“You told him,” I offer, and she sagely nods.
“Right. But he could’ve cleaned something else, like a bike or something.”
“You don’t have a bike,” the superhero says. And I swear, those lips still aren’t moving, not even a little bit.
“You don’t?” I ask, staring at the Callies sitting next to me. I blink rapidly. “Everyone has a bike. Everyone.”
“You don’t have one, either.”
“Holy schnikes!” I shriek. “He is a god! How does he know this?”
“Tell us,” Callie demands of the guy. “Did you get this all from one sniff? Does her hair tell you that she’s bikeless?” She leans over and picks up a strand of my hair. “He’s right, though. Strawberries. I’d totally eat it if, you know, people ate hair. And I wasn’t allergic to strawberries. But if you switched to something like raspberries? Yeah. It’d eat it then.”
“You. Bartender,” the superhero growls. His voice is so mighty it comes from above. “Absolutely no more drinks for these two, got it?”
He looks nervous, this superhero. And he keeps looking up and then back down at us over and over again. “I…I…” he stammers, and his lips are moving. Geez, he is confusing.
“Should go? Immediately?” he snaps to himself, lips shut.
“Dude!” Callie number one says. “He speaks in voices. So cool.”
“You’re like one of those superhero twins,” I say as he jerks to his feet. “The purple-ish ones? Who can turn into buckets of water?”
“This is what I’m saying!” Callie slaps a hand against my shoulder. “A bucket of water would be awesome right now. Will you do it for us?”
The multi-voiced, sniffing superhero flees, leaving us puzzled and hurt over his absence.
“Our combined beauty,” Callie says seriously, hand pressed against her chest, “was too much for even a god to bear all at once.”
“It’s a burden we must bear,” I murmur. And then, out of nowhere, Jonah materializes in the chair that the god-like guy from my class was in.
“Jonah!” Callie sits up, surprised. “You just missed the most amazing person EVER.”
“He was,” I agree, and Jonah has to help me sit up. My head spins. The room is spinning, too. Is this the jukebox? I should tell Steve to push a button to make it stop. I hold my head in my hands and tell Jonah, “I had no idea that one person could do so much Magic!”
“He was better than you,” Callie sighs. I peek out of my hands to see her motioning to Jonah. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”
With a very, very straight face, Jonah says, “I suppose it’s a burden I must bear.”
We’re still regaling Jonah with stories about the bar god when we get back to Kellan’s hospital room. Astrid isn’t there. Neither is Kate. It’s just Kellan and Karl, and they’re sitting at the table with these confused, troubled looks. Poor boys. They need some happy drinks.
“Where’s the big guy?” Callie yells as Jonah gently shoves us into the room. “The guy who thinks my girl here is a Guard slayer?” She looks at me, frowning. “That’s what he was saying, right?”
I nod, but ugh, ugh! This room is spinning, too. I reach out to cling to Jonah, but he’s already across the room, pouring some water into a cup.
“I’ll kick his ass for you,” she coos, throwing an arm around my shoulder. She’s so sweet, there’s so much love in that arm that we nearly fall over. “I took kung fu once, you know.”
“No you didn’t,” Jonah sighs, handing me the cup. I stare at it, wishing it was a beach drink. Beach drinks are so, so tasty. And happy. Jonah doesn’t look happy. Callie does, though. I’m glad for that.
Only, wait. She’s not happy. She’s mad. “I could have.” She shoves a finger at Jonah’s chest. “I thought about it once. It counts, you know. It’s almost the same thing.”
“I believe you,” I tell her. Kung Fu Callie would be rad. “And I’d like to see you kick what’s-his-name’s ass. He’s old. You could totally do it.”
“Are you two drunk?” Karl demands. He’s so loud I have to put my hands over my ears.
“That’s my Karl,” I tell Callie once he goes quiet. “He likes to yell at me, you know. It’s his way of showing love.”
“He’s a yeller,” she confirms. “Karl! Yell at me, too!”
“What in the hell?” Karl snaps at Jonah. Woo boy, he looks totally mad, too. These boys need Mai Tais STAT.
“Me!” Callie is shouting. “Not Jonah!”
“I found them at the bar on the roof,” Jonah says. “Apparently, they’ve been drowning in Mai Tais.”
“Mai Tais,” Callie lets them know, “are very pretty drinks.”
“Steve makes the best,” I agree.
“Steve?” Kellan asks Jonah.
“Steve,” Callie answers. “Remember? Two months back? Steve with the black leather pants?” She holds my face between her hands, squishing my cheeks. “Chloe, you would have died. They creaked when he walked.”
Oh, leather pants sound so fabulously sexy. “Did you make him walk up and down stairs or do squats?”