Page 63 of Twisted Fate

Max crosses his arms and sighs so softly I almost don’t catch it. “Skylar didn’t invite him. I did.”

I stare at him for a few beats. “Oh,” I say. “I didn’t know you were—”

“Gay?” he cuts in with a slight smirk.

“Into humans,” I say.

He shrugs. “Just because I don’t like you most of the time doesn’t mean I don’t like humans. You don’t represent them all, blondie.”

I flip him off. “How do you know him?”

“He was fake-dating your fae bestie, and I met him on campus while I was looking into something for a friend.”

My brows shoot up. The urge to make a joke about Max actually having friends is on the tip of my tongue, but instead, I say, “I know it’s not against the rules to be with a human, but I’m still surprised.” Oliver and Max? I try to picture it, but I can’t.

He laughs, and I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I’ve ever heard something so genuine come out of his mouth. “Exactly. There are rules to protect us from being exposed, but none that explicitly say ‘don’t fuck the humans,’ so I think I’m safe.”

I press my lips together against a smile. “All right. So you’re saying Oliver doesn’t know about the fae?”

He nods. “And I plan to keep it that way.”

“Good,” I concede. “Does Tristan know about you and him?”

“He does.”

“Okay,” I murmur. “Where are we going then?”

He grins, another thing that shocks me. “Grab your things. The car is waiting out front.”

I close my computer. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

Max rolls his eyes. “Relax, blondie. We’re going to a bar, not skydiving.” He backs out of the office, and I stare at the empty doorway.

Sitting around a small, round bar table with Max and Skylar isn’t something I ever thought I would be doing, and yet, here I am, sipping on my virgin margarita. With work scheduled in the morning, I figured I’d better play it safe. Max and Skylar don’t seem to care.

The music is loud, but not so loud that we can’t hear each other speak. Not that any of us say much. The large room is lit with dim track lighting and spotlights from the stage at the front.

Skylar glances at her nails and frowns. “This is boring.”

Max takes a long swig of his beer and rolls his eyes. “You’re just cranky. Finish your drink, and you’ll feel better.”

She glares at him but doesn’t disagree.

Oliver chooses that moment to arrive, which puts Max in a better mood. The way his whole face changes the moment Oliver gets here is incredible. It’s something I’ve never seen before. It’s nice. It makes him seem more human.

“Are you ready?” Max asks, turning to me.

I arch a brow. “Ready? For what?”

Skylar presses her lips together against a smile. “You didn’t tell her?”

Oliver throws his arm around my shoulders and gives me a half hug, laughing.

Max shrugs, still looking at me. “It’s karaoke night.” He tilts his chin in the general direction of the stage. “Tristan mentioned you were a singer. Thought we should see for ourselves.”

“Aurora can sing,” Oliver assures him.

Glancing between Max and Oliver, I say, “I’ll sing, but only if Skylar goes first.”

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