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After replying to Evan’s text, where he told me they didn’t have any jobs for me, I set my phone down and plopped myself down on my sofa. I found the remote and flicked the TV on. It was a little past midnight, and I was bored. When the night was quiet, and I was alone, it was probably the worst time for me.
I had no reason to feel lonely. I had a family who loved me, friends who supported me, and a sexy boyfriend who thought I was beautiful. So why wasn’t I with him right now? Oh! I knew why. Because I still didn’t have his number. How ridiculous were we? Could I call to him telepathically? I thought that only worked when we were in relative proximity, but then he said he’d heard me calling to him when Fiona was attacking me. The whole thing confused me, and I knew I should probably go find a damn paranormal book and start learning how to be one instead of stumbling my way through this life, learning as I go. But then again, I had always been a hands-on learner. You know the type... refusing to read the assembly instructions on a piece of furniture, preferring to just look at it to see how to put it together. I definitely needed to learn how to master all these cool abilities I had.
I stared absently at the TV, knowing I had shows recorded I could watch, but felt too restless for that. I got up, put some popcorn in the microwave, and picked up my phone. I clicked on Beckett’s name and shot off a text: Whatcha doin?
I reached into my fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and cracked open the lid, downing the entire thing while I waited for the microwave to beep.
My popcorn was done at the exact moment my phone chimed.
Beckett: Chillin with Gavin. U?
Me: Eating popcorn and contemplating TV like I’m 90.
Beckett: LOL Want to join us?
I opened the popcorn and smothered it with salt.
Did I want to join them? They were pretty annoying with all their PDA and kissing and staring into each other’s eyes all the time. But I realized I needed some Beckett time and I wouldn’t get any one-on-one for a while.
I popped a handful of popcorn into my mouth.
Me: Sure, where u at?
Beckett: Love is Love Lounge on 8th.
I knew the place. It was a couple blocks over from Moon Chasers.
Me: Be there soon.
I sighed and looked down at myself. Dark-blue jeans, combat boots, lacy red tank top, and a black leather jacket. I decided I looked good enough, and summoned an Uber from my phone.
I carried the bag of popcorn with me down to the street level and munched on it until my ride arrived.
The Love is Love Lounge was just as disgusting as Beckett and Gavin were. It looked like Cupid threw up in here. I suddenly regretted not changing out of my red tank. Red walls, red, heart-shaped chairs, sofas, and tables. The waiters and waitresses wore red clothes that barely covered their private parts. I felt like I was inside some kind of 80s porno movie.
Not that I’d ever watched one of those or anything.
Same-sex couples sat around tables and on sofas talking, while others were on the dance floor swaying to the beat of the hip-hop song playing.
“Ayla, honey!” Beckett said, standing up and heading toward me. I noticed he wore all black, smart enough to avoid red in a place like this. He smiled happily at me and hugged me tight before leading me back to the table.
I sat on a... you guessed it... red chair, and smiled. “Hi, Gavin.”
“Hey, girl,” he said, grinning at me and then looking down at his phone.
“Isn’t he adorable?” Beckett mouthed, which made me laugh.
I nodded. “I miss you. We need to catch up.”
“I agree,” he said with a sweet grin. “How about now?”
I briefly flicked my gaze to Gavin, then back to him. “Well, maybe not now.”
Beckett grinned. “You can speak openly around us, Ayla.”
I felt a bit affronted by his comments, and remembering how Kellan had told me he suspected Gavin could be human, it made me uneasy. For the second time tonight, I was getting tired of having to lower my voice as to not scare the humans.
“Really?” I said, glancing at Gavin, who was engrossed in his phone, then back to Beckett. “Where’s the bartender anyway?”
Gavin looked up from his phone. “He said he’d be back. That was, like, right before you got here.”
The bartender’s ears must have been burning, because he seemed to appear out of nowhere. He had the most perfect hair I had ever seen, and—was that red lipstick? I chuckled.
“What can I get you, gorgeous?” he asked with a wink.
“Vodka Collins,” I replied, slightly flushing at his faux flirting.
“You got it,” he said, and then flounced off.
I looked at Beckett, and he grinned back at me. “Hot, if you like that type.”
I lifted an eyebrow as I sat back against the very comfortable sofa. “He’s not?”
“No, don’t like the lipstick lesbians.” Beckett waved a dismissive hand.
I raised an eyebrow “I’m pretty sure that was a guy, and—”
He started laughing and covered his mouth when he snorted.
“What is with you tonight?” I asked, noticing he seemed a bit off. I first chocked it up to him being giddy around his new beau, but I suspected it was something more than that.
Beckett cleared his throat and put on a serious face. He sat up ram-rod straight and crossed one leg over the other, placing both hands on his knee. “Nothing is with me. Why do you ask, little wolf girl?”
My eyes widened, but the server returned with my drink. He placed a red cocktail napkin shaped like a heart on the glass table, then the drink on top. “Anything else I can get you, just holler.”
He walked away again, and as I lifted my drink to my lips, I looked at Beckett. “Are you insane?” I whisper-yelled.
He chuckled. “Maybe. Oh, and Gavin?”
I stared at him as I took a pull of the drink through the straw.
“He’s not human, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I had to choose between projectile spitting and choking on vodka, so I chose the latter. I began to cough and sputter, as both blond boys stood up to come to aid.
When I could pull in some air, I put a hand up. “I’m fine, guys. I’m fine.” I shook my head and took another deep breath. “But geez, Beck!”
And all those deep breaths had caused me to catch a good whiff of Gavin as he stayed seated next to me to ensure I was okay. I looked at him and could see a deep purple ring around the outside of his blue irises. It was pretty, but not surprising, as he smelled strongly of lavender.
“You’re a freaking elf?” I said, shaking my head. “Why do you people keep suddenly popping up in my life?”
Gavin’s expression turned from concerned to slighted. “You people? Seriously? This from a wolf?”
Beckett began to laugh hysterically, and we both stared at him like he had suddenly grown two heads. Beckett’s nature was to be a peacekeeper, to avoid conflict. Instead, he sat there laughing and watching us like we were the most interesting show on TV.
“What is wrong with you?” I asked, my eyes wide.
“Fucking edibles,” Gavin murmured and shook his head. He looked at me. “I didn’t want to stop by the pot shop, but he insisted.”
I stared at him in horror, then back to my friend. “How much did you eat? Like, how can you still be all loopy and weird?” I asked, knowing how it took a lot of alcohol to affect me. But then I remembered the weekend at Wolfe Point when we had all gotten high, and frowned. Obviously THC affected us way differently than alcohol. Guessed that went for vampires, too.
Beckett pulled a small cookie wrapped in cellophane from his pants pocket and plopped it into my hand. “You try.” He stuffed back a laugh.
I dropped the thing like it was a hot potato and looked at Gavin. “He do this a lot?”
Gavin shook his head. “Not that I know of, this is the first time.”
The room seemed to kind of hush and I noticed most of the conversation had stopped. I looked around until I found the source. A very good-looking Hispanic man, surrounded by half a dozen other beautiful men, strolled in through the door. Everyone was staring at them. The man seemed to command the room, and as his gaze swept the club, they landed on Beckett.
What the hell?
Beckett, who seemed oblivious to the palpable tension in the room, was leaned back against the sofa with a big smile on his face, but his eyes were closed with his hands folded over his chest.
I looked back at the stranger and he was still staring at our group, and in fact, he and his entourage were headed our way.
Almost in stereo, Gavin and I looked at Beckett and asked, “Do you know him?”
Beckett’s eyes popped open and he still had that lazy smile on his face. “Do I know what?”
I shook my head. “Not what, who?”
The man approached our table, and with a dimpled, cocky smirk said, “Well, hello, Beckett.”