Page 14 of Riot of Autumn

He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a thin t-shirt with a pair of suspenders. He should look like an idiot, but he could wear a garbage bag and make me drool.

“Hey, Cube.” He grins at me as he slides into the seat Tecia was sitting on. I roll my eyes as I grab a glass and get his drink.

“Here’s your disgusting drink.” I push the glass toward him with my mouth turned down.

“There’s nothing disgusting about this. My palette is just more refined than yours.”

“Cream soda is the devil’s beverage. Someone jizzed in perfectly good root beer and ruined it.”

The conversation is so normal for us that I’m almost a little disappointed. I guess we’re both going to pretend the argument at my studio didn’t happen. Fine by me. I’m happy to bury my head in the sand and avoid uncomfortable situations. No problem.

“Jesus, Ruby.” Ezra chokes on his drink. “That’s some next level shit right there.”

I always give him crap about his love for weird artisanal sodas and cream soda specifically, but that may have been a bit more descriptive than usual.

“Bad day?”

“Not really.” I pull out a tray of silverware and start wrapping them, needing something to do with my hands.

I’m not sure I want to look at Ezra right now. Tecia wasn’t entirely wrong. Things have been off lately. Maybe it’s because all my friends are forming these lifelong magical bonds and I’m still here, at the diner, picking fights with Ezra.

Or it could be that the conversation Ezra and I had the other day at my studio is messing with my head. We argue about stupid shit all the time. Like who would win in an apocalypse of zombies and vampires? It’s vampires, by the way, regardless of how much Ezra tries to convince me otherwise. But our disagreement the other day was too real. The way Ezra spoke about my art was incredible, but the way he talked about my actual life, me waiting tables, sounded a lot like disappointment. I don’t need him to judge my life and point out how many ways I’m lacking. I’ve got that covered all on my own.

Ezra must sense my mood because he doesn’t go for the throat like I know he wants to. “Has Zara moved out yet?”

Just as I open my mouth to answer, a man steps up to the counter beside Ezra. He’s been sitting in a corner booth for a good couple of hours, nursing a cup of coffee. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed him, except he’s stupidly handsome. His long hair is dark as the night and shiny as a shampoo commercial. Men with long hair usually remind me a little too much of eighties hair bands, but this guy can pull it off. He’s tall and fit, with amber-colored eyes that vaguely remind me of Ezra’s.

He drops his bill and some cash on the counter, smiling at me. Not in a leering way, but in a genuine way that’s rare these days. Most of all, he doesn’t set off my creeper alert, which lately has been going off left and right.

“Oh, you can take that up front.” I point to the register, where Tecia is currently checking out another customer.

The man’s smile gets a little wider, and he taps his bill on the counter. “Keep the change.”

He winks as he walks away, and Ezra makes a growly sound in the back of his throat. I raise an eyebrow at him and then roll my eyes, going back to our conversation.

“She still has a toothbrush at my place, but she basically lives at Rhys’s. I think the only reason she’s occasionally at my house is because she feels guilty.”

“About what?” Ezra plucks the straw out of his glass and takes a drink, making a face as if it’s obscenely delicious.

I give him my best dead eyed stare. “Well, there’s nothing to actually feel bad about, but I think she doesn’t like leaving me there alone.”

Ezra makes a sound of agreement. “I don’t like that you’re there alone, either.”

“I’m not. I’ve got Axil.”

“If anyone broke into your house, Axil would roll over for a belly rub.”

He’s not wrong.

“I’ve lived alone for nine years. I’ll be just fine.”

Ezra stares at me for so long without speaking that my cheeks heat. For no damn reason. He’s just looking at me. I pretend I don’t notice and roll up the utensils in front of me.

“I was thinking about what we talked about the other day.”

I barely hold back a groan. I really don’t want to get into how I’m doing a shitty job of living my life again, but Ezra surprises me with his next words.

“I think we should go spy on Colton.”

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