Page 88 of Dancing with My Elf
When I left, Sebastian and Diego waited in the hall.
I jumped back and covered my chest. “Are you trying to scare me to death?”
“Sorry,” Diego said. “We heard you were finally up.”
“How are you feeling?” Sebastian asked.
“Despite that scare, better,” I replied.
Diego fixed a steady gaze on me. “Are we good?”
I nodded. “We’re good.” I clapped his back. “I’m glad you both came.”
“Of course,” Diego replied. “We’re brothers.”
Sebastian then fretted over me. “Are you hungry? Come downstairs. I’ll make you something to eat.”
A few minutes later, Zoe and I sat downstairs while Sebastian emptied out half the contents of the fridge, trying to feed us.
“You need to replenish what you lost,” Sebastian insisted.
I exchanged a glance with Zoe. She smiled back. We both knew he showed how he cared through food. I gave Shadow a few treats.
“You spoil him with food,” Sebastian said.
“You spoil me with food.” I grinned at him.
Yes, things were back to normal around here. No, much better, because now I had Zoe.
When we returned to my room with full bellies, I tipped Zoe back onto my bed and kissed her sweet mouth. After I pulled away, I asked, “Now where were we before my roommates interrupted?”
“Just getting started.” Her smile rose to her eyes. She pulled me back down to continue our kiss.
Zoe
A week after the battle, Lucas and I met up with Gianna, Sebastian, Nova, and Diego at the Danger Zone.
“That stellar teamwork most definitely calls for a celebration.” Gianna raised a bottle of chilled champagne from the bar and then poured them into six glasses.
“And another dinner party,” Sebastian said.
This time, I wasn’t hesitant. We were confident that we’d gotten all the demons. The sirens not so much as they swam away. But without those monsters to aid them, hopefully they’d never return.
It was terrible that we’d lost a couple in the Network in the process. Their sacrifices would never be forgotten, and we’d held a ceremony for the fallen.
Like Lucas had taught me, I had to learn to celebrate the small victories—and stopping the demons was a massive one.
“Cheers.” I raised my glass.
We all toasted and drank. I glanced at each of them. Although I was the newcomer, they’d made me feel welcome. Sebastian tried to feed me each time I went over to the house while he was there, which was super sweet.
Lucas wrapped his arm around my waist. “Sure, we did good, but Zoe was the badass who tailed those monsters and let us all know the situation. If it wasn’t for you…” He let his voice trail off.
That was better. None of us needed a reminder of how bad things could be.
“To Zoe!” Everyone raised their glass and toasted me.
“Thank you.” Their praise warmed me. “We couldn’t have done it without all of you.”
