Page 10 of All Hallows' Rage
“Not a problem. I’m excited for tonight. You guys are going to crush it like always.” Her attention turned to Matt’s silent presence, and I settled into my cozy coffee, ready to enjoy the show. “What?”
She looked back at me, hard-set frown quirking as I smirked and took a sip. That coffee was life-changing. Matt folded his arms across his chest and feigned a sassy attitude with her.
“So, you just don’t love me anymore?” He pouted, and I had to give him acting credit for that one. His eyebrows raised as he waited for her response, and she played dumb.
“Oh, was Matty expecting coffee, too?” She sassed him with a pitch to her voice that had a child-like taunt. I sipped my coffee for added affect as he watched me.
I knew their games all too well, joined in on a few—like this one. Lane held a second cup, and despite the black lipstick prints, it was indeed his. In the beginning, it had worked to throw him off, but he caught on eventually. From my angle, I saw the order marked on the side and it lacked the sugary content needed for Lane.
“Pest,” he said, laughing as his act faltered.
“Maybe if you were sweeter to me like Eli, I’d grab you one.” Lane flitted to my side, tugging on my arm until I bent to her height. She kissed my cheek with nauseating gusto and an audible smooching sound.
“You don’t even like girl kisses!” Matt cried out.
“I like Lane kisses,” I teased, letting her pepper my face with more. On cue, we gave him matching smiles as he looked between us.
“Woman, I can smell the sugary syrup leaching from your veins!”
“That’s just my saccharine personality.” It was Lane’s turn to pout.
“Years, L—years.But prove me wrong, drink it.” That was where he always got her.
She squinted at his victorious expression, daringly bringing the cup to her mouth. A twitch of his brow told me he almost believed she would. Only, if you knew Lane, then you knew the singular lip print was another tell. Her regular coffee cups were stained a hundred times over.
She scrunched her nose when the bitter smell hit her and jutted the coffee out to him.
“Fine, you win. Take your nasty bean juice. I gotta meet up with Everett anyway. Gretchen’s still unaware of how his first night went, but she’s been hounding him about this performance and he needs a buffer.” Matt took the cup from her, still outwardly playful as he wiped at the lid.
“Does it always have to be black lipstick?” Always really meant always. Lane’s affectionate way to bug him was black lipstick on his shit.
“This is why Elijah’s my favorite. He never complains.” That earned me a glare from Matt.
“What can I say, babe? I’msweet.” Adding to the general drama, I took another sip.
“Because you don’t give him your cooties!” At Matt’s exclamation, I snorted, and creamy, warm liquid partially made its way up my nose and down the wrong way. I turned, coughing and laughing through the pain. Ever the pair, Lane sized Matt up with her hands firmly on her hips as she stared him down.
“Don’t even,” she said, poking his chest hard with each word. They left me to die as I choked down the coffee. “You know damn well you likeourcooties, Matthew.”
I wiped the coffee from my chin that dribbled over and caught his attention, pinning him with that “she’s got you there” look. He rolled his eyes, throwing in the metaphorical towel.
“You’re right,” he admitted, bringing her close. “I do likeourcooties, and I appreciate you getting us coffee on your way here.” He bent down, kissing her other cheek with a whispered, “Pest.”
He stepped to my side, and we headed toward the locker rooms.
“Hate you,” she called after us in a singsong manner.
“Love you, too,” we shouted back in unison.
Matt held the door open for me to walk through, and as I dropped my bag on the bench, I asked, “So, Aimee and Lane?” He followed suit and discarded his bag.
“Aimee and Lane,” he merely repeated.
“Your thoughts? In the years we’ve all known each other, I haven’t seen her this infatuated with another woman.” He took a minute to think over my assessment.
“I agree. Lanie has been over the moon and hasn’t shut up about their date tonight. Chemistry is off the charts; I’m rooting for them.” He took off his shirt and I nodded, eyeing his body like the pervy boyfriend I was so happy to be for him. “What’s the second part to this?”
The coffee cup froze in midair on the way to my mouth.
