Slime Evolution

Chapter 447 - Flirting

The smell of grilled meat finally took over the whole balcony, mixing with the fresh night air, and after a few more minutes adjusting the perfect doneness of each cut, Lohan announced, pleased, that the barbecue was ready.

"Finally," Isabella remarked, walking over to the small table Lohan had set up next to the grill, the plates already prepared and waiting. "After how many times this barbecue got postponed, I was starting to think it was just an urban legend."

"I said it would happen today," Lohan replied, proud, serving the first cuts onto both their plates. "I always keep my promises, even if it takes a bit longer than planned."

"A bit longer is a pretty generous way to describe several weeks late," Isabella teased, settling into her chair, even though the reason the previous barbecues had been canceled was actually her own fault.

As the two of them got settled, Isabella was still mentally processing the conversation from minutes earlier, comparing the numbers Lohan had given about his own consumption of the nutrient solution with the absurd scale of biomass he could digest inside Elysium.

’Two vials a day seems like a lot for a normal person,’ she thought, cutting a piece of the meat on her own plate, ’but considering he can digest entire monsters in there in Elysium, this is actually almost insignificant next to his real potential, probably with enough stock available, he could digest several times more...’

That thought, actually, only made her worry grow even more, but this time for a completely different reason.

’At this rate, the boxes I brought last time won’t last much more than a few days,’ she calculated silently, chewing slowly. ’I’m going to need to get more from my family, and preferably a lot, since the more biomass he can digest per day, the more he’ll have available to improve himself out here, and consequently, the more he’ll be able to invest in me too.’

She knew that would cost a lot, probably a few hundred thousand, maybe even a few million extra credits a month, considering the amount she planned to ask for. But Isabella also knew, with an almost absolute certainty, that if her own mother, Evelyn, found out about the real effect that had on Isabella’s development, she would release the green card without any hesitation, maybe even buy out an entire factory just to secure the supply.

The problem, though, wasn’t the money itself.

’I really don’t want to tell my mom about this,’ Isabella thought, a slight discomfort settling in her chest.

It wasn’t distrust, she knew that well. It was more the fact that the last time Isabella had mentioned anything about Lohan during a conversation with her own mother, it had ended with Isabella completely flustered, having to deal with overly probing questions and mischievous comments she preferred never to repeat. And considering she had bought an entire apartment just to rent to Lohan, and that lately she visited that apartment far more often than any friend’s or business partner’s house, if Evelyn ever found out about any of these details, Isabella knew she’d be facing a problem considerably more complicated to solve than any monster in Elysium.

Shaking her head slightly, she decided to set that thought aside for now, focusing back on the meat in front of her, which was, honestly, delicious.

"Halon, this is really good," she remarked, genuinely impressed, cutting another piece. "Where did you learn to grill this well?"

"I didn’t learn it anywhere," he replied, laughing. "I just went by instinct and kept testing the doneness until it felt right. I think having a palate and senses as sensitive as mine helps a lot with that process."

"Well, instinct worked out really well," Isabella confirmed, savoring another bite. "If our guild business doesn’t work out someday, you’ve already got a second career guaranteed."

"I’ll consider that my plan B," Lohan replied, laughing.

The conversation between the two flowed naturally through the rest of the meal, touching on all sorts of topics, from remarks about the funny behavior of some new guild members to light gossip about certain Elysium rivals who kept trying, unsuccessfully, to copy Astralis Requiem’s strategies.

Even after spending the whole day together, both inside the game and now there in the apartment, Lohan surprisingly never let the conversation go cold in an awkward way. There was always a new remark, a curious question, or a light joke ready to fill any potentially uncomfortable silence.

"You know, I still find it funny how that guy, Ren I think, almost had his jaw drop when he saw you in person," Isabella remarked, laughing at the memory of the scene.

"He got so nervous he called you ’Vice Madam President Halon’ without even realizing it," Lohan shot back, laughing too. "That was genuinely one of the funniest things I’ve seen this week."

"I still don’t know whether to be offended or flattered that I got mistaken for you," Isabella joked.

"Definitely flattered," Lohan replied, without hesitating. "I’m amazing."

"Wow, how modest of you..." she shot back, rolling her eyes, though the smile on her face gave away how much she was enjoying herself.

And when silence actually did settle in, between one bite and another, it was a comfortable silence, almost cozy, where the two of them simply enjoyed each other’s company while watching the city’s distant lights mix with the few stars visible from that high floor.

Lohan had bought a bottle of wine and one of whiskey, but when Isabella looked at the labels on both, she laughed. "You had no idea what you were buying, right?"

Embarrassed, Lohan asked. "They’re terrible, aren’t they?"

"They’re awful hahaha." She laughed even harder, making Lohan laugh at the situation too, not the least bit offended by it, opting to drink juice instead and leave those bottles aside.

As the night went on, Isabella noticed that she and Lohan had been, little by little, drawing even closer to each other, both physically and in the way they talked. Each of them seemed more and more fascinated by how attractive the other looked under that soft balcony light, and by how naturally their personalities meshed during those relaxed conversations.

"You know," Lohan remarked at one point, a playful smile appearing on his face, "I really don’t know how you manage to get even more beautiful every time we meet. That should be illegal."

Isabella felt her own face heat up, but managed to keep enough composure to respond in the same tone.

"Careful, Halon," she teased, pointing her fork toward him. "That kind of comment might end up going to someone’s head."

"I’m just being honest," he replied, shrugging innocently, though the glint in his eyes gave away the intention behind it. "You’re the one who doesn’t know how to handle compliments."

"I know perfectly well how to handle compliments," Isabella shot back, crossing her arms. "I’m just not used to getting them from conceited gelatins."

"Ouch, that hurt," Lohan replied, putting a hand to his chest in an exaggerated gesture of pain. "Right in my sensitive core."

"Your core will survive, you already have several others." Isabella retorted, without any mercy. "Besides, I highly doubt there’s anything in this world capable of wounding that ego of yours."

"Trust me, Bella, you’ve managed it a few times," Lohan admitted, a bit more serious, though the smile still remained on his face. "You have a special talent for it."

Isabella felt a strange warmth spread through her chest at that unexpected confession, but chose to hide it behind another jab.

"Good to know I’m still useful for something besides being your ride." she joked.

"Your usefulness goes way beyond that," Lohan replied, his tone softening slightly, "but I’ll save that conversation for another time before things get too weird here."

That kind of exchange, subtle but loaded with meaning, had been repeating throughout the whole conversation, each light bit of flirting making Isabella’s heart race a little faster, even as she tried to disguise it behind witty comebacks.

And, silently, both of them noticed the same thing: something was shifting between them, a feeling that went beyond the business partnership or the friendship built over so many months side by side.

’Should I say something about this?’ Isabella wondered, watching Lohan grab another piece of meat, completely oblivious, at least seemingly, to the storm of thoughts running through her head. ’What if this complicates everything we’ve built? The guild depends on our partnership working well. If something goes wrong between us, it could end up hurting everything we’ve built.’

On the other side of that same table, Lohan was fighting similar thoughts.

’She’s amazing,’ He thought, watching, pleased, as Isabella laughed at some comment he himself had just made. ’But is it worth risking everything we have just to try for something more? What if it doesn’t work out between us?’

Even with those lingering worries hovering in the back of both their minds, neither of them backed down whenever a new opportunity for flirting naturally came up during the conversation. It was as if, despite the rational fear of complicating things, neither of them could fully resist that growing attraction between them.