“Hi.” My voice was a rasp that barely scraped by the lump in my throat.
Chase’s brows furrowed in concern. “What’s going on?”
I have more enemies than friends right now.
“You take my breath away,” I punctuated my joke with an eye roll.
He laughed. Charming Chase led a charmed life. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. We could do our homework.”
He made “homework” sound like something else. What an intriguing idea. Sadly, I had to plan a way to save my sorry self from the Red Court’s wrath before tomorrow. “I can’t tonight, but I’m grabbing breakfast tomorrow morning with Gideon if you want to join us. We’re meeting up with Damien, the guy from the coffee shop, around ten.”
“It’s a date. Text me the address.” He gave me one of his signature casual grins. “Oh, here are your keys.”
He grabbed the keys from his bag and dropped them in my hand. I weighed them in my palm, noticing some extra bulk.
“What’s this?”
A tiny ceramic mug key chain was hanging next to my house key. I’d seen them at the coffee shop before. He must have picked it up earlier when I wasn’t looking.
“A reminder, from our first official coffee run.”
“Thank you.”
The hurricane of my thoughts stilled. Nothing was resolved, and this was only a temporary reprieve, but here with Chase everything was quiet. I didn’t want to forget his smile and how it hovered between bashful and proud. Or the warm touch of his fingers when he reached out to grasp my free hand for a quick squeeze. Or how I couldn’t hear anything above the rush of blood in my ears.
Chase closed the distance between us and tilted my face up with gentle fingers. I drew in a breath as he pressed his lips to mine. Drinking in his spicy scent, I parted my mouth to taste him. His tongue met mine in an excruciatingly slow slide. I lost the ability to think, to breathe, to exist outside of this kiss. Our bodies molded together, heat building between us.
Finally, I broke the kiss and drew in a shuddering breath. I remembered where we were and remembered the threat burning in my pocket. My scalp prickled at the phantom eyes that could be watching right now. Chase took a small step back but kept his arms around me. I couldn’t remember when they’d come up to encircle my shoulders.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked.
I don’t want to lose you.
The thought startled me. Somewhere along the way, I’d decided that Chase was mine to lose.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and rallied with a smile. “Bright and early.”
On my way out to the parking lot, I pulled out my Red Court phone. I couldn’t call Haley yet. I needed to think of what to say first.
Me: Can you meet tomorrow?
Haley: noon. theater room.
If I thought about it, my interfering with Matthew’s request was the most Red Court thing to do. Pressure to just the right spot would get anyone to bend, and I used Matthew’s own guilt against him. Haley should be thrilled that her work as a mentor was really paying off. Now I only had to make her see it that way.
CHAPTER 30
GIDEON’S AND MY favorite breakfast spot was a small café that served the best chocolate croissants in town. It was a mostly carb-based menu, and Gideon had declared that anyone who didn’t like it, or so much as uttered a word against the café, could not be our friend. He must have been pretty confident bringing Damien here. It was his litmus test for compatibility.
I arrived first, fifteen minutes before ten o’clock, to claim the best table near the fireplace. A couple was finishing up and I waited like a vulture to swoop in as soon as they showed the first signs of departure. I was still chilled after my early morning run, so I took the chair nearest the fire. The café was a bustle of movement and muttered “excuse me’s” since the space was only large enough to hold half a dozen tables. Most customers took their orders to go, but Gideon insisted the croissants tasted better if you ate them right away. He arrived next and spotted me immediately.
“Nice work, Em,” he said, complimenting me on my table-snagging.
“Grab two more chairs.” I motioned to the tables around us with a spare chair each. I didn’t dare leave the table unguarded for a moment.
“So, what’s going on with Chase?” Gideon asked once he’d settled.
His hair was tousled again, like he’d given it a stern talking-to and nothing else after rolling out of bed. I’d actually attempted to do something with my hair by twisting the normal ponytail into a low bun that I’m sure screamed “trying too hard.”
“He kissed me yesterday,” I confessed, unable to hide a wide smile.
Gideon smirked back. “And?”
“And it was pretty spectacular.” And it was. Despite the threat to stay away from Chase that had been looming at the edge of my thoughts, the memory of the kiss still brought a delicious warmth to my chest.
He nodded once, giving his approval. Gideon trusted my taste when it came to anything except movies. His seal of approval was dependent upon mine. If I thought Chase was good enough, Gideon would back me.
“I can’t believe you’re putting Damien up to the croissant test so soon.”
He looked away before speaking. “I like him, but there’s no use investing in the possibility of more if he doesn’t like the croissants.”
“You can’t continue seeing a monster like that.”
He flicked his eyes back to me and grinned. There was something shy about my friend today, like a cautious optimism. I hoped things would work out with Damien. Gideon deserved this happiness.
It occurred to me that had anyone else been assigned his takedown job, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now. That thought left me feeling oddly grateful. I used my power in the Red Court to do something good. But it wasn’t the power that made me feel alive. It was the control, just like I told Haley when I joined. I had a say in how and when things went down. If this was even a fraction of what the QoH felt, perhaps I understood her better than I thought. Maybe the destruction of the Red Court wasn’t the answer. Maybe it just needed a better leader.
Before I could follow that thought down the dark path it was leading, Chase and Damien walked in at the same time. They were chatting amiably. Damien laughed, his smile bringing out the tiniest dimple in one cheek. I peeked back at Gideon, who looked like that dimple might kill him.
Damien wore a cream V-neck sweater that looked striking against his dark brown complexion. “Shut your mouth. You’re drooling,” I whispered at Gideon.