Dawn had arrived. The sliver of light that fell across Griffin’s eyes was brilliant and unwelcome, but nonetheless he clamored out of bed and onto the floor anyway. There wasn’t a moment to waste. The day was special. It was the anniversary: his parent’s anniversary.
And he was going to live it up in the place they met.
Though he tried to remain conservative, he dressed in a thrift shop blazer and trousers that had been brand new when he made the purchase. He even threw on a tie in a fabulous shade of gold—a gift from Violett—to complete his look.
He struck a pose before the mirror. “I could be one of those male models Riley gushes about.” Then his eyes lingered on his wings. “Perhaps in a ‘sci-fi’ edition.”
Tossing on a coat to both protect his secret and protect him from the chill, he fled his room and nearly sprinted to the elevator, immediately pressing the “Ground Floor” button. Against one of the metal walls he rested, impatient and bouncing on his toes.
After he straightened his tie one final time, the doors slid open, and Griffin leaped out of the metal cage.
... Only to ram right into Dante, sending his iced coffee flying onto his chest. Griffin followed, and the two of them fell, one on top of the other. For a moment, they stayed there, wide-eyed and panting, before scrambling to rise.
Once they righted themselves, both flushing, they cleared their throats.
“I apologize, Dante. May I repay you for your iced beverage?” Griffin offered, unable to meet the angel’s eyes.
Dante seemed in a similar predicament, particularly unnerved by the giggles of a few preteens who were clearly gossiping in German. “It’s no problem. Seriously. It’s fine.” Griffin swallowed, offering a nod. “But where are you going in such a hurry?”
Griffin blinked. “I was... I just... There is something I need to do.”
“Alone? Dressed like you’re going to a funeral?” The words cut Griffin more than Dante intended, but he didn’t show it.
“This city is very important to me, personally and as a... well as what I am. My parents... this is the place they met,” Griffin explained shortly. “I have wanted to explore the places which hold the most meaning for some time.”
Dante buttoned up his top to cover the coffee stain and rolled down his sleeves from his elbows. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d hate for you to go alone. Just in case. After all, we’re cool now, right?”
With a grateful smile, Griffin nodded. “Yes. We are indeed ‘cool.’ I would enjoy your company. So long as it would not interfere with anything you have planned, of course.”
Dante only shrugged. “I’ve got nothing.” Holding out his elbow—half to please the gossiping preteens and half to embarrass Griffin who was obviously more affected by the encounter than he—he offered, “Shall we?”
Brows furrowed, Griffin reluctantly placed a hand lightly on the angel’s and nodded. “I suppose.”
So out they went, accompanied by a chorus of righteous laughter.
Their first stop was a nearby cafe at which they paused to sit. Griffin waved over a waiter who handed them both menus without a word.
“Your finest iced coffee for him, and a chilled chocolate milk for me.” As the waiter turned to leave, Griffin stopped him. “And give me a bendy straw.” Rolling his eyes, the waiter nodded and scurried away.
Dante folded his hands atop his closed menu. “So why are we here?”
“This is the last place my parents spotted each other before returning to Greece. One week after their return, they married. They fell in love in two week’s time.” He shrugged. “Such is common with us Greeks.”
“This is the last place. So we’re going in reverse order?”
Griffin nodded. “Yes. I wish to follow their journey in reverse.”
“Why?”
Pursing his lips, Griffin stared beyond Dante. “I am unsure.”
“Some sort of closure?” Dante suggested.
“Yes. Yes, that must be it.”
The waiter returned at that moment to take their orders, placing their drinks atop the wiry table.
“I will have the spinach and tomato omelette,” Griffin ordered, returning the menu to the waiter’s hand.
Dante seemed hal in thought. “I’ll have a bagel. With cream cheese.” He smirked. “Strawberry cream cheese.” Once the waiter had left to place their orders, Dante leaned forward. “There’s no other way to eat a bagel, Griffin.”
“But I have eaten them plain before. And with plain cream cheese or no cheese at all. What do you—”
Dante’s hand covered Griffin’s mouth. “It’s an expression, Griff.” Once he settled back, Griffin licked his lips.
“Oh.”
“Your food,” the waiter interrupted, placing the steaming plates before them. They immediately chowed down, licking their plates clean and leaving no trace that there had ever been food on the porcelain surfaces.
Once Griffin paid, they continued walking east. They stopped at various odd places: an antiques store—where Griffin’s father had been sent to work. An ice cream parlor—where the couple had had their second date. An old-fashioned cinema—the location of the couple’s first date. An abandoned street—where Griffin’s father saved his mother from thugs. And an ancient cathedral—both where the two first met and where the wyverns' history, according to Griffin, was intertwined.
They paused here so Griffin could pay his respect. “A man was killed because he was like me. That’s what my father told me. I can only be grateful I was born in this era.”
“Where people would only make you Twitter-famous rather than dead?” Dante asked.
“Praise Zeus that is all they would do.”
The sun was setting. The day was nearly done. Dante placed a hand on the shoulder of Griffin who was kneeling at an alter. “Come on. We should get back to the hotel. I assume the club will be wondering where we are.”
“You mean Acacia will be wondering where you are,” Griffin corrected.
Laughing, Dante offered a hand to help Griffin up. “You said it, not me. What if I told her I went on an all-day date with you? Lord, she’d blow a fuse!”
A brilliant flash came from the doorway, and both Dante and Griffin whipped around to find the source.
“They are the cutest couple, Imogen,” one of the preteen girls from the hotel squealed, oogling both the camera’s screen and the real life men.
“I told you so, Gretchen!” the other said with a smirk. “This is so going on our blog.”
Gretchen grinned. “And we’ve got enough to make a scrapbook. You were so right; following them all day was worth missing yoga class.”
“Excuse you!” Dante snarled. Once he realized he was still holding hands with Griffin, he hastily dropped his hold. “You have no right to infringe on our privacy.”
“Not that we need privacy,” Griffin quickly said.
“No, of course not,” Dante confirmed, turning starkly to Griffin. “I mean, we aren’t... We don’t...”
Gretchen smiled, batting her eyelashes. “But you make the perfect couple!”
“We are not—”
“Your classic handsomeness goes so well with his”—she jerked a thumb at Dante— “adorableness. It couldn’t be better!”
Griffin ran a hand through his hair. “I suppose our looks do compliment each other.”
Dante promptly smacked the side of his head, earning a growl. “Do you mind not egging them on?”
“I speak only the truth.”
“Aww, they’re even cute when they argue!” Imogen sighed. Dante glared before turning back to Griffin.
“See? You see what you did?”
Griffin blinked before turning toward them. “Do you mean making them run away?”
Startled Dante spun toward the door. “Those little...” He couldn’t finish his thought. Without another word, he took off after them.
Holding his coat closed at the neck, Griffin raced after him, screaming, “Do not leave me alone!” all the while.
