Page 12 of The Fated Mate Bandit

SILVER

Am I a little disappointed that Lucas wants to take a shower, rather than make out with me all afternoon? Maybe. He still seems a little distant as I give him some clothes to wear and show him how the shower works. Which is fine. He’s been through a lot.

My phone dings. It’s a message from Link.

Have you put your paws on him yet?

Instead of working, which is what I should be doing right now, I message him back.

No.

Link sends me a series of question marks. I roll my eyes and briefly consider calling him again, then I get a message from the brother group chat.

Coin:We need to have a meeting. In person.

My stomach drops. Coin has never suggested a meeting before. What is going on?

Sequin: Are you okay?

Cufflink: Yeah, man. That makes it sound like you’re dying. And you look like shit lately, so you could actually be dying. Are you dying? For the record, I don’t want you to be dying.

Bless his heart. Link sometimes has a hard time communicating his love.

Coin: Silver’s place is a good central meeting point. Can ya’ll make it there by seven o’clock tonight? Quin doesn’t need to come.

Sequin: Why not?

Coin: I’ll talk about it with you later.

Talk about ominous. But if Quin doesn’t need to be there, that rules out a lot of potentially scary things like a cancer diagnosis. At least there’s that.

Silver: Just so you know, I have a houseguest.

Sequin: Who?

Tinsel: I don’t think I can make it to Silver’s by 7:00. Sorry, Coin.

Coin: That’s fine, Tin. You don’t need to be there.

Cufflink: WTF? Why do I need to be there, but not Quin and Tin?

Sequin: Who is Silver’s houseguest? Did someone move in with you? I didn’t know you were dating anyone.

Cufflink: Silver’s not dating his houseguest yet… but he should be.

Oh my God, I’m going to kill him.

Sequin: WHO?

Coin: I’ll see Silver and Link at 7:00. This is not a conversation that should be overheard by a houseguest. Get them to leave.

Coin is such an ass sometimes.

Silver: I’m not kicking out my houseguest for this.

Cufflink: Yeah, he can’t kick out his houseguest. We could go to a bar or something.

Coin: This is not a conversation we can have at a bar. I’ll bring the camper, and we’ll talk in there.

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