28. ~Celine~
Chapter 28
~Celine~
Elijah waved as he walked down the walkway with his mother to their car.
“See you next week,” I called before hurrying back inside to clean and lock up.
We’d painted using watercolors today, so I rushed to empty the cup of water and put the drawing of his home and a tree with a tire swing out front on the back counter.
Lauren had called me screaming with excitement about an hour ago, right before my last client, that she’d passed the bar. She then begged me to join her for a celebratory drink at our favorite spot from college since it was where we celebrated all our big events back in the day. As spontaneous and wild as she was, she was also extremely superstitious, which was kind of cute.
I agreed but only for a drink or two before I had to hurry to the party for Ronan and his team at Howler’s. Lauren was heading back to Baton Rouge tomorrow to officially close out her apartment there and pick up the last of her things to move back home. Otherwise, I would’ve tried to reschedule. Even though it was playing it close with the party for Ronan, I agreed to meet for an hour right after work.
I texted her that I was on my way, then headed toward Mid-City. It wasn’t a regular college bar, which is why we liked it.
When I parked along the street, I sent Ronan a quick text that I was at the bar and would let him know when I was on my way to Howler’s. The bar, which was a popular drinking spot for supernaturals and humans, had a decent crowd for happy hour. Lauren was sitting on the right side of the bar that wrapped in a big rectangle.
“Ciciiiiiiiii,” she squealed and jumped up to give me a big hug. She was one of the few friends who used the nickname my family gave me. She squeezed me super tight. “It’s so good to see you, girl.”
Laughing, I hugged her back. Lauren’s aura was always so effervescent. She was the outgoing, charismatic one of the two of us. It was likely the reason we got along so well in college. I was always the shy but levelheaded one.
She had her brunette hair up in a big clip, her blue eyes sparkling with joy as she pulled me to our little spot in the back where we always sat. Although Lauren wasn’t a witch, she had the alluring persona of a supernatural. She always seemed to draw people into her orbit.
“Can you believe it?” she asked excitedly. “I’m going to be a lawyer. My daddy never believed in me, but you always did.”
“He always underestimated you, and of course I knew you would. Lauren, you’re the one person in this world who can manifest the hell out of anything and make it happen. ”
She burst out laughing. “Or manifest a disaster and make that happen.”
I settled next to her. “You were good at that too. But hey, college was never boring.”
She waved the bartender over, her sangria half gone. That was always her favorite drink. “You want a sangria?”
“Sure thing.”
“Can we get two more?”
The bartender nodded and then took another order from some guys next to us. Happy hour was hopping, the bar already pretty crowded.
“So what now?” I angled toward her on my stool. “Will you work for your dad?”
She heaved a dramatic sigh. “I don’t know.”
Her father was a well-known and successful attorney in the city.
“But I’ll bet he’s already clearing out a corner office for you at his firm.”
“He’s said as much. I just want to make it on my own first.” I totally understood that.
“So how are things going with Ronan?” she asked excitedly. Instantly, I beamed, and she laughed.
“That good, huh? Let’s go. Give me the details.”
So I did. By the time I finished my first drink, I’d confessed how I’d fallen hard and was positively in love with him.
“I’m so happy for you,” she gushed with that overflow of joy in her aura beaming out of her. “You deserve all the happiness, Cici. ”
“And so do you. Any new prospects for you? What about that guy you were telling me about in your study group for the bar?”
She snorted, then sipped the last of her second drink. “No way. Total douche. Still a single Pringle.”
“You’ll find the right one.”
“No worries.” She scanned the bar. “Lots of pretties in here to play with.”
I glanced at my phone to check the time.
“Oh no,” she whined. “Please stay for one more. I think those hot guys are coming over, and I don’t want to hang alone.”
“You know I hate playing wingman.”
“Please, please, please. Just ten more minutes. That’ll be long enough to see which one I want.”
Sighing, I hopped off the stool, glancing toward the restrooms. “I need to go to the bathroom, then ten minutes and I have to go.”
“You’re an angel. Hey, two more sangrias, please,” she called to the bartender as I zigzagged through the thickening crowd of after-work drinkers.
After using the bathroom and washing my hands, I felt my phone buzz.
Ronan: I see you’re still at the bar. Coming soon? I miss you.
Smiling, I texted back quickly.
Me: Leaving in 10! Promise. I miss you too ?
Ronan: ? ? ?
I tucked my phone back into the pocket of the new pink dress I’d bought for Ronan’s celebration party. I wanted to surprise Ronan with something new and pretty. It had a sweetheart bodice and a billowy skirt with lots of waving folds, the hem stopping a few inches above my knees. He would love this dress.
Hiking my purse back on my shoulder, I left the bathroom and returned to Lauren to find a group of guys gathered around her. No surprise there. When one of them stepped back to make room for me, I instantly felt the buzz of supernatural energy. When I sat down and turned to get a look at them, my stomach flipped sickeningly.
They were the Iron Claws team.
“Cici, these handsome gentlemen wanted to join us.”
Baron, the one I recognized first, stood closer to me. “We know each other already, actually. Don’t we, Cici ?”
Lauren instantly picked up on the anxious vibes I must’ve been projecting.
“You know them?” she asked, her brow pinching with a slight frown.
“We do. Her boyfriend’s team just won the wolf cage championship.”
Baron smiled, but my radar was on full alert, even as he reached over with his bottled beer and clinked it with the sangria I held carelessly in both my hands, needing to hold on to something.
“No hard feelings, though.” He didn’t mean it. I could read him too well, but I was trying to figure out how to extricate ourselves without making a scene.
“Lauren, I think we should go.” I glanced around nervously. The bar was packed, and I didn’t want to be dramatic, but my instincts were telling me to get the hell out of there. Now .
“Aww, not yet,” protested Baron with a smile. “How about a toast, guys? To the new champions of the NOWFC.”
They tapped beer bottles and drank while my heart raced wildly. Automatically, I took a sip while Lauren knocked the rest of hers back.
“I think that’s enough for us, guys,” she said with a bang of her empty glass on the bar.
She jumped up from her stool and instantly stumbled forward. I leaped to my feet and lunged for her, as did that big guy on their team, Carter.
“Lauren!” I reached for her, but Carter held her up, her body sagging against him. She was completely knocked out.
“What happened?” I asked, realizing my speech slurred.
“One more sip, sweetheart.” Baron gripped me around the waist and shoved my drink up to my mouth.
“No.” I tried to push it away, but my arms were weak, my limbs feeling heavy. Some of the drink slid into my mouth before I jerked my head away.
“What a stroke of luck, eh, Baron?” one of his teammates said as my knees buckled beneath me.
Baron caught me as I fell. “For us, it sure as fuck is. But not for her.”
Then all went dark as their laughter echoed around me.