Page 74 of Sinner
She so had not been about to say that, but the last part sounded sincere enough.
“If we have time,” Yejun told her, but his voice was softer.
“Excuse me,” Nix tried to be polite toward her solely because she was June’s mom, but he was beginning to feel overwhelmed and he needed a minute to collect himself before dinner.
“Where you off to?” West asked when he went to step away.
“Bathroom.” He tipped his head. “Why? Want to come babysit me?”
Nix didn’t wait for a response, figuring he knew he was only joking. The hallway in the corner leading to the bathrooms wasn’t far, so it wasn’t like he could get lost going on his own. Meeting all of these people was exhausting.
And it was only the beginning.
Chapter 24:
Even the lighting in the bathroom had been replaced with dim light orbs. He’d entered a stall just in case someone else came in and took a moment for himself. As soon as he walked back out there, there’d be more noise and people. Nix had already lost track of the names he’d been introduced to—and it annoyed him that he’d even tried to remember them all, because it wasn’t like he was going to be able to identify them later.
Everyone was wearing a damn mask.
As far as first meetings went, Demons Passing was probably the worst place they could have held them. Many of the Essential members, at least the ones high enough up the chain of command, he’d interacted with at the Night of the Nightshade,but tonight he was meeting members of the High Council and the like. Important people.
Was he going to let Lake down if he couldn’t remember any of them? Would he embarrass himself and the others?
Tonight was supposed to be about finally getting the chance to have some fun. To allow himself to stop thinking about Dew and Juri and Hendrix, and all the horrible things that had happened since Nix had received that letter from Branwen.
He planned to focus on the good things, the things he’d gained.
The things he wanted.
With a sigh, Nix flushed the toilet out of habit and opened the stall door, only managing to slide a single foot from beneath the threshold before he froze.
Lake was directly across from him, leaning back against the edge of the granite-top row of sinks. His ankles and arms were crossed, and he’d removed his mask and set it off to the side. At the sight of Nix, the corner of his mouth turned up, the expression almost imperceptible, but very familiar.
A shiver ran down Nix’s spine before he could help it, and his hand tightened on the edge of the door.
“What are you doing here?” his voice came out low and breathy, far more suggestive than he’d meant for it to be, and he immediately cleared his throat afterward and forced himself to straighten to his full height.
“Why?” Lack tilted his head. “Was the invitation only for West?”
“I was kidding when I said that.”
“My mistake.”
Nix held his ground, then, when it became apparent Lake wasn’t going to move, jutted his chin out toward the sinks. “I have to wash my hands.”
“By all means. Who’s stopping you?”
His eyes narrowed behind the mask. “Go stand by the door.”
Lake chuckled. “Do you really think that’s far enough?”
“No, but I doubt you’ll leave if I ask.”
“Good guess.”
The Imperial was going to do as he pleased no matter where he was standing.
Not seeing any other way to go about it, Nix moved forward, heading toward the basin next to the one Lake was blocking. He took his time lathering his hands with orange-scented soap, then rinsed them with the same unhurried motions.
