Page 113 of Gratification in Gluttony

“About the card trick,” Rusty tried again, and Glyma finally acknowledged him, turning her thousand-watt smile in his direction.

“Yes, Rusty?”

His pale eyes widened, and he swallowed thickly, shifting his weight as he curled in on himself. Glaring down at the floor, he scuffed the galaxy floor and mumbled, “I’ll practice, I guess.”

“Thank you,” Glyma said, beaming at all of them. “All of you, thank you so much. Open mic night is going to be amazing.”

“But we still have some planning to do and details to work out,” Quin added in an attempt to bring Glyma back to reality. “So, you all have plenty of time to prepare.”

“Right, we’ll make flyers and”—Glyma pointed at Oliver, Rusty, and Gem—“as the front staff, you need to spread the word to our customers.”

Oliver and Gem saluted. Rusty just dipped his chin, still pouting. Toni squeezed Jude’s shoulders and grinned down at him as Jude tilted his head back to wink up at him.

“We should do the first song we played together,” Toni said, and Jude nodded.

“Agreed.”

As the circle dispersed, Gem trailed after Zef, saying, “Oh, Zef, how’s my birthday dress coming?”

“I am ready to do another fitting if you would like to ride the train back with me,” Zef said as they secured their hair into a high ponytail.

“Let’s do it!” Gem said, waving goodbyes to everyone as he followed Zef out of the cafe.

The moment the front door shut behind them, Oliver turned on Toni in alarm. “It’s Gem’s birthday?”

“Now? No. His birthday’s in a month. Zef’s just helping him get his performance dress ready.” At Jude and Oliver’s confused expressions, Toni explained, “He performs with Zef sometimes, especially on his birthday. At the club in Lust.”

“Oh, good. I thought I’d forgotten it or something.” Oliver blew a relieved breath through pursed lips. “Gem would never forgive me if I did that.”

“No, he would not,” Toni agreed. “Though, speaking of Gem’s birthday, I was thinking of throwing him a surprise party. Thought we could do it here at the cafe?”

Glyma nodded immediately, “Of course, just let us know what weekend.”

“Oh, can we kidnap him?” Oliver said excitedly.

“Kidnap him?” Toni echoed.

“Yeah, like that’s part of the surprise. We kidnap him from his house and take him somewhere fun.”

“Won’t the cafe be an anti-climactic location?” Jude said, hurrying to add, “No offense, of course. I just mean—”

Quin waved him off. “It’s his place of employment. Not that exciting, I get it.”

“I thought he’d like it,” Toni said.

“I’m sure he would,” Jude said, placing a hand on Toni’s arm. “I just thought if you’re going to all the trouble of kidnapping him, then why not take him somewhere else?”

“Like where?”

“The Illian Caves,” Rusty said absently, typing on his phone. When everyone turned their attention to him, his fingers faltered, and he looked up slowly. “What?”

“What are The Illian Caves?” Oliver asked Liel.

“A cave system in the Wrath mountains,” Liel answered.

“Oh, but for a few weeks a year, the moons align just right to shine down through the steam vents and light up the crystal formations,” Willow said, green eyes sparkling. “The colors are so beautiful.”

“Right,” Toni said, “and Gem’s always wanted to see it. How do you know that?” he asked Rusty.

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