Free A Boy and His Dragon by R. Cooper Page B

shall,” Arthur agreed quietly, trying to figure out what just happened. He’d been insulting, then revealed he had his heart broken once, and now he was to go back to work and maybe have dinner later? He glanced down at the apple as Bertie left the room, going toward his study.
    It was a plain red apple, not covered in wax because it was organic—the sticker said so. He had no explanation at all for why it seemed to gleam.

    A Boy and His Dragon
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Chapter 4
    IT CERTAINLY tasted like an ordinary apple. Arthur rediscovered it later that afternoon when he realized that he was still starving, and ate it quickly before getting back to work. He hopped on his bike to head home not long after that. It was getting dark, and he didn’t really want to put Bertie through any trouble in finding or cooking any food for him.
    Kate hadn’t heard back from the sex shop about the job and had spent her day experimenting with their small supply of food, so at least Arthur came home to a warm dinner of grilled cheese with green onion, which was… different, if not good, and Kate was happy about the tiny oranges he’d brought home.
    Arthur went to bed early, had weird, intense dreams that didn’t leave him in the mood for conversation, and read most of one of Bertie’s books before going to work at Uncle Wu’s. He was glad to get a Friday shift because it was busier and the tips were better, but it was like everyone who ordered lived up a steep hill, and now he was exhausted and sore.
    The wet streets didn’t help, either. Kate had been worried he’d get sick and had thrown another jacket at him this morning—which was already soaked. It started pouring down rain again on his way to Bertie’s house, and by the time he got in the door, his outer jacket was a soaked, heavy mess.
    It was still early and the house was dark, as if either no one was up or no one was home. Arthur thought Bertie must have left, R. Cooper
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    because he was surrounded by the dull silence he was starting to associate with Bertie’s absence.
    He put his bag down and went to the bathroom to leave his soaked outer jacket in the sink. The house was warm, Bertie was gone, and it would be okay if he left some of his clothes in there to dry for a while. He might even poke around and find a dryer. He could do some of Bertie’s laundry, if it was around, to make up for using the appliances without Bertie’s permission.
    He was almost glad Bertie wasn’t there, because he would have had something to say about Arthur wandering around shirtless in his house, using a hand towel to dry his hair.
    On the other hand, Arthur was hot all over just at the idea of how Bertie would look at him if he saw him right now. It was probably better that Arthur leave at least one shirt on.
    There was still no sign of any dragons, flirtatious or otherwise, so Arthur poked around for a few minutes, sticking his head into the study to take a look. It was surprisingly well organized. It also had another deep couch, lower to the floor than the other one, and a TV, which made Arthur wonder if watching television was what Bertie did when he was supposed to be working.
    He didn’t go upstairs. He didn’t even let himself think about it.
    He wouldn’t have had a chance anyway. The sound of whistling startled him, and when he found the source in the kitchen—a teapot—he also found a note telling him to have a cup of tea with plenty of sugar, and a scone as well.
    The scones were on a silver plate with a doily, little buttery biscuits not at all like the dry, triangular wedges he usually saw in coffee shops.
    He looked over his shoulder before he took the water off the stove and then opened cabinets until he found a mug. He rubbed at his neck, though he was reasonably certain you weren’t supposed to be able to tell if someone was spying on you via magic. He didn’t even know if Bertie could do that, but maybe anyone could use a crystal ball or a pool of water if they had enough