“Did Kale tell you something, Jez?”
I knew she wanted to spill it. The need to tell was practically oozing off her. I waited, knowing she would break faster if I stopped pestering her. I continued to sip my drink as casually as I could muster, as if whatever she knew didn't really matter much.
“Ok,” she finally relented. “I already grilled Kale about you guys. He also said that you didn't sleep together. He then said it was none of my business.”
“Uh huh.” I nodded, impatience causing me to drain the last of my whiskey in one large gulp.
“But, he did add something.” She fiddled with the slice or orange adorning the side of her glass. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. “He said that he didn't think he could ever sleep with you, even if it was just for kicks or for some power play. He said that if he did, he was sure he'd fall in love with you.”
I felt like I’d been hit over the head with a cast iron frying pan. The only thing missing was the sound of the impact reverberating in my ears. I looked to my empty glass for help. Damn, I needed a waitress. Stat!
No, no way in hell was Kale feeling things like that. I refused to accept it. I said as much, and Jez rolled her eyes at me. I grew frantic in my search for a waitress.
“Did you at least tell him how stupid that was? Or, that he was out of his mind, and no way in the world can he ever possibly have feelings like that for me?” I sounded desperate, and I grimaced.
Jez caught the eye of a passing waitress and beckoned her over. After we ordered another round, she turned to me. “You are nuts, you know that? You never just eat this stuff up. You always stress it.”
“Um, yeah. Of course. This isn't something to celebrate.”
“Well, you didn’t bang him yet, so who cares? Stop freaking out so much.” Jez’ eyes landed on someone behind me, and she lowered her voice. “Incoming.”
I busied myself by digging in my purse for cash as Kylarai and Julian took a seat at our table. Julian looked relatively uncomfortable, and I allowed myself a moment to enjoy that.
I was determined to have a relaxing evening with my friends, Julian excluded. The past couple nights had taken their toll on me. I chose an evening out at Lucy’s for a few reasons; one of them being that Shaz was there, even though he was working. Another was that I needed to occupy myself with something normal, something that didn't involve a trip to The Wicked Kiss or hunting and killing.
I’d been tempted to lie around at home and stare blankly at the TV. However, that was just too lame for words, and I refused to let Arys impact me on that level.
“It feels so good to have a night out,” Kylarai reached over to give my arm a squeeze. Her sweet smile was dazzling, and it was easy to see what drew Julian to her. If only he were actually worthy.
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until the waitress returned with a tray laden with drinks. When she set three in front of me, I thought I was overdoing it until Arys walked through the door. Then, I almost choked in my rush to down one.
I ignored him, refusing to look at him. Instead, I focused on Ky as if his presence meant nothing. “You should go on a trip or something, Ky. You work so much. A holiday would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
Both Jez and Ky raised an eyebrow at me, expecting me to react somehow to the vampire’s arrival. Julian swigged from his beer with a nonchalance that he wasn’t smart enough to feign. He was clueless, as I preferred it.
I looked pointedly at Ky, encouraging her to continue the meaningless small talk.
She glanced at Arys where he lingered near the door, then back to me with a small shrug.
“Yeah, I’d love to take a trip to Maui. Every time I think about going, I find an excuse not to.”
Even though I wasn't looking at him, my full attention was on Arys. Julian made a comment to Kylarai about how she was a workaholic, but I could barely follow.
Arys’ presence hurt me in a physical way, the kind of pain that came with the sting of betrayal and abandonment. In my peripheral vision, I saw him look my way before heading over to the usual table where his card-playing buddies always sat. Of course, it had to be directly in my line of vision.
He pulled out his wallet and tossed a handful of bills down on the table. As the appointed dealer dealt him some cards, he made a show of looking them over carefully.
Then, he looked up at me.
I told myself to look away, avoid those blue eyes so they couldn't pull me in.