Chapter 25 #2
“Thanks,” I tell Max in an undertone as he comes towards the counter.
He winks. Because of course he does. As I squat down by my twin, I see Theo throw her arms around Maximus and kiss him on the cheek.
Yeah, the hound did good.
“You hungry, Wes?”
He shrugs. “Not really.”
“When’s the last time you ate, seriously dude, you need food.”
His eyes narrow. “You’re not my keeper.” Pushing to his feet, Wes grabs a carton and some chopsticks from the counter and disappears into his room again.
All of a sudden, I feel a hundred years old. “Fuck.”
Theo comes over and hugs me. “I wish there was something I could do; I just seem to make him worse.”
“It makes no sense, Tee. I hate it.” She pushes a plate of food in front of me, and then gets another round of beers from the fridge. “Eat. Wes will come back to us. I know he will. Maximus, you were so good; it was smart not to push him.”
Max grins, looking like a total savage while chewing on a fish sauce-glazed chicken wing. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Anyway, can we talk about something not stressful? All the angst will give me indigestion. What’s the gossip?”
This makes Theo’s face break out in a smile. “Wait a sec, and I’ll find out.”
She taps out a message on her phone and instantly gets an answer. “Yes!” she cheers quietly. Looking up at us, she grins. “Willow asked Naomi Watson to the All Hallows Ball, and Naomi said yes!”
She’s talking about her friend, the freckled one, I think.
“You mean Curly-Sue?” Max asks.
Theo flicks him on the arm. “Can you stop with that? You know perfectly well what her name is.”
“True,” he grins. “So, Freckles has got the hots for Watson? She’s got bigger balls than me. Naomi Watson looks like the kind of chick who cages cocks.” He shudders.
“Cages cocks?”
“Chastity devices. Wait, I’ll show you.” He pulls up images on his phone, and Tee nearly chokes on a noodle.
Max smirks. “But if you asked, I’d let you restrain me.”
“I’d do that, and throw away the key,” Theo retorts, with a twinkle in her eye.
Is my Tee-Tee flirting with Max? I don’t really care; Max is family.
Tee-Tee’s phone pings again. She reads us the update from Wills. “She’s got a fashion crisis. Hasn’t anything formal here and can’t go into town shopping because we’re freshmen.”
“You just need permission from a faculty member," I say, snagging a wonton. "Don't you have one in your pocket.”
Theo’s face lights up. “Good idea!” She’s immediately texting again.
After several more beeps, she puts down the phone and picks up a spring roll. “All sorted. Alexis granted me and Willow leave to go into Havengard City on Saturday morning, though he did say we should take some ‘man-power’ with us, which is a bit sexist if you ask me.”
“I’m obviously the perfect man-power for the job,” I tell her, getting up to fetch another round of beers. “And anyway, you’ll need my opinion for your dress.”
She looks up at me, all big-eyed. “Me? I’m not going to the dance.”
“Come on, baby, you don’t think I’d let you be Cinderella and stay home from the ball, did ya?” I pick her up and whirl her around, and she laughs.
Being stuck in the white sands feels like a million years ago.
When I put Theo down, she’s flushed a pretty pink, but her bottom lip is all worried-looking.
“But isn’t it irresponsible?” she sighs. “Going out partying, when the fate of the world is on our shoulders. And Alexis said we should all keep a low profile. Just go about things like normal?”
"What could be more normal than me taking my best girl to the party of the year?” I watch the gears whirr in her head. “And it could be handy too. You can listen in on the bigwigs at the ball.”
“Yeah, it could be a good opportunity for intel gathering,” she replies, her face lighting. “OK. Let’s do it!”
I go down on one knee. “Will you go to the ball with me, Cinders?”
She giggles. “Yes, please.”
Perfect. Mission accomplished.
Suddenly, the laughter leaves Theo. “But what about Wes?”
Max throws the last of his chicken bones onto the plate. “I know I’m not Wes Hart, Sparkles, but if you need an extra arm—take me? Please? I’ll be good, promise.”
I can tell Theo is still sad, but Max makes the corners of her mouth turn up. That’s good. She needs to smile.
“Yeah, Tee, it’ll be fun, let's do it. Me and Max will take you to the ball. And if Wes is—if he gets better before then, that just means you’ll have three escorts.”
Max gives me a grin. “You got a spare monkey suit for me? I don’t exactly have posh going-out clothes.”
“Sure, you can have my old one, I’ll get something new on Saturday.”
“That’s very generous, Donovan.” Theo kisses me on the cheek as Max puts his hand up for a high five. “Yeah, appreciate it, bro.”
A warm feeling of making them both pleased fills my chest. “Happy to help.”
“That reminds me,” Max says, snatching the last wonton. “I’ve got something for Bully.”
“Bully?” Theo looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
“I think he’s talking about Ludo,” I tell her, snatching the wonton back from Max’s plate, then throwing it in my mouth.
“Hey, asshole, you’ll pay for that.”
“What were you saying about Ludo?” Theo asks, ignoring the chopstick fight that Max is trying to make happen.
“Right, my bull-pal. Anyhoo, I found my old phone by the still. It works fine, so I don’t need the one Cos got me. Thought Mino T. Rex might want it? I’ve put my digits in so that he can call me. I’ve been missing my beast-bestie.”
He hands Theo the state-of-the-art cell phone.
She blinks a couple of times. “That’s really nice of you, Maximus. I know Ludo doesn’t have a phone.” She slips it into her bag, but then picks up her own cell. “And I guess I should take your number too.”
“Music to my ears,” the cheeky dog grins. They start swapping deets.
I watch impatiently. Now I’ve food in my belly, all I have in my mind is sweeping Tee off into my bedroom, then feeling her pussy-walls milk my cock.
“Donovan?” she says.
“Oh, sorry, spaced out for a minute.”
Theo's smile has faded again. She’s staring at Wes's closed door. “I just can’t bear it. I’m so desperate to hold him, take away his pain. It’s so awful.”
Instantly, my throat is full of a heavy lump.
I take Theo’s hand, and Max takes the other. “Sparkles, I swear on my hellhound, I’ll keep working on Wes. I know he’s fucked up at the moment, but we’ll get him back.”
“We’ll get him back,” I echo, pulling them both into a tight embrace.
Theo lets out a long sigh that turns into a yawn.
Her body sinks heavily against mine. “You look beat, my Tee. Wanna turn in?”
Thoughts of banging her six ways to Sunday fade away.
Right now, she needs sleep more than she needs an orgasm.
And honestly? I need whatever she needs. So, I’ll just wrap her in a Donovan-shaped cocoon instead.
“Yep,” she whispers. “Sleep is exactly what I need.