By Zephyria 
It was almost miraculous that Dane Striker would say such a thing. He felt strangely embarrassed by his old colleagues’ admiration, when another guy suddenly asked.
“What does that woman look like? She’s a woman, right?”
“Got a picture? Tell us, we’re curious what she looks like!”
“Yeah, a picture. Show us a picture!”
“Picture! Picture!”
Dane felt a complex mix of emotions watching the guys chant, waving one arm. These guys wouldn’t be so excited and chattering if they saw a picture of her. Some might even collapse in shock. Thinking about their profession, where emergencies could erupt at any moment, he wanted to avoid any dangerous situations.
“I don’t have a picture, sorry.”
As Dane shook his head and refused, boos immediately rained down.
“Boo, liar.”
“Boooo.”
The guys booed with thumbs pointed downwards, but of course, it didn’t affect Dane at all. He crossed his arms and watched them, as if to say, ‘Go on, try harder, losers.’ They soon had no choice but to back down. But they hadn’t given up.
“Tell us this, then. Is she pretty? Sexy?”
One guy quickly stepped forward and asked. With the persistent questioning, as if trying to pick up every last crumb, Dane chuckled and replied.
“She’s pretty, incredibly so.”
“Of course, she is, to you.”
DeAndre scoffed. Half the others seemed to agree, laughing with a whoosh of air. Dane didn’t wipe the smile from his face as he said,
“Isn’t it enough if she’s pretty to me?”
“That’s true.”
The guy who had asked the question said reluctantly. Then another guy next to him chimed in.
“If Dane’s dating her, she must be incredibly beautiful.”
“She’s probably a bombshell. Like this.”
“And a husky voice.”
It was a haphazard combination, but it was strange how it was right in some ways. To Dane, Grayson was incredibly beautiful, and her body was perfectly sculpted.
“…Similar.”
Dane muttered to himself. Soon, his old colleagues began to turn their attention elsewhere one by one. Dane continued to speak to them.
“When she’s happy, she moves her ears. It’s incredibly cute. Sometimes, when she gets lonely because of me, she cries, and while I feel sorry, I find it so lovely that I just want to shower her with kisses. Plus, she gets sulky often, and every time that happens, she looks like a puppy to me, and I go crazy. Sometimes I even want to check if she really doesn’t have a tail. And that girl, she knows she’s pretty. Sometimes, when I call her pretty, she moves her ears because she likes it. Cute, right? Don’t you think?”
Having spoken that much, Dane suddenly realized the surroundings had gone quiet. He realized the reality belatedly, but it was already too late. He just blinked in the awkward air when DeAndre suddenly pointed at him.
“Huh? You’re smiling?”
At those words, Dane realized he had been smiling the whole time he was talking about Grayson. But even after realizing that, the corners of his mouth refused to come down. Rather, he suddenly missed Grayson, so he simply wrapped things up.
“Yeah, that’s enough, right? I should get going. She’ll be waiting.”
“Uh, uh… yeah, see you next time.”
“Bye, Dane.”
“Bye…”
The others, who had also bid him farewell, stood dumbfounded after Dane left, staring only at the closed door.
“It was true, that guy.”
Someone broke the silence, muttering. As if those words were a signal, another voice followed.
“Dane Striker settling down, the world really is…”
“What kind of woman could she be? If they get married, will we get to see her?”
“Of course. I really hope they get married.”
“We’ve never seen Dane like this, so it’ll probably work out.”
“What kind of style could she be? How about we guess?”
At someone’s suggestion, they each started naming the most beautiful woman they could think of. Of course, DeAndre was excluded from the group entirely for naming Valentina.
And they reached a consensus: the top actress of the era. The most beautiful, the most talented, the sexiest, a top beauty that everyone would accept.
Naomi Parker.
Now what.
Dane was deep in serious thought as he drove down the road. It was absurd that all those people were of no help, but he didn’t have time to just be frustrated. He felt like a stone on his chest wouldn’t budge unless he somehow solved this problem.
Since that day, Grayson had brought him gifts every single day. Sometimes a wine glass, sometimes limited-edition sneakers, and sometimes clothes for the three of them to wear as a matching set, including Darling.
Dane’s room quickly filled with miscellaneous items. In fact, Dane wasn’t particularly greedy for possessions, so this situation was quite perplexing. More than anything, he hated being indebted. Since he had decided to be Grayson’s partner, it wasn’t quite a debt, but it was still burdensome.
“You don’t have to buy me things like this. If there’s something I need, I’ll tell you.”
In the end, Dane voiced his refusal. Grayson’s disappointment was evident, but if he didn’t, he felt he would eventually be buried under the junk Grayson kept buying. After finally stopping the barrage of gifts, his dilemma returned to square one.
What should I give him?
Thinking about what Grayson had poured out so far, he couldn’t come up with an answer. Even if he gathered all his remaining fortune, he wouldn’t be able to buy even one wing of the ugly crystal swan sculpture Grayson had bought him.
Why does he buy things like that?
He thought irritably, then returned his thoughts to the previous point. What should I give him?
There was one more person he could ask for advice. Joshua. They had hung out a lot together, and they had many things in common, so he would be quite helpful. His taste had improved considerably since living with Chase Miller, so he was the perfect person. Ever since Dane correctly guessed the price of the necklace on Ezra’s teddy bear last time, he had trusted Joshua immensely in that regard. However, there was a reason he hadn’t contacted him first and instead sought out those useless firefighters.
“You still haven’t reconciled with your brother?”
As his wounds began to heal, Dane, now able to sit up in bed, heard an unexpected remark from Grayson. Grayson leaned his elbow on one leg, propped his chin on his hand, and sat askew, nodding.
“He won’t see me. He keeps running away, that guy.”
His face, deeply furrowed, was full of displeasure.
“Chase treating me like an insect, it’s absolutely ridiculous. Isn’t it?”
He spoke as if asking Dane to take his side, but Dane thought differently. He knew how much Grayson could stir up trouble when he wanted to, so he couldn’t just side with him. Seeing Dane’s lack of reaction, Grayson’s mouth drooped in disappointment. Seeing his expression, Dane deliberately changed the subject and asked,
“What about the others? Are all the past issues settled now?”
“Well… yes.”
Grayson seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes.
“Dane, I heard something while I was going around apologizing.”
“What is it?”
With an ominous feeling, Dane recoiled defensively. All he managed was to lean back more firmly against the pillow.