Chapter 11 #2
He sputters, but I close out the call and break into a jog.
Hooking a left into the alleyway between Whiskey Business and the Welcome Inn, I head into the hidden tunnels below Main Street.
Then I find my way to the handful of boats and the hidden river that runs beneath all of Pine Gulch’s downtown.
Neither Lemon nor Oz are there yet, so I busy myself hopping into a boat and settling onto a seat. I can’t sit still, though, so I tap my foot incessantly until I hear footsteps. Oz arrives first, swanning into the room with a swish of his hips, wings held high behind him.
“Girl, this better be good.” Ginger trails behind him, her nose practically touching his tail as she slinks into the light.
“Oh, it is,” I mutter as he hops into the boat. He has to kiss the dog to get her to join us, and she tucks herself between his thighs with her head on his knee.
He rolls his eyes but scratches her neck anyhow. “This girl is obsessed.”
I eye the pretty thing. “But she hasn’t bonded to you yet?”
He runs big purple fingers down her neck. “Nah, not yet. This is a normal amount of hovering, I’m told. Once she starts giving you the stink eye for hugging me or something, that’ll mean she’s bonded.”
Lemon smiles and reaches down to pet Ginger’s head. “That’s right. She’d follow you around like she does but potentially attack anyone she thought posed a threat to you.”
Lemon flounces into the boat and sits between Oz’s knees next to the dog, who shoves her butt in Lemon’s lap but doesn't move her chin from Oz’s knee. Oz’s thighs are spread wide around both of them but he doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest, if the grin on his face says anything.
“Okay,” Lemon says with a cutesy little purr, waggling elegant brows at me. “Tell us everything, girl. I’ve never heard you sound like you sounded when you called.”
Grabbing the boat’s oars, I slip them into the supports and start rowing up the jewel-toned river away from the pier. The tunnel is lit by elegantly flickering sconces, but it's the last thing I notice as I suck in a breath and consider what to do.
They’re quiet until I’ve rowed a few minutes in silence, considering how to break this news and what I even want.
“Hadrian’s flirting with me,” I finally bark out. “Like…I wasn’t sure, but now I’m super sure, and he’s definitely flirting with me.”
Lemon beams and looks up over her shoulder at Oz. “You owe me.”
Oz scoffs and tugs on her long blonde hair. “I just said it would take longer.”
She shrugs. “And I said it would be faster. This is faster. Shit has already happened, obviously.”
I look between them in disbelief. “You two have been discussing this?”
Lemon beams at me, looking every inch the vampiric predator she is.
“Yeah, girl. I knew when you two took me to that skyball game, and you made me leave room for him. The way you chanted his name? The way he tugged on your space buns? And then when we were at the rooster races, and he handed you your rooster, his fingers touched yours. I knew for sure then.”
“Well, I didn’t know!” I shout. My voice echoes off the stones above us. “Am I oblivious?”
“Tell us absolutely everything,” Oz demands, still stroking the pit hell’s head lovingly. “We’ll set you straight, since you can’t be trusted with your own love life, apparently.”
The whole story comes out then. The banter and back and forth over the last few weeks. How Hadrian’s my neighbor now. What happened last night and his commentary before Coach Shorthorn called.
My friends listen in silence, but once I’m done, Lemon leans forward and places a hand on my knee. “What does your heart say, Bluebell? Do you want something with him?”
“Yes,” I admit, “But—”
“There you go,” she says with a grin. “That’s actually all you need to know.”
I shake my head, rowing to expel the nervous energy. My heart’s still running a damn sprint in my chest. “We’ve been friends for decades, not to mention how much Jasper’s going to freak out.”
“Why would he, though?” Oz asks. “For real. Why would he care? And why do you care if he cares?”
I’m not even sure I can fully answer that question other than knowing that, over the years, he’s mentioned Hadrian steering clear of me dozens of times.
“It’s just what big brothers do?” I finish lamely, not entirely sure other than knowing that, in my heart, I’m certain Jasper won’t take it well.
“I think you should let it happen,” Oz says. “I, for one, would love to know more about how Hadrian Alkazar is in bed.”
“Eww.” I scrunch my nose. “None of your business, Oz.”
He waves at me and Lemon. “This is all our business, now that you’ve involved us, bitch.”
“I don’t want to ruin my friendship with him, or Jasper’s,” I tack on. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
“Tap that ass,” Oz says again. “Nobody has to know. Keep it a secret for a minute or two, but what if he’s your mate?”
What if he’s your mate…
Lemon smirks at me. “Has he brought you snacks yet? It’s a whole gargoyle thing, I’m told.”
I shake my head. “I mean, yes, but not like a formal presentation or whatever?”
She offers me a reassuring smile. “Honey, if you belong together there’s nothing you can do to stave this off, especially now that he appears to be pursuing you. Might as well just give in to him, ya know?”
Oz nods and strokes the top of Ginger’s head. “And then of course tell us every bitty detail because I am literally salivating over this love story.”
It takes them the better part of ten more minutes to convince me to let Hadrian kiss me next time the opportunity arises. And just like that, it’s decided.
I’m going to kiss my best friend.