Page 53 of Legendary

“Watch it,” I said, hearing a sharpness to my tone that had him shutting his mouth quicker than I anticipated.

Instead of being pushed away by my words, he let out a sly smile. “Okay, tough guy, if you're all growly about her then why did she make it seem like you guys weren’t much of a thing when she came to talk to me after her and Elise’s fight in Oculus?”

“I wasn’t aware she told you that, but I mean we aren’t. We aren’t anything, Reese. It’s complicated.”

“Clearly.” He patted my cheek. “So, you put your foot in your mouth. Classic Nick.”

I pulled back, a bit insulted. “You can’t just assume that.”

“I can and I did. What I can say is you are one of the best when it comes to forming a plan, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out. And maybe when you do, I’ll have come to terms with my best friend lusting after a demon. Right now, I’m on the fence.”

I let myself fall backwards onto the bed behind me, my back hitting the cold sheets. “Sorry I got angry.”

“I don’t think I would have believed you liked her if you didn’t. And weboth know that if we had an actual fight, I would win, or did you forget how you got that scar?” I absentmindedly reached up and touched the scar under my eye. I remember trying so hard not to cry when it happened, especially since I was eleven and I wanted to give off this persona like nothing hurt me, like prioritizing my pain wasn’t worth anything.

I guess I was still doing that. And the end result would be the same. I would heal over time and there would be a scar in place of the pain. I could see it every day, but it wouldn’t hurt as much. At least I hoped it would be like that.

I pushed myself up and onto my elbows, realizing that I had an entirely different plan for today. Reese came and sat down next to me, leaning back on his hands. “Can we put the Dani talk away for a minute?” He nodded.

“I want to talk to Natalia.”

Reese and I bounded down the steps and met Beetee at the front desk. She was hunched over some papers with a coffee at her side. The lounge area was empty, and she didn’t seem to notice us when we approached. Reese rapped his knuckles on the counter and greeted her.

“Good morning, reptile queen.”

Beetee shot her head up, reaching her arm across the counter, and covering his mouth. She pressed her index finger to her lips and nodded over towards the dining area. We looked past the few patrons that were in the kitchen, who were being oddly quiet, and that’s when I noticed them. Two bodies, in opposite chairs, asleep at the table.

“What the hell?” I said as I looked from Beetee to the dining area.

She let out a small giggle. “I’ll discuss with Ellie later about asking before ruthlessly ripping off the lock on the liquor cabinet, but I guess they decided to talk.”

“This I have got to see.” Reese started walking in their direction and I followed suit. The others started watching us as we made our way over to our two companions. They seemed to think it was quite assuming that we were even attempting to startle the women in front of us. Dani had her arm under her head and her curls were splayed out around the table. She looked like she was in a deep sleep and fuck, she was cute. Her small breaths made tiny pieces of her hair flail around before they settled back towards her face again. I looked to my left to see Elise slumped in her chair. Her head was down, and her shoulders were hunched. Her body was swaying every fewseconds as if she could lose her balance and fall off the chair at any moment. I leaned down so I was near Dani’s face and took hold of her shoulder, shaking it gently. She didn’t wake up immediately, so I shook her again, adding a little bit more force this time. Her eyes fluttered open, squinting just a bit to adjust. She blinked a few times before her eyes told me she was really taking me in.

“Nicholas?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” I reached around her head and plucked the half empty glass from the table. I brought it to my nose and sniffed, before placing it back down. “Vodka. Solid choice.”

She groaned but winced when she heard the chair across from her rattling along the floor. She moved her head up, resting her chin on the table. Reese had the back of Elise’s chair in his hands as he moved it from side to side, erratically. Elise held onto the table with a look on her face that gave me no indication that she was exhausted from last night at all.

Reese was having way too much fun to realize that Elise had released her tail and slithered it around the back of the chair. She placed her tail in a perfectly horizontal position and sliced right along both of Reese’s hands.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he yelled, dropping the chair and holding his hands out. I knew the feeling of that venom and it wasn’t pleasant. “That shit burns.”

“Your hands will be just as useless as you for a few moments,” Elise pointed out before running her hands over her eyes.

I watched as Reese tried to shake one of his hands and nothing happened. I choked back a laugh and looked down at Dani who had now fully sat up. She placed her elbows on the table and ran a hand into her hair. After a second, she spoke. “I know you’re staring at me and I’m fine. Straight vodka has never really been my drink of choice.”

I turned the empty bottle that was in the middle of the table around, tilting it to read the label. “Seems like you enjoyed it.”

“Are we back to being friends? Or do I still have to be weird with you two?” Beetee asked curiously. She looked from Elise to Dani, but honestly, I knew all her focus wanted to remain on Elise sinceshewas the reason Dani was so furious in the first place.

Elise hooked her arm around the back of her chair and glanced over at Dani, who was looking back at her just the same. They both gave each other small smiles of mutual respect and nodded. “Sure, Beetee. That’s a word for it.”

Beetee rolled her eyes and carried two drinks of thick brown liquid into the room. She sat it down in front of both women and then took a step back.Reese leaned over Elise’s chair, inspecting the contents. He was starting to move one finger at a time by now. “The fuck is that?”

Elise leaned down to sniff it and made a face like she was about to vomit. “I would rather lick my own asshole than drink that, thanks.” It seemed to bubble on its own and I could attest that it smelled like ass.

The hot pink haired demon didn’t shy away from the chaotically blunt demon. “Drink it.” Her lilac eyes shifted a bit, just for a moment, so I could see diamond pupils. Oh right, she was part snake or something like that. Elise scoffed, but both she and Dani grabbed the cups and downed them in one movement.

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