Page 57 of Enticing the Elf
Aww. “You are so merging me later. I’m gonna make you merge me so hard.”
“So itisa euphemism.” Ari leaps to change the subject. “But before it seemed like fucking and merging were?—”
“Don’t try to distract us. Eoin needs to know how rude you are.” I turn my attention to Eoin. “Ari was rude to my friend Felix.”
Eoin looks at me expectantly—I’m not sure why—and then glances across the table at Ari. “Care to add anything?”
Sulkily folding his arms across his chest, Ari says, “No, thanks. You’ve already reamed me out about it.”
Did I always know Eoin was sexy when he frowned? There’s this little crease right between his eyes that screams for me to lick it.
“I— Wait, is this about what happened in the meeting with the Warhammers? Your friend Felix is that Felix?”
“Of course. Who else would he be?” Dammit, the crease disappeared. I’ll have to lick it another time.
“I didn’t know you even knew him. How did you meet?”
“We’re getting off topic, which is that Ari was mean and hurtful.” I reach for the champagne bottle. If we’re going to keep talking, I need to wet my throat.
“Jared introduced them,” Ari says. “Apparently he and Ansas are buddies, which nobody bothered to tell me before.”
“Felix Ansas is the player Jared knows?”
“Why is everyone surprised about that? Didn’t you ask Jared what his friend’s name was?” I did.
They both look embarrassed. Guess they didn’t think of that.
“We’re not getting off topic,” Eoin tells me. “I’ve already made it clear to Ari that he needs to be more diplomatic. He’s sorry for what he said.”
“But why did he—” I twist back around to face Ari. “Why did you say it? Not all the parts about his ex, but saying he attacks people was just mean.”
Ari’s mouth presses into a flat line. “It’s true, though. He goes after his teammates on the ice—I’ve seen videos of it.”
“He’s not proud of it! And it’s partly his coach’s fault anyway.” There’s a flaw in that argument, something my brain doesn’t like, but I refuse to be distracted by logic and reason. “Why, Ari?Why?”
“I don’t know, okay?” He runs one hand through his hair and grabs his drink with the other. “Something about him just pushed my buttons. I’m sorry.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “Have you told him that?”
“Told him what?”
“That you’re sorry?”
“Dáithí,” Eoin begins, but Ari cuts him off.
“No. Because during the meeting wasn’t the right time and I’m not ever going to see him again.”
It’s my turn to fold my arms. “He’s my friend and you’re Eoin’s friend—and sometimes mine—so you’re going to see each other again. I refuse to have an awkward friendship circle, which means you have to say sorry and make it better.”
“We’re only friends sometimes?” He sounds hurt by that, and I instantly feel bad.
“Most of the time. When you’re not being…” I wave my hand toward him, encompassing the vibes he’s giving tonight.
“When I’m not being me? Do you understand what he means?” he asks Eoin.
“Yes, but that’s not as important as the fact that he’s right. You need to apologize to Ansas.”
Ari throws up his hands. “If I ever run into him at your place or whatever, I will. I promise not to make the friendship circle awkward. Can we be friends, now?”
