Page 24 of Shark 2

They all nodded.

“We’ll check in around noon and the first game is set to start around two o’clock,” Reed answered.

Our drinks came, interrupting him, and I was surprised by the quickness. Was that common at high-end restaurants?

We clinked our glasses together and sat in silence for a little bit as we enjoyed the drinks. It was nice just to be together and relaxed like this. It had been far too long.

The waiter returned just long enough to set down bread and butter.

Jong-hyun quickly buttered a piece for me, then Jong-min, and then himself.

“This bread is really good,” I commented as I ate it.

“Everything here is good,” Grant said. “It’s our favorite place when we’re in town.”

“Are you guys nervous about tomorrow?” I asked as I ate another piece of bread that Jong-hyun had buttered for me.

“Not really,” Reed answered. “We’ve been practicing and helping each other to ensure we don’t have any tells or anything.”

“Do they have telepaths monitor the event to make sure no one is cheating?” When I’d found out that they were playing in the tournament I had done a little bit of research and learned that some competitions hired telepaths to listen in on people’s thoughts to make sure no one was using their powers to cheat. It made sense in our world of supernatural life.

Reed tilted his head to the side a bit as he looked at me. “They do. How did you know about it?”

I leaned back with my drink in my hand and smiled. “I did some research.”

“You researched poker?” Jong-min asked.

“When I realized my boyfriends had it as a hobby; yes, I did. You know, you guys don’t really share your hobbies with me.” It was a realization I’d come to when listening in on another couple’s conversation at Silver’s one night. Most people had hobbies and even if their significant other didn’t participate in them, they knew about it.

The guys knew about my pool shark hobby and often participated. I knew they all liked videogames and we played together, but I didn’t know about any other true hobbies. Their penchant for outdoor games like volleyball didn’t really count.

Part of the problem was how busy we had all been and there hadn’t been time for hobbies, not even pool sharking.

“I like to paint,” Jong-hyun answered while the others just stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“Really?” I asked and turned to face him. “How come I’ve never seen you paint?”

“Too busy lately,” he said and shrugged. “We could do a group painting where I teach you guys each step and we paint together.”

I nodded with a wide smile. “That sounds awesome!”

“Have you never painted before?” Jong-min asked.

Spinning on the seat, I turned to face him. “Um, no. Is that weird?”

“I think our scowling partner here just hadn’t thought about how many things we consider normal that you may not have experienced due to your life in the sea,” Grant said with a soft smile. “Perhaps we should make a list and we can start doing a weekly or bi-weekly date night to teach you?”

“Yes, please!” I shouted a bit too loudly. Putting my hand over my mouth, I laughed softly.

“What do you like to do?” I asked Jong-min.

“I still write songs and sing,” he said.

“Still?”

“Pop stars, remember?” Grant reminded me.

“Oh, that’s right. You guys still haven’t told me what you were called or let me listen.”

---