I'm Always At Least Ten Minutes Early.

Adrian's New Research Partner Stepped Through The Door, And I Knew The Uneasy Peace We'd Just Established In Palm Springs Was About To Shatter. Dimitri Belikov Had Arrived.

Isn’t It Obvious, Sage? No, Of Course It Isn’t. I Did It So I’d Have A Reason To Be Around You — One I Knew You Couldn’t Refuse.

You Destroy My Life Then Feed Me Inspirational Philosophy.

To My Surprise, I Recognized Dimitri Belikov-rose's Boyfriend-among Those Doing Crowd Control. He Was Easy To Spot Since He Was Almost Always Taller Than Everyone Around Him. Dhampirs Look Very Human, And Even I Could Admit That He Was Pretty Good-looking. There Was A Rugged Handsomeness To Him, And Even In A Still Photograph, I Could See A Fierceness As He Watched The Crowd.

I Unfolded The Note, And It Took Me A Few Seconds To Decipher Adrian’s Writing. If He Did Write Me A Dating Proposal, I Really Hoped He Would Type It.