Page 7 of Love In The Air

Iz nodded. “True. Now let’s pass these out and make more friends.”

There was a fair number of performers already in the studio, but a few people were still arriving. Iz moved around the groups, passing out the treat she made, relaying all the ingredients, and keeping a mental note of anyone who said they had an allergy. She loved bringing in tasty treats for people, but she would feel awful if she accidently poisoned someone.

“Looks like someone else is making the friendship rounds,” Tori said, nodding to the far end of the room.

Glancing over, Iz saw Chance standing with a group of people, all smiles and laughter. Her bright mood soured. Okay, maybe she wouldn’t feel bad about poisoning one person. Not badly, just a little tummy trouble to wipe the know-it-all grin off his face for an hour or two.

“I heard he’s from the AirCirque studio. The one in Boulder.”

Iz nodded. That explained why they’d never crossed paths in the aerial world then. Boulder wasn’t too far from Denver, but she never ventured up that way for studios. She stuck to the city.

“You gonna be okay to perform with him?”

Her friend’s eyes held a hint of concern. Iz smiled, giving Tori a quick side hug.

“I’ll be fine. We came to an understanding.”

“Really?” Tori arched a brow. “An understanding?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, for the sake of the show, Chance and I will be friendly and polite to each other.”

Tori barked out a laugh, smothering it with her hand at Iz’s dark look.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, babe, you know I love you, but faking your true feelings...isn’t really your strong suit.”

Hey! She could fake it with the best of them.

“Hey, Iz,” a deep, annoyingly familiar voice said. “Who’s your friend?”

She took a deep breath and unclenched her jaw. Now was the perfect time to prove how good at faking it she was. To Tori, Chance, and everyone. Pasting a bright smile on her face, she turned and stared Chance directly in the eyes.

“Oh hey, Chance. It’s so good to see you. I can’t wait to start working on our routine. This is my best friend, Tori. Tori, this is my buddy Chance from high school. He’s such a great guy.”

Chance stared at her as if she’d grown a second head. The air around them stilled as no one spoke. Quiet muffles of conversations around them filled the silence. Her jaw ached from the forced smile, but she refused to let it drop.

Finally, Chance leaned in close and whispered. “Are you okay? Blink once if that thing in your hand is a bomb and someone forced to bring it in here for a robbery. Did aliens abduct you? What am I saying? If they did, I’d be talking to alien Iz, not real Iz. Maybe you’ve been possessed by a demon who’s trying to emulate human emotions?”

Her smile fell, annoyance bubbling to the surface.

“Okay, first, these are chocolate protein bites,” she said, ripping the cover off the bin and shoving the half empty container toward him. “Who the hell would try to rob an aerial studio, and why? Second, I’m not an alien or possessed. I was trying to go for friendly.”

He winced. “Next time tone down the Joker smile and try to take the murder out of your eyes.”

She was two seconds away from shoving the entire bin of treats down his smartass throat.

“You do get murder eyes when you try to lie, Iz,” Tori agreed.

“Hey!” Betrayed by her own bestie. This was not a good start to today’s rehearsal.

“Chance,” he said, holding his hand out to Tori. “Buddy from high school, I guess.”

To her credit, Tori stared at Chance’s hand for a moment before shaking it. A hint of warning on her bestie’s face.

“Tori. I am her actual best friend and I’ve heard all about you, Chance O’Brien.”

He cleared his throat, gaze moving back and forth between her and Tori. She couldn’t help the smug smile that curled her lips. Her bestie was awesome.

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