Page 5 of Stuck with my Frenemy
Ebony cleared her throat, almost sounding like she was choking. Smacking her chest with a fist a few times, she met my eyes. “Let me get this straight. You named your bird Squirrel and your squirrel Bird? Should I even ask … you know what, no, I shouldn’t. Just forget I said anything.”
Stepping forward—more like inching with Bird wrapped around my ankle because I didn’t want to fling him into a wall or something—I gave her a half-hearted glare. “If you must know, Squirrel came to me first, and I love squirrels because they are so bouncy and cute, so I named her that. Bird came after, and at that point, I loved birds because of Squirrel. Get it now?”
Ebony glanced at the ground, pressing the bridge of her nose. “No, I really don’t. In fact, this just confirms that you are an idiot.”
Holding my head in the air and pointing my chin at her, I did my best angry face. It was hard, though. It just wasn’t something that came naturally to me. “Well, I think you suck the life out of the room.”
Ebony smiled, puffing up her chest and squaring her shoulders. “Good. Maybe you’ll pass out eventually and be quiet for a while.”
“Who intends to do that?” I scowled, then thought about the wrinkles that would cause and mushed my lips together, wiping all emotion off my face.
“Me. If you don’t like it, maybe you should go back home.”
“No. I don’t want to.”
Squirrel whispered in my ear then, pulling my attention from the dark force of nature in front of me, who I didn’t like very much right then. “Your first assignment has arrived. You must find two thieves.”
“Who? And what did they steal?” Chewing on my lip, worry flitted through me.
“Thor’s Hammer.” Squirrel flew off then, and I turned to watch. Bird followed suit, but not before leaping on the bed, jumping a few times, and flinging himself off, darting out the window with such speed I thought I imagined the whole thing.
When I faced Ebony, her familiars were gone as well. I waited, and she just shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, when she spoke, her words sounded ominous in the silent room. “So, we have to pay a visit in Karma’s name to two humans who were stupid enough to steal Thor’s Hammer. That arrogant prick deserved a chip on his ego, but at least this might be fun.” She rubbed her hands together.
“Are you crazy?” I lashed out, backstepping until I smacked the bed and dropped on my ass. “We aren’t actually supposed to have to like … work.”
Ebony dropped her forehead in her hand. “I’m going to go crash for a bit before we start looking for them. I feel like I’m going to be sick if I listen to you more.”
“Oh dear Cupid, I hope you aren’t coming down with something.” Rushing forward, I slid my hand against her forehead. “Do you feel feverish?”
“We are demigods, Cherry. That means we can’t get sick.” Eyeing me as if I’d lost all source of brain activity, Ebony cringed. “Are you really this dumb, or do you act like a dumbass on purpose to attract attention from men?”
Gaping at her, I sucked in a breath. “How dare you! I’ve never been in this realm, so how could I try to attract men before.” Pausing, I tapped a finger on my lip, my eyes widening when an idea struck me. “Oh! Do you think it would work, though? I wasn’t given this amazing body not to use it.”
Groaning in disgust, Ebony turned her back on me, stomping toward her room and shaking her head as I ambled forward to watch her retreat. “Stay in your corner,” she snapped at me over her shoulder.
“Nobody puts baby in the corner!” I shouted down the hall, quoting one of my all-time favorite movies.
The door slammed, and I grinned. I might not have been in the human realm before, but I sure knew their pop culture. We had access to all their goodies, and I took full advantage of that.
But seriously. I couldn’t wait to try my first human man.
Clapping feverishly, I whirled around in a circle, barreling down the hall. “Wonder if this place has food yet.”
If not, my tummy wasn’t going to be too happy. Plus, how did I go about getting food here if the freezer and cabinets were empty?
I wondered if Ebony would be pissed off if I dashed into her room to ask.
