Page 79 of A Drop of Anguish
“Stassi, this is Janet and Lola. And you know Thompson, right?”
Stassi ignores Thompson entirely, but possibly only because he’s focused so intently on my female friends. “Lovely to finally meet you.” His voice is exceptionally low. That’s new.
Stassi is hard to read because he flirts and compliments everyone, but there’s something a tad different about him right now. Could he actually be into one of my friends?
“How about a round of drinks?” Stassi offers, waving his hand like a butler.
“Oh, yes! We’ll come,” Lola says sweetly as she flutters up and around, making her skirt flow in the chilly breeze.
Janet slips her arm from mine. “You’ll be okay, right?”
I nod. The moment those three are out of reach, Thompson shifts closer.
“Are you protecting me, or am I supposed to be protecting you?” I lean in to ask.
“Both.”
I smile. “Deal.”
“Candice!” Manuela calls again. “Take a seat. Hang out with us. Your wolf friend is welcome too.”
“Hello, Manuela,” Thompson says smoothly as we take their offer and sit on the couch facing the fire next to a bulky male I assume is fae. He looks exceedingly uncomfortable with my presence.
“You know Lucille?” she asks.
“I don’t,” Thompson answers. “It’s nice to meet you. Silverback pack, yes?”
Lucille nods.
An awkward silence settles. I cross my arms and lean into the warmth of the flickering fire.
“So,” the blond witch across from us says, leaning in. “You have so many secrets, Candice. I don’t even know what to ask first.”
A vampire boy with red eyes plops down next to the blond. “How about this? You and Thompson screwing, or what?”
I cough. “What?”
Manuela and Lucille snicker. The blond smirks, like I’m a present she’s eager to open. Or a treat she’s eager to devour.
“If we were, I’d already be dead,” Thompson says casually. He leans back, expression calm.
“Oh please,” the blonde girl says. “Just because he protects her from harm, doesn’t mean he’ll get all pissy about a hookup. It’s not like he’s in love with her. He didn’t even bite her when they were together.”
“But he did nearly demolish the school when someone else bit her.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to hide any reaction.
I thought for certain Jarron’s actions this week would make it very clear where he stood with me, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe the Elite are stubborn enough to deny I belong here at all.
“They dated for like four weeks.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. We dated longer than that. “It takes less than that to fall in love,” Manuela says quietly.
“Plus, they’ve known each other for several years,” Thompson says. “They were childhood friends.”
I’ve never talked about my previous relationship with Jarron to Thompson. How does he know all of that? Maybe he talks to Lola and Janet more than I realized.
“It’s complicated, okay? That’s my answer to all of your questions.” I hold up my hands, just wanting them to stop discussing me like I’m not even here. “Well, except for Thompson. We’re literally just friends.”
