Over the next two weeks, Abioye came back early Saturday morning and usually stayed for several hours. These times the Death Prince brought some work so he had something to do. It also became a ritual that they would have tea together towards the evening. Sometimes they talked but many times it was silent. Maliah was thankful that despite the silence they had gotten past that awkward silence phase.

However by the fourth Saturday, Maliah wasn’t going to be able to stay in. Around 10 o’clock she was getting her stuff together when there was a knock on the door. She barely paused as she opened it. Abioye stepped in to see that Maliah was mostly dressed.

“Don’t take your shoes off. I’m going out.” she announced.

“Out...where?” Abioye asked, watching her.

Maliah grabbed her fanny pack and looked at him, “Out...into the world?”

Abioye rolled his eyes, “Did you forget about our bonding today?”

“Nope, I didn’t forget. Which is why, I am inviting you to come with me.”

“Out there?” Abioye snorted, “You know I don’t go out there any more than I strictly need to.”

“Well, you need to today.”

Abioye folded his arms, “Not if you stay in.”

“Look, I have a eye doctor appointment this morning and then I’m going to go out for a late lunch. After that, I have to swing by the store to do some shopping. May as well do everything while I have to be out.”

“So cancel your appointment.”

Maliah gave him a look, “It took me months to get this appointment. I’m not going to cancel.”

“Then you know you’ll be out of range, then?”

“What do you expect me to do? Stay home every Saturday for the rest of my life?”

Abioye just looked at her.

Maliah walked out the door and locked up, “You can come or stay but I have to go.”

When Abioye only pouts and folds his arm, Maliah waves a backwards goodbye. By the time she got to the car, she could feel a heavy sensation in her chest but she ignored it. Since that first time, she hasn’t felt it because Abioye always came on time before it really had a chance to get started. Maliah refused to go back inside and cancel her day over this. She couldn’t cancel every Saturday until she turned 110 years old? Do you know how many Saturdays she would miss? Maliah reminded herself of this face as she turned and pulled down her seatbelt but when she turned back Abioye was sitting beside her all buckled up.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Maliah was glad she hadn’t turned on the car as she jumped, releasing the seatbelt in surprised, “You scared me!”

Abioye didn’t even blink an eye.

“How did you get in here? I didn’t hear the car door open.”

Abioye continued to look straight ahead, “How else am I supposed to travel anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice?”

“So you can bampf?”

“Excuse me?” Abioye really turned to look at her then.

She puts her two fingers to her head, “Instant transmission like Goku?”

“What’s a Goku?”

Maliah waved her hand as she really managed to buckle herself in this time, “Nevermind. If you are here you can tag along.”

It only took about fifteen minutes for her to arrive at her eye doctor. As she was unbluckling her seatbelt she noticed that Abioye hadn’t moved. He hadn’t even unbluckled himself.

“Are you going to sit in the car?”

“Possibly. Unless it’s out of range.”

“Hold on, you don't need to be inside the room with me, do you? I’m not going for that!”

Abioye snapped his head to her and scowled, “Neither am I! However it depends on the range. At worst I might be outside the door.”

“You can’t just loiter like that!!” cried Maliah.

Abioye rolled his eyes, “It’s not like anyone can see me!”

Maliah’s eyes narrowed, “What does this mean?”

“Was it unclear?” Abioye bared his teeth at her, “I’m still annoyed that you could see me. Baba told us that our future mates would be the only one to be able to see us in our true form on Earth even when no one else could.”

Maliah furrowed her eyebrows, “Wha? Your true form that no one else could see?”

She looked him up and down, “You look different from this?”

Abioye breathed once, “No, I’m saying that no one else can see me. I will be invisible to all if I’m on Earth with the exception of you. So if I’m in the room your doctor won’t be able to see me. So I suggest you act like I’m not there. Not difficult is it?”

“Interesting…..wait!” Maliah suddenly thought back to that moment when they met, “Hold on, is that why everyone was looking at me funny? Are you telling me, I was the only one that could see you at that time? Are you telling me that they thought I was talking to thin air?”

Maliah swore Abioye looked amused, “They probably just thought you really liked that photo on the bus stop either that or quite friendly with the black pole.”

Maliah gaped at him and then he grinned. She reached over and hit him on the arm making him scowl, “Boy, I oughta….no wonder they thought I was high!”

Abioye gave a ripple of his shoulders, “Trust me you won’t see any of passersby again anyway so what does it matter?”

Abioye only looked at Maliah when she raised her hand threathenly again and hissed, “It matters for my sanity.”

“Aren’t you going to be late?” Abioye asked instead, making Maliah look at the clock.

She scrambled out of the car but not before hitting him on the arm again. Abioye scowled as he rubbed his arm. Why was he doing this again? Oh, right. That bloody contract.

It didn’t take long for Maliah to get called back. She didn’t want to admit that she was a bit nervous that Abioye would suddenly pop into the room at any given moment.

He didn’t.

However she still had a heart attack when she exited the room, to see Abioye standing next to the door. Involuntarily she gave a little sherik.

The kind doctor turned around, “Are you okay?”

“Yea, sorry!” Maliah mumbled waving it away without even trying to explain.

Thankfully the doctor just shrugged it off.

Maliah shot Abioye a glare before following the doctor to fill out the last of the paperwork.