Page 124 of Eternal Devotion

“Okaaay.” I chuckled. “Cristofer, this is Ziggy, short for Siegmund, Mars, short for Marsden, and the grump with his head buried in papers is Poet.”

“Short for nothing, and I wish I could say my parents were dope smoking hippies or radicals, but neither is true. I go by—”

Poet’s words died off at the same time Cristofer exclaimed, “Oh my.”

They stared at one another, Poet’s paperwork and dungeon statistics seemingly forgotten.

A beat of silence filled the room.

Mordecai cleared his throat. “We’ll make ourselves scarce.”

He grabbed Cristofer’s arm and tried to drag him into the kitchen area, but Cristofer planted his feet and didn’t move. His full attention was on Poet, who had stalled at the sight of the newcomer.

Lips parted, eyes wide, and with his glasses hanging precariously off the end of his nose, Poet seemed at a loss for words, which was highly out of character for my logic-arguing friend.

Oddly, Cristofer wore a similar stunned expression.

The moment lasted seconds at most. Long enough for Mars and me to exchange glances and silently question what was happening. Ziggy didn’t seem to notice.

Mordecai jerked Cristofer’s arm more forcefully, making him stumble. “Don’t even think about it.” He dragged him bodily into the kitchen.

Poet snapped out of his daze and looked around. His cheeks took on color, and the instant he registered we were all staring, he scowled. “What? Can we play?”

Mars smothered a grin. “By all means.”

Nothing more was said about the awkward introduction, but for a guy who typically ran his dungeons with precision and rigidity, the final boss room was a sloppy mess. Poet kept losing his place and seemed suddenly shy when it came to performing his Dungeon Master duties. More than once, I caught him glancing in the direction of the table and Cristofer, who stole his own glances at my friend.

I wasn’t stupid, but I was also starting to realize that I didn’t know Poet as well as I thought. Rather, I’d made assumptions that I had no business making.

Unless I was way off course, but I doubted it.

Things didn’t wrap up until close to midnight, but Poet seemed to have forgotten his original concern about sleep and work. All mentions of Kate vanished from conversation. He lingered, packing his game bag much slower than usual. In fact, he was the last one to the door, and I sensed he was purposefully lingering.

“Good luck with Kate.” I handed him the Tupperware of leftover apology brownies, a not-so-subtle reminder that he had other issues to occupy his time. “I hope you figure things out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out. Here,” he passed the brownies back, “I can’t eat them.” He motioned to Mordecai and Cristofer, who had taken over the high-top table. “See if they want some.”

Cristofer had registered Poet’s departure, and his attention was glued to my friend. I wanted to warn Poet off, but my reasoning was hardly sound. Who was I to dissuade him from seeking affection from a vampire when I was willingly and happily involved with Mordecai? Hell, I would love to have someone to talk to about this unusual circumstance, and Poet would be ideal.

No sooner had I shut the door behind Poet, Cristofer hopped to his feet, announcing, “It’s so stuffy in here. I think I’ll slip out and get some air.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Mordecai snagged his arm before he could saunter away and shoved him back onto the seat. “Leave the poor man alone.”

Cristofer scoffed. “Why on earth would I do that?”

“I’ll give you two reasons. One, we have a mission that takes priority over your libido.”

“You’re such a hypocrite.” Cristofer caught my eye and winked.

Mordecai ignored him. “Two. Did you already forget about your hunky Albanian football player?”

Cristofer waved a hand in the air with a pff. “He’s probably fucking his roommate right now because I vanished without an explanation. You see, duck? I sacrificed my love life for you. I deserve a reward. The least you could do is allow me a bit of fun.”

Approaching the table, I cut in. “Poet has a girlfriend. Sort of. They’re working shit out. Besides, I’m not sure his interests… swing that way.”

Mordecai smirked.

Cristofer snorted. “Oh, you naïve soul. I assure you, they do, and not because I have superior hearing and listened to his racing heart, but I know interest when I see it. He was charmed.” Cristofer licked his lips salaciously.