardian.

"Ruvon made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Come to think of it, I'm jealous. For that kind of money, I would have gladly trained him.

Anyway, starting tomorrow, they will be meeting for an hour three times a week.

" Drova took another sip of her synthetic blood.

"That's not nearly enough time to get seriously in shape, but I guess he needs to start somewhere.

If your boy is serious about getting buff, though, he should train every day for a couple of hours. "

"He's not my anything," Arezoo said automatically. "And he's definitely not a boy."

"Sure he's not." Drova's smirk was positively wicked. "That's why you're clutching that cleaning cloth like you are about to strangle it."

Arezoo looked down at her white-knuckled grip on the cloth and forced her fingers to relax. "I'm just surprised. Ruvon never mentioned wanting to train."

"Maybe it was a spontaneous decision," Wonder suggested from behind them, joining the conversation. "Perhaps one of his friends put him up to it." She smiled. "Girls put on makeup and nice outfits to attract guys, and guys work on their muscles to attract girls."

Arezoo had never been attracted to muscular men. She liked that Ruvon was smart and enjoyed reading. Still, his wish to do something different, to step out of his comfort zone, resonated with her.

It took courage to do so, and she was glad that Ruvon had found it in himself to embrace something new.

"Earth to Arezoo," Drova said, waving a hand in front of her face. "You went somewhere else for a minute there."

"Sorry. I was just thinking how much courage it takes to pivot and do something uncharacteristic. Ruvon choosing to start training at the gym is equivalent to you choosing to study math."

Drova winced. "Don't remind me. I'm so glad that I don't have to do that anymore." She slurped the last of her blood box and tossed it into the disposal receptacle. "I should go." She lifted her arm and sniffed her armpit. "Yeah, that's ripe. I need a shower."

Arezoo shook her head. "You are worse than the men."

"I'm better, you meant to say." Drova pushed away from the bar. "So much better." She waved goodbye to Wonder. "See you tomorrow, ladies."

After she was done wiping down all the vacant tables and lifting the rest of the chairs, Arezoo headed to the employee bathroom. She washed her hands, smoothed her hair, and even applied the lip gloss Laleh had given her.

Some inner sense told her that Ruvon was out there even before she opened the bathroom door, and when she saw him, her breath caught.

Ruvon looked different. No, that wasn't quite right—he looked like himself, but more.

His posture was straighter, with his shoulders back and chin up.

The usual button-down shirt had been replaced by a well-fitted Henley that emphasized broader shoulders than she'd noticed before, and his hair, usually somewhat unruly, had been styled with deliberate care.

But it was his smile that stopped her in her tracks. Gone was the uncertain, hopeful expression she'd grown accustomed to. This smile was confident, warm, and directed entirely at her.

What was responsible for the transformation? Had Ruvon spoken with the clan's psychologist and gotten advice on how to project confidence?

"Hello, Arezoo," he said, and even his voice sounded different. Deeper. More assured.

"Hi," she managed, acutely aware that she was staring.

Behind her, she heard the shutters closing and turned around. "Don't worry." Wonder smiled at her. "Your coffees and pastries are on the counter." She pointed to where she'd left them.

"Thank you," Ruvon said. "But don't close yet. I need to pay you."

"It's on the house." Wonder winked at him. "Have a lovely evening, you two." She pulled down the shutters.

"You look different," Arezoo said. "I mean good."

"Thank you." He took the plates to their usual table, put them down, and pulled out a chair for her. "You look beautiful. But then, you always do."

The compliment, delivered without his usual stammering uncertainty, sent warmth spreading through her chest. She put their coffees down and sat, hyperaware of his presence as he took his seat across from her.

"Drova mentioned she saw you at the gym," she said, needing to fill the silence that suddenly felt charged.

"Ah." A slight flush colored his cheeks, the first crack in his newfound confidence.

"I'm starting to train tomorrow. Kalugal has been complaining about many of us being out of shape, and he's right.

We may not be soldiers anymore, but if the call comes, we are expected to mobilize to defend the village. I don't want to be the weak link."

She chuckled. "I doubt you would be defending the village with a rifle in your hands. Your job would be monitoring security screens and activating whatever booby traps are hidden around the perimeter."

He shrugged. "You are probably right, but in case I'm needed with a rifle in my hands or just my bare fangs, I want to be ready."

"Why now?" The question burst out of her before she could think it through.

His eyes met hers, direct and honest. "Because I want to be able to defend you. It's no longer hypothetical for me. Someone I care for needs my protection, and I would never forgive myself if I couldn't provide it."

That was sweet, but the village was far from defenseless, and Arezoo doubted she would ever need Ruvon to fight for her.

"Ruvon—"

"I know what you're going to say," he interrupted gently. "You are going to tell me that you don't need my protection because the village is full of protectors, but I need to do this for me. I need to know that I'm capable of defending you. You were the catalyst."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she reached for the poetry book in her apron pocket and pulled it out. "Should we read?"

"If you'd like." But something in his tone suggested poetry was the last thing on his mind.

Nevertheless, she opened the book at random, finding a verse about transformation. How appropriate. As she began to read, her voice shook slightly.

"In the garden of becoming, where souls shed their winter skins..."

The words flowed between them, but for the first time, Arezoo found herself distracted by the man across from her.

The way his dark eyes shone whenever he looked at her, glowing from the inside, and when he reached for his coffee and took a sip, she couldn't help but notice how perfectly shaped his lips were.

How come she'd never noticed that before?

"Arezoo?" He said her name softly, and she realized she was still staring at his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I got distracted for a moment." She looked down at the page, searching for the last stanza she'd read.

His smile turned teasing, another new facet to this evolving version of him. "It's the first time that Persian poetry can't hold your attention. If this poem is boring to you, you can switch to another."

"It's not the poem," she admitted, then immediately wanted to take the words back.

His expression shifted, hope blooming across his features. "It's not?"

She shook her head, unable to form words as he leaned slightly forward.

"Arezoo," he said, her name a caress. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing." Her eyes shifted to his mouth again, and as hard as she tried to look away, she couldn't.

What was happening to her?

Had he put something in her coffee?

"Would you go on a real date with me?" The question came out of nowhere, finally enabling her to move her gaze from his lips to his eyes.

"Not a poetry reading in a closed café, but a real date to a nice restaurant.

I can make reservations at Callie's, and after dinner we could take a walk in the moonlight. Just the two of us."

The safe answer, the one she'd been prepared to give him for weeks, dissolved on her tongue.

Sitting across from him now, seeing the vulnerability beneath his newfound confidence, and feeling the flutter of interest in her chest that she had lost hope of ever feeling again, Arezoo realized that she wanted to say yes.

"When?" she asked, and watched joy transform his face.

"Saturday? I could pick you up at seven."

"I'd like that," she said. "I don't think that you'll be able to get reservations at Callie's, though. I've heard that she's booked months in advance."

He reached over the table and took her hand, his larger one warm and surprisingly soft against hers. "Would you like me to take you out of the village? We could go to a restaurant in town."

That was too scary, and not because she would be alone with Ruvon. She just didn't feel safe leaving the village yet.

"I can't," Arezoo said softly. "The village is my sanctuary, and I'm still too afraid to leave its boundaries, even with a fierce protector at my side."

That got a laugh out of him. "Then I'll have to bribe someone to give up their reservations at Callie’s or hire Atzil to cook us a private dinner."

Her eyes widened. "I don't want you to spend a lot of money just because I'm scared of going to the city. We can have a moonlight picnic at the lookout point instead."

His smile could have powered the entire village. "That's a wonderful idea. Is Saturday okay, or do you prefer a different day?"

She shook her head. "My evenings are free, so whenever you want is fine." She smiled. "I'll bring a small flashlight so I can read poetry to you under the moon. Unless you are sick of it and don't want to hear another stanza."

"Never." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I could listen to you reciting Persian poetry forever. The sound of your voice is music to my ears."

Arezoo smiled. "Then let me read to you some more."

She returned to the book, but the energy between them had shifted. Where before there had been careful distance, now there was possibility.

By the time she finished reading and it was time to go, Arezoo felt like she was floating.

Maybe she didn't need to call Vanessa after all.

Maybe her ability to feel attraction, to want connection, hadn't been destroyed.

Maybe it had just gone into hiding and had been waiting for the right person at the right time.

"I'll walk you home." Ruvon offered her his arm.

She had forgotten to hose down the floor, but Wonder would forgive her for neglecting to do so one time. Besides, it wasn't dirty, and whatever crumbs there were now wouldn't be there in the morning once the night creatures picked it clean.

After a moment's hesitation, Arezoo took Ruvon's arm, surprised by how natural it felt to walk beside him this way. The evening air was cool and crisp, carrying an array of sweet scents from the flowerbeds.

Her family's home came into view too soon, and she regretted that their evening was drawing to a close.

"Thank you," she said as they stopped at the front door.

"Thank you for saying yes," he replied. "To the date, I mean. I promise to make it special."

"I'm sure you will."

He lifted her hand, hesitated, then pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. The gesture sent tingling up her arm.

"Goodnight, Arezoo."

"Goodnight, Ruvon."

She watched him walk away, and when he turned at the corner to wave, she waved back with a smile spreading across her face that she couldn't suppress and didn't want to.

The house was quiet when she entered, and she wondered where everyone was.

There was light in her mother's room, and she headed that way, finding her on the couch watching an Iranian channel on the television.

"Come," her mother patted the couch beside her. "A lot is happening back home."

"Good or bad?" Arezoo asked as she sat down.

"That depends on who you are asking."

"I'm asking you."

"It's good," her mother said. "I think."