Page 138 of The Pacifist
A lot more back-slapping happened as people congratulated him and Salma Rose.
“Hey, Nero.” Shelly turned away from the line of people to meet him.
“Hey, that’s not fair. He’s jumping in front of the line. It’s my turn to say hi to Shelly Summers,” a man complained.
Shelly paused and addressed the man with a soft smile, “My apologies, but I’ve known Nero since he was a teenager. Tell you what, if you can be patient for a few minutes, Mila will give you a hug in the meantime.”
I stepped forward. “Shelly, you can’t give out hugs from Mila as you please.”
Shelly looked baffled. “But Mila loves to hug.”
“Still, it should be her decision and not yours,” I argued.
“Don’t tell me you’re as jealous and possessive as the Nmen. I didn’t take you to be that kind of man, Jonah.”
“I’m not. Mila can hug whomever she chooses, but it’s up to her and no one else.”
The man in question followed our conversation until Mila laughed and opened her arms. “A hug never harmed anyone.”
“So, what have you been up to, Nero?” Shelly lifted her elbow and pointed it at him. When he looked confused, Hunter explained, “Shelly is tired of us not being comfortable touching women so she came up with a new way to greet us with a minimum of touch.
“Ahh…” With a grin, Nero bumped his elbow against hers and answered her question. “I’ve been fine. Business is good and I made a lot of extra money training the contestants.”
“You offer fight training?”
“Yeah. But my main job is trade.”
Leaning back with her eyes narrowed a bit, Shelly asked, “Are you fighting in the tournament?”
“No.”
“Why not? If you’re so good at fighting why not win the money?”
“First of all, Mila was the bride and no offense, but I didn’t want Magni as a father-in-law.”
Mila was done hugging and moved closer to me. “Ah, stop it. My dad isn’t half as bad as you all make him out to be.”
Nero stood his ground. “Yeah, well, I pity the man who makes you unhappy, even once. Magni is no joke and he always overreacted when it came to you.”
“He’s just protective.”
Shelly crossed her arms with an inquisitive look on her face. “But Mila isn’t part of the tournament anymore. You could fight for the money now.”
Tucking his hands in his pockets, Nero rocked back on his feet. “I could, but there are too many Doomsmen signed up, and against them none of us stand a chance.”
Leo, who stood in his police uniform and kept an eye on the line, snorted. “That’s because they’re all fucking mutants.”
My brows furrowed. “I thought you were best friends with Zasquash and Solo. They’re Doomsmen.”
“Sure. I love those two, but they’re fucking giants.”
Nero shot a smile at my sister, Anne, who was following the conversation. Before he could talk to her, Shelly continued:
“I never knew you were into trade.”
“No? Hmm, it’s not as exciting as what you do. Did you by any chance invent time travel yet?”
“When did I ever say that I’d invent time travel?”
