Page 45 of Double Shot

The fae flashed me another brief smile and drawled, “I’ve recently developed a taste for it, I’m afraid.”

“Then we’re going to an arcade,” Vince added, voice muffled through his oatmeal. “He’s never been to one. Should be fun. I’m gonna kick his ass at air hockey.”

I stared at them in quiet disbelief. Pizza and an arcade? I was pretty sure that was the exact date all my brothers used to take girls on when they were about fourteen.

“Cool,” I said faintly. “So… not going to the motel, then?”

A faint blush stained Crossbody’s high cheekbones as Vince snickered.

“Does everyone know about the motel?” the fae griped, crossing his arms as he leaned a hip against the counter. But he didn’t really seem all that bothered. He actually looked a little smug.

“No, no,” I blurted. “Just—I was there when, um, that incubus came to the meet and greet, remember? He mentioned it then.”

“Oh yeah, we remember.” Vince gave my arm a good-natured nudge. “And then he took one look at you, Bri, and was a goner. Instantly smitten.”

Heat prickled under my fur. I huffed an awkward sound that was supposed to be a laugh. “Nah.”

“But anyway, no, we weren’t planning on going to the Elfknot tonight.” Vince shot Crossbody a smirk as my pulse leaped. “Although…”

The Elfknot. So that was where the beautiful incubus worked.

I’d got the information I wanted, but I didn’t want to be rude and just walk off, so I forced myself to make a bit more conversation. “Well, I’m sure pizza and the arcade will be fun, instead of…”

I trailed off when I realised it wouldn’t be particularly polite of me to finish that sentence, given what Vince and Crossbody used to sneak off to the motel to do. In fact, maybe it had been inappropriate of me to have brought up at all? I’d been told a few times in my life, by siblings mostly, that sometimes I asked the questions or said the things that most people knew not to actually voice. Especially when I was a kid. I was better now, for the most part.

At least Vince and Crossbody didn’t seem offended. And anyway, I’d needed to find out where the incubus worked, and that felt a lot more important than the potential risk of offending my colleagues.

Vince laughed and gave me a jovial slap on the arm. “You crack me up sometimes, Bri.”

I chuckled awkwardly alongside him and decided now was a good time to turn on the blender and make my protein shake. To my relief, Vince slipped his arm around Crossbody’s waist and the pair of them wandered off. My back loosened, shoulders lowering from my ears. I washed up after myself and started gulping down my shake, turning away from the counter just as Corey swept into the room.

Cora was tucked under his arm as always, and his sheer pink robe with enormous cape sleeves billowed behind him with every step, showing off skintight pink leggings on his lower half that left very little to the imagination.

My fight-or-flight response tried to kick in when his piercing green gaze locked on me and he smiled brightly before heading straight in my direction. With intent. I swallowed, clutching my protein cup a little tighter until my claws scraped against the plastic, and offered a nervous smile back. It wasn’t like Corey was ever mean or unpleasant, but he had a very big personality and a very intimidating presence. Plus, it was extremely rare for me to be around someone taller than me, so that tended to set me on edge a little. I was six-eight, and Corey still towered over me at seven-foot-five. He was a behemoth.

But it wasn’t his height that made me nervous. It was his penchant for picking out someone on the team for an intimate ‘catch-up.’ He called them Corey Chit-chats. Sometimes he liked to combine them with a joint workout. Those, he called Powerlifting Powwows.

I liked Corey a lot, he was great, but a sense of complete and utter dread always washed over me when my time for another ‘chit-chat’ or ‘powwow’ cycled back around on Corey’s calendar.

“Hello, Brian, darling.” He air-kissed the side of my snout before reaching for the fridge. “And how are we?”

“I’m good, thanks,” I said quickly, in the liveliest tone I could manage. If he ever sniffed out even a hint of melancholy, Corey pounced to try and figure out what was wrong with you so he could brighten your day. And find out the gossip.

From the fridge, he pulled out one of his pre-made protein shake bottles that boasted organic whey with added grass-fed beef collagen and essential amino acids. Holt had to order them in especially. “Wonderful! I’m doing very well,” he added, even though I hadn’t had the chance to ask him yet. “I think Holt is finally going to agree to get me an assistant. And good lord, Brian, I need it. You have no idea.”

“I can imagine,” I said politely, even though I really had no idea why he needed an assistant.

“Some days it just feels like the weight of the world is on these shoulders.” He gave his shoulders a little shimmy, in case I wasn’t sure where they were located. “Thank god they’re so fabulously wide, eh?” He patted me on the chest, and I managed a weak smile.

“Heh. Yeah. For sure.”

“Anyway, I’m about to make a team announcement, but I saw you over here and just had to come and see how you’re doing. I saw you and thought, how is my friend Brian doing? I haven’t spoken to him in an age!”

“Thanks, Corey,” I said sincerely. He was a lot, but it all came from a good place. “Oh, that reminds me. Your brother says hello.”

Corey huffed and rolled his eyes, but somehow managed to make both actions look affectionate. “That ruffian. Let me guess—you saw him at Cratos?”

I nodded. Corey and Holt were the only ones who knew about my underground fighting… career? Habit? I didn’t really know how to categorise it, because it probably wasn’t something I should’ve been doing, but it helped me relieve tension and made me decent money. Corey only found out because he once went to Cratos to watch his younger brother Darryl, who fought as Menoetius and just so happened to be fighting me that night.