8. Elsie
elsie
. . .
“Els?” Dana’s eyes met mine curiously as she slid onto Vi’s vacated stool.
I turned away from her, scowling into my salad.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong. We were just talking, and then she, like… totally hightailed it out of here.” I sighed, moving lettuce around to keep my hands busy, my voice hardly above a mumble. “It was like I scared her, or something.”
“You’re coming on way too strong,” chimed Juniper. She leaned over the railing from the loft above, the metal digging into her full chest. “Like you always do.”
My mouth popped open in surprise as I looked up at her. “That’s not?—"
“You know,” Juniper continued like I hadn’t spoken at all, waving her manicured hand airily. “ Pushy .”
“I’m not pushy!” I snapped, narrowing my eyes at the redhead.
She was always such a freaking busybody. Juniper’s way or the highway.
Her opinion whether you wanted to hear it or not.
It was so frustrating sometimes.
Dana winced, gently putting her hand on my shoulder. “To be fair, Els, you can be a little?—"
“I am not pushy!” I repeated hotly, redirecting my outrage at Dana.
Sure, I got a little excited sometimes. Maybe too excited. But it wasn’t like I let things get out of control. I was reasonable! I respected people’s boundaries!
“Amante, would you let me finish?” Dana pressed a finger to my lips as I opened my mouth to argue with her some more, cutting me off. “What I was saying ,” she continued, with a pointed look, “is that patience is not your strong suit.”
I sighed, grabbing her hand to hold in my lap in a tangle of ivory and onyx.
As much as I hated to admit it, Dana had a point. I did, sometimes , have a habit of rushing into things in my excitement. But was I doing that with Vi?
No, it couldn’t be.
We’d only been talking.
Fine, I’d been touching her, but just barely , and it wasn’t like I’d been inappropriate. Right? A brush against her back that still had the tips of my fingers tingling. A gentle stroke of her hair as I moved it away from her face, my fangs singing with the desire to sink them into the column of her gorgeous throat as I leaned in for a kiss…
Oops .
Okay, fine. Maybe I did go too far.
“I think you made her short-circuit, Dana,” called Juniper, brushing some invisible lint off the sleeve of her black sweater.
“You’re such a jerk,” I mumbled. “This conversation no longer concerns you, Juniper, thank you very much! You don’t even know Vi!”
“And you do?” she shot back with a laugh. “Please, Elsie. Do you even know when the poor girl’s birthday is? What about her favourite colour?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but as much as I hated to admit it, Juniper had a point. Vi had been working here for all of a week. Other than knowing I wanted to sink my teeth into every inch of her—she was realistically a stranger.
But so what?
From the moment I’d first spotted her working behind the bar, making me nearly overbalanced on the stupid swing that was part of the Spell On You routine, she’d had this pull .
I just… wanted to be around her. Get to know her.
Like fate.
Something way more important than knowing her dream vacation or what movies she watched when she was sad—not that I didn’t want to know that stuff. It just… didn’t impact my decision on whether or not I wanted to put my mouth all over her.
I wasn’t the only one that was feeling the draw either. I could already tell that Ren was on board—and she’d said as much, already planning on taking Vi out on a formal date to a baseball game.
My covenmate had major heart eyes every time she looked at Vi. The type of schoolyard crush that they usually associated with me.
Honestly, you got way too into tarot cards during a lover girl era one time and all of a sudden your view on relationships was ‘unrealistic’ and ‘too intense’.
But now? Maybe I’d hang up the title and retire as our polycule’s hopeless romantic. Even I couldn’t compete with the smitten heart-eyes Ren got every time she looked our new bartender’s way.
I even caught her using the novelty heart waffle iron I’d bought Dana for Valentine’s Day last year just this morning.
Heart. Waffles. With fresh strawberries .
She had it bad, all the signs were there. Somehow, it made me feel less insane that I was feeling the same pull.
“Whose favourite colour?” Ren asked, appearing in my mirror with her phone in hand like she’d been summoned by my thoughts alone. Her eyes stayed glued to the little glowing screen as she typed furiously. “Garrett is such a useless weasel dick. He’s trying to control how much I spend on the ordering like he knows fuck all about running a bar.”
Dana filled the rest of us in on his half-baked plan to try and take our home out from under us, and while I wouldn’t call someone a… weasel dick, it was hard not to agree with Ren’s assessment.
“Striker’s,” Juniper called in answer to her question. “And seconded regarding Garrett.”
“It’s yellow,” Ren replied with a slanted smile that showed off her fangs. Her warm gaze met mine in the mirror. “Like that jacket she wears.”
I took a second to pick my jaw up off the floor and twisted to look at her. Ren wasn’t exactly known for being the most perceptive out of the four of us. Too lost in her own inner world. “How do you know that?”
“Because it’s the same colour as her phone case and the hair tie thing she puts her hair up with at the end of the night.”
“Her scrunchie? Her freaking scrunchie is yellow, Ren?” I demanded, my tone accusing as much as it was disbelieving.
Who the heck was this new, attentive vampire filling my mirror?
“I suppose so,” she said with a shrug. “Why are you so worked up about it anyway? If there’s something you want to know, just ask her.”
“Take a breath,” Dana chuckled, patting my thigh.
Juniper snickered. “I think the words you’re looking for are, You were so right, Juniper. ”
I stuffed down the urge to throttle her and opened my mouth to tell her exactly where she could shove her smug opinions when Dana spoke over me.
“Enough, June. Don’t you have panties to sew? Fan closures that need fixing?”
She rolled her eyes, flashing her fangs with an irritated grimace passed off as a smile. “Don’t you have a spreadsheet to jerk off over?”
“Ugh, June. Don’t be crass,” I complained, covering my ears.
Out of all of us, she had the filthiest mouth. Something that’d used to make Cherie laugh. English was her second language, the innuendo often going clear over her head.
The memory of the first time she’d heard scissoring referred to as arts and crafts flashed, her head tossed back in a laugh as ruby tears spilled down her cheeks.
My heart twinged, a feeling I’d become used to whenever I thought about my sire. We hadn’t been romantic—not like how I was with Ren and Dana—but that didn’t make her absence feel any less… grey. Like all the colour had been sucked clean off the memories, leaving behind a desaturated image tinted with the horrible beigey sepia of sadness.
Juniper’s eyes softened, seeming to think better of whatever rude comment she’d opened her mouth to lob my way.
“You’re right, I have work to do. Later, Elsie, Dana,” she said, pushing off the railing and offering a little wave.
Ren sucked her teeth, a dark eyebrow rising dangerously. “No goodbye for me? We’ll just see about that.” She smacked a quick kiss to my cheek and nodded to Dana before jogging up the metal steps to the loft, with the tang of metal punctuating her steps.
“Think you have enough time to—” Dana started as she checked her watch, cursing. “Elsie! You’re on like now!”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” I hissed, quickly applying my lipstick. Luckily, I’d already gotten changed while I waited for Vi to bring our lunch.
Vi .
My stupid stomach tied itself in knots at the thought of her, but with curtain call looming and Dana patting my butt to get me moving, I didn’t have time to stress about it.
Besides, she promised to stay for the afterparty tonight. I could work my magic on Vi once she’d been stuffed full of the finest takeout that the cheap pizza place down the block had to offer—or whatever Dana picked this time.
People were always happiest when plied with good food, a couple drinks, and some time with friends. The perfect setting for me to unleash my brand new and totally epic plan— Operation: Get to know everything there is to know about Vivienne Knox .
Okay, yeah. I still needed to work on that name. It didn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But, snappy title notwithstanding, I had a job to do.
A goal.
Dana slid my robe off my shoulders, hanging it up as I strapped on my shoes. “Break a leg, babe.”
“Thanks,” I smiled, leaning forward to quickly press my lips to hers, leaving behind a bright pink smudge. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Don’t worry about Vi, okay? If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.” She turned me toward the stage and smacked my butt, making me laugh. “Have a good show.”
With a wink over my shoulder, I dashed to make my curtain call, taking the steps backstage two at a time.
I’d never make another wish—star, birthday, or double eleven if she was right.
Anything, if giving Vi a little time would mean her wanting me half as badly as I wanted her.
Off my game didn’t even fall into the same planet of how I felt stepping onto the stage, the usually familiar movements coming to me shakily as I danced. I just hoped that it wasn’t noticeable that my attention was off.
Not that it was my fault.
I blamed the lighting tech for making the bar so visible from the stage… and my dumb improved sight.
Being a vampire was so annoying sometimes. Could a girl not try and ignore her crush in peace without every one of my senses working overtime to make sure I was hyper-aware of her?
Having a plan didn’t do anything to help me until it was set in motion. So, whenever I turned and caught a glimpse of Vi accidentally brushing against Cole behind the bar as they worked together to cover Ren’s break... It stroked an angry little lick up my spine.
I knew she and Ren had something going, and I knew Cole couldn’t and wouldn’t get in the middle of it, so it was totally stupid… but I felt jealous seeing them work together so effortlessly.
It just seemed so easy between Vi and everybody but me.
Well… Unless you counted Juniper. But it was hard to consider her as a factor until she was willing to at least admit her attraction to Vi.
As frustrating as it was… Maybe she was right.
Was I coming on too strong?
The uneasy feeling in my stomach coiled tighter as I bowed, letting the applause wash over me in a wave. Usually, it left me feeling warm, appreciated. But tonight? I wanted to get backstage as quickly as possible.
The only positive was knowing that the club was closed and that the patrons would be steadily funnelling out, leaving the staff to enjoy the afterparty and me to my plan.
Probably the most annoying part was that I thought Vi liked me, but it was hard to tell if she liked me.
Cherie would know what to do, I thought as I headed for my vanity, waving to the other girls in a way that made it clear I didn’t really want to talk. Their conversation washed over me in an excited babble as they changed out of their costumes and into casual clothes, getting ready to enjoy a hard-earned evening off before we were closed for the next couple of days.
I pulled a pair of loose sweatpants over my gem-encrusted panties. I could change later, but for now I just wanted a bit of comfort while I worked through the bitter emotions that’d hijacked my body.
Besides, if I’d learned anything, it was that even when things were falling apart, it was always better when it happened in an ample amount of glitter and a push-up bra.
The cruel injustice of it all made my throat tight, a familiar feeling whenever I stumbled into thoughts of my sire.
It wasn’t fair; it wasn't right that Cherie wasn’t here to talk about this.
She would’ve loved Vi, or at least the way she’d shaken up the sad little routine our coven had fallen into since she’d passed.
I tugged a cropped hoodie over my head, fluffing my hair out of the back.
Grief was... weird. Uncomfortable. I missed Cherie more every day, always finding new things that I wished I could tell her about or stuff I wanted advice on, but it was getting easier too. More normal.
Instead of immediate sobs whenever I thought of her, it was more like an aching. A longing that was manageable more than crushing.
Like learning to breathe again.
But nights like tonight? It sucked.
The staff afterparty was Cherie’s favourite. An opportunity for everyone to get together as a family and blow off some steam.
I was proud of Dana for keeping it, even if she’d rather head upstairs to unwind solo with a glass of wine and a book. But that didn’t make it any less hard.
The lights overhead flashed, letting us know that the bar was finally empty of patrons, and I grinned to myself. Leaning forward so close that my breath fogged the surface, I met my eyes in the mirror with a glittery fingernail pressed into the glass.
“You’re not pushy . You’re totally cool. Cute. Flirty .”
Babydoll—Kaylee, as she was known when she wasn’t working—snickered from the other side of the vanity. “Hyping yourself up?”
“Maybe.” I groaned, running a hand through my silvery blonde hair that made the curls stand on end.
She peeked her head around the corner, green eyes gleaming with mischief. “Is this about Vi?”
“Maybe,” I repeated.
Was it inappropriate to gossip about the girl to her best friend? Yeah, probably. Was I slightly desperate for information about my pathetic little crush? Also, tragically, yes.
“I just came from VIP. Cole sliced his hand, and Ren is taking the opportunity for a refill, sooooo,” she dragged the word out with a pointed swing of her gaze toward the curtain separating us from the main bar. “If you go out there now, Vi is probably alone. You know, if you want to talk.”
I grinned at the blonde, a newfound fond gratitude for Babydoll bubbling to life. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
Kaylee winked as she disappeared back into her station, pointedly calling to the other girls. “Hey, can you guys look at this picture I took? I want to make sure that it’ll make Roxy wish she joined me in VIP tonight…”
The perfect distraction to buy me a little time.
Girls looking out for girls, gotta love it.
Babydoll, I owe you one!
With the quickest brush of some blush against the apples of my cheeks for some colour, I was up and headed for the bar. I pushed through the heavy curtain with butterflies doing the salsa in my belly, my eyes immediately seeking out the human.
A little one-on-one time was exactly what I needed to get my secret mission started on the right foot.
Vi had her back to me, her face upturned to look at the shelves behind the bar. Her arms crossed over her chest as she studied the multi-coloured bottles thoughtfully.
“Thinking about what you want to make?” I asked curiously, sitting on one of the stools to lean my elbows on the polished wood surface.
Vi looked over her shoulder at me, her expression guarded. “Ren told me to make something human-approved for her to sample, but I think she was just being nice. I want to challenge myself… I think I might’ve bragged too close to the sun on this one.”
“Luckily for you, we can’t follow.” I shrugged, playing with a lock of my hair. “You want to impress her?”
“Maybe.” She laughed. “Is that silly?”
“No,” I returned with a flirty smile. “I feel the same way about you.”
The blush that dusted her nose and the tips of her ears as she quickly turned away to pull down a few liqueurs—seemingly at random—made my mouth water.
I wasn’t sure if it was from attraction or hunger. Horngriness ? Like hangry, but more like I wanted to take her freaking clothes off and suck the taste of her scent right off her skin.
Okay, okay, Elsie.
Back on task.
A slightly strained silence sat between us while she worked on fixing a pair of layered cocktails. Seconds ticking by like hours, my foot jiggling anxiously under the bar, until, finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“What’s your favourite colour?” I blurted out.
“Yellow, why?” she asked, her dark eyes meeting mine with a lopsided smirk that made my jiggling leg stop in its tracks.
Ren is such a dumb, stinking, annoying know-it-all.
I knew, at least in part, that Ren’s upper hand was due to how closely they worked. Being able to talk in between clients was a lot of additional hours I just didn’t have when I needed to be on stage.
And then there was their walk to pick up coffee.
I really was falling behind when it came to time spent.
“No reason! Just curious!”
Her brows knitted together as she slid a tall, thin cocktail glass toward me. The drink had three layers visible like a sunset—yellow, orange, and reddish pink.
“Can you tell me if that’s any good?” she asked, flattening her bangs nervously.
“You aren’t going to have one too?”
“Nah, I’m not really into plasma.” She shrugged. “Go on, I wanna know if it’s gross or not.”
“Right,” I said slowly, sliding the glass my way.
I took a sip, and the taste of raspberries, oranges, and salt met my tongue with the burn of alcohol like a whispered afterthought. It wasn’t just good—it was delicious .
“Starting a bit early, aren’t you, Els?” Ren quipped as she slipped past Vi, her hand grazing the human’s lower back possessively.
Vi didn’t flinch from her touch, her gaze heated as her eyes tracked the vampire’s movements.
I pushed away my irritated feelings and fixed a smile onto my face. It was good that she was getting closer to Ren. It meant that I'd have more time to get closer myself... I hoped, at least.
“Vi wanted me to try her drink,” I said pointedly to my covenmate. “It’s amazing, by the way.” I beamed at Vi, and she returned it with a smile of her own.
For a moment we just looked at each other, her warm brown eyes studying mine. Whatever she was looking for, she must’ve found as she leaned her arms on the bar, getting into my space.
“What’s your favourite colour?” she asked.
“What?”
“You asked me, so I’m asking you,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “So, what is it? And for the record, glitter doesn’t count.”
“Pink.”
“Should’ve known,” she mused, sliding the second glass to Ren. “Give this a go?”
Ren collected the cocktail, taking a long drink. Her appreciative hum was paired with a lazy, suggestive smile. “Oh, this tastes like sin .”
The floral perfume of Vi’s blood intensified as her cheeks flushed, making me shift on my seat. My throat burned with thirst—I hadn’t gotten a chance for a top-up yet today, and I was still getting used to the smell of her.
Of dew-covered honeysuckle and sweet vanilla.
I hadn’t felt a pull like this toward a human since I’d been turned. I’d heard the stories, of course—vampires who met mortals with blood that called to them as a physical need. Hearing about it, I couldn’t understand how anyone could be tempting enough to make a vamp lose themselves.
But experiencing it?
I got it now. The desire to touch, and taste, and drink, and rip, and tear, and— whoa Elsie! Cool. Calm. Flirty.
I downed the rest of the drink, hoping that the platelets in the plasma were enough to drown the need hollowing my belly and demanding I drink.
Cole and Kaylee breezed through the heavy curtain, laughing loudly as they came to join us. I snapped up, my spine straightening as they threw themselves down onto stools beside me like bookends.
With the scent of Vi’s blood in the air, I could hardly register them. It was nearly suffocating.
“Vi,” Kaylee sang. “Can you make me a Knockoff Rolex?” She spread her arms over the bar, half lying on top of it. “God, I’m so tired.”
“Coming right up.”
“Knockoff Rolex?” Ren asked, quirking an eyebrow as she quickly rinsed our empty glasses.
“Yup!” Kaylee popped the p enthusiastically. “The finest ambrosia.”
“It’s a drink we made up when we worked together in college,” Vi explained, turning her back to me as she pulled down a bottle of cheap whiskey. “All the guys with fake Rolexes ordered a double of well whiskey with whatever bitters we had behind the bar.”
Ren’s mouth popped open in horror, lip curling back from her fangs.
“You’re joking; you know we carry top shelf— right ?” She turned, levelling an accusatory stare at Kaylee.
The blonde shrugged. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, snob.”
I grabbed Ren’s sleeve as she made a move to take the bottle from Vi’s hand. “Maybe you’ll like it.”
She scoffed, turning her offence on me. “Don’t be absurd.”
“Y’know what? I’ll take one too,” chimed Cole conspiratorially. “Team bonding or whatever.”
Vi mixed us each a drink, sliding mine in front of me with a gentle smile and a couple of seconds of eye contact that I lapped up like a starved dog. The others received theirs shortly after, offering polite smiles and thank yous.
“Bottoms up!” Kaylee shouted, tipping the cup into her mouth and smacking her lips together appreciatively. “Ugh, disgusting ! Nostalgia never makes it better!”
Ren sniffed her glass like it was likely to explode, making a face. “There’s no way I’m drinking this.”
“Oh yeah?” Vi challenged, stepping toe-to-toe with the vampire.
“Yeah,” she asserted, looking down at the human with her jaw set stubbornly.
The tension was palpable as Vi’s palm met Ren’s chest in a decisive shove, forcing her down onto a stool. The human stepped between my covenmate’s legs, the space between them dwindling down to nothing as her hand threaded into Ren’s hair.
“C’mon,” she said softly, a thread of teasing in her soft tone as she took a drink from the glass.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that Ren had been compelled by how quickly her lips popped open. Vi used her grip on Ren’s hair to tilt her head back, leaning over her to press their lips together in a kiss that allowed her to trade the cocktail between them. Ren drinking straight from her lips as her tattooed throat worked with her swallow.
Vi moved to pull away, but Ren was faster, using a hand wrapped around the back of her neck to bring their mouths together for another, deeper kiss.
I pressed my thighs together, trying to ignore the flash of arousal at the sight of them together, my mind wandering away from sharing drinks and into passing me around.
“Well that wasn’t… awful,” Ren said breathlessly as Vi released her, the human dancing out of her reach as she made a move to pull her back in.
Vi used one hand to help her vault over the bar, collecting Ren’s abandoned drink from Cole as he offered it to her.
“It’s pretty bad,” he said, wrinkling his freckled nose as he sipped from his own glass.
"You liked it!" Vi trilled to Ren’s turned back as she pulled a bottle of nice whiskey from the shelf.
"I did not !" the vampire hissed, turning her head to cast a heated look in the human’s direction. “No complaints about the presentation, though.”
I grinned as Vi stood behind me, using my body as a shield while she sipped her drink.
“Aw, c’mon Ren; it’s like fun bad. Like a shitty horror movie. Or cheap pizza,” Kaylee said with a stifled giggle at the sour expression on my covenmate’s face.
"Absolutely not. And don’t you get comfortable there,” she warned Vi, looking at her over my shoulder. The cork made a pop as she yanked it free of the bottle, splashing several fingers of ambery liquid into a short glass without ice. “I’m going to get even the second I’ve washed that vile concoction out of my mouth, and she's not going to help you?—”
“Yes, she will!” Vi shot back, her warm palm meeting my shoulder for a playful shake, the awkwardness between us from before disintegrating like that video with the raccoon trying to wash its cotton candy. “Right, Els?”
I puffed up on my stool, putting my hands on my hips like a superhero. "Of course I will."
"Let's eat!" Dana called as she pushed through the curtain from the back with a stack of takeout containers.
Vi’s hand fell away from my shoulder as Kaylee hooked their arms together, dragging her toward the table.
"You're going to love this," the blonde said with a grin.
Cole joined on Vi’s other side. “Dana picks a different place every week for us to try.”
"Any idea about this week’s pick then?" Vi replied, taking a sip from her glass.
“Indian,” Kaylee said excitedly.
Ren looked over her shoulder at where I was sitting, having hopped over the bar herself to follow the group. "You coming?"
"Yeah, sorry." I shook myself and moved off the stool, rushing to catch up with the others.
Seriously, Elsie, get it together! You need to ask more questions! Step one, get to know her. Step two, use all that excellent knowledge to woo the heck out of her. Step three ? —
“Want to sit with me?” Vi called as Cole pulled out the chair beside her for himself, Kaylee already tucked into her other side.
I darted forward with a boost from my vampire speed, dropping into the seat before Cole could. I grinned over my shoulder at him, batting my eyelashes playfully at his rolling eyes. "Thanks, Prince Charming ."
He scoffed. "You're welcome, Princess ."
“I like the sound of that,” Vi mused, grabbing a takeout container and dumping rice onto her paper plate. “ Princess Elsie .”
God, I’d have to feed if she made me blush like that again.
“When is your birthday?” I squeaked, trying to ignore the butterflies hosting a party in my belly.
Vi took another drink from her glass, making Ren cringe as she sat down beside me.
“You can’t actually enjoy that swamp water.”
“Maybe I just need to come up with another way for you to give it a try,” Vi quipped as the rest of the staff piled around the long, foldable table that’d been set for us.
Ren’s returning smirk was full of heat. “Maybe.”
Most of the furniture had been stacked and pushed aside, making room for the front and back of the house to share the space.
Getting to see everyone was the best part of the after party.
“It’s September fifth,” Vi said. “I’m a Virgo. When is yours?”
“January fourth! I think that makes me a Capricorn.” I grinned.
“Huh,” Vi mused, tilting her head to the side and resting her cheek on her knuckles, propped up by her elbow. “I would’ve guessed a water sign.”
“Ren’s a Cancer.”
“Softie,” teased Vi with a flirty look that Ren pretended not to catch.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Juniper said, taking the seat beside Ren. “How do I always end up beside you?”
“Because you love me?” Ren suggested, nudging her.
“Ooooh, you caught me,” Juniper volleyed back sarcastically. “Whatever will I do?”
Dana clapped her hands twice, cutting off Ren’s reply.
“Great work this week, everyone. For anyone who hasn’t gotten to meet her yet—our search for a third bartender is finally over. Everyone, meet Striker. Striker, this is everyone.”
Vi stood up, missing the smirk that Nick shot toward Dana as she looked around with an awkward, put-on-the-spot type of wave. “Hey, if you need anything, just ask.”
“Cute,” Kitty said as Vi sat back down.
“You could’ve mentioned that part,” she hissed at Kaylee.
Ren piled coconut rice and beef vindaloo onto my plate before sliding it toward me.
“This is so good I’m going to die,” Vi moaned beside me, digging into a vegetable samosa. “I fucking love these things.”
“Let me grab some wine,” Cole said, hopping up to go grab a few bottles from the bar.
Unsurprisingly, dinner was spectacular. Dana had gotten about two of everything that the restaurant offered, and after several bottles of wine shared amongst the table and far too many of Vi’s new cocktail, I was pleasantly buzzed—and totally stuffed.
“Do you want another drink?” Vi asked, leaning into my ear as she pushed back her chair.
“Sure,” I replied. “You think maybe that one from before?”
“The Knockoff Rolex?”
“No way!”
She chuckled. “Oh, I know—the special one?”
I nodded just as Cole looped his arm with Vi’s, Kaylee coming to grab her other side.
“Let Ren get us all drinks!” he insisted, leading Vi away to the sofa closest to the stage. “It’s Peaches’s birthday tomorrow, so there’s caaaaake!” He waved a plate of chocolate cake under her nose, and Vi’s eyes widened with excitement.
“Sorry, Els!” she called as the trio plunked down onto the couch, casting me a helpless look as Kaylee dove immediately into a whispered conversation.
Ren traded seats to put her arm around me, kissing my cheek. “Seems whatever happened before is all smoothed over, yeah?”
I sighed softly, turning my head to steal a kiss from her lips. “I think so; now I just gotta figure out what I did in the first place.”