Page 44 of Hex and the City
Leon clearly thought the same, elbowing me in the ribs again. “Are all your friends secretly hot, or am I just a pervert?”
“You’re just a pervert.” I elbowed him back, unable to hold in a cocky smile. “Also: birds of a feather, Leonardo. Is this your way of telling me I’m hot? By complimenting my buddies instead?”
“Pfft. Get over yourself.” He said those words with his mouth, but the mild reddening of his ears told me otherwise. He slid onto the nearest stool at our table, leaning in excitedly. “Place looks great, you guys. Had no idea.”
Johnny winked. “Appreciate it, Witch Boy. Couldn’t decide if I wanted to make espressos or martinis, so now we make espresso martinis.”
“They’re very good, too,” Roscoe said, nodding wisely.
“Bad news,” I said, breaking up the party before it even started. “We snuck into Atomica. Long story short, they sold a thousand bottles of Diablo 69. No way in hell we can sift through all that data in time to find the culprit.”
Roscoe rubbed his forehead and groaned. “Those lying assholes. Should have known. Sorry for sending you on a wild goose chase, boys.”
Leon shrugged. “You win some, you lose some. Just wish I didn’t lose so often, though. And now we don’t have any leads to go on.”
I shook my head, scowling at my phone. “Vera’s no help, either. Sent her some texts and nothing. She’s hot and cold, but I really don’t want to lose her as a contact.” I let my phone fall from my hand. It clattered and slid into the center of the table, screen dim, an irritating reminder of the Jade Spider’s silence. “Man, I can’t believe Atomica’s just out there scamming people.”
Ross traced something onto the table with the tip of his finger, doodling absently, the trail of reddish magic vanishing as he went. “And you know they’re just going to spin it in their favor somehow. Atomica fans will defend them for it, too, make it sound like everyone should be grateful they released so many bottles.”
“Fuck those fucking fuckers,” Johnny said. “Enough work talk for now. First round’s on me.”
Man, Johnny really liked buying us drinks. I mean, I still paid for my orders most days, whether for coffee or cocktails, but it was good times, being Johnny’s friend.
“Witch Boy,” he said, pointing at Leon. “You old enough to drink? You’re old enough to be in here, right?”
Leon frowned. “I’m twenty-one, thank you very much.”
“And I’m only twenty-eight,” I said, pointing at my eyes, then at his face. “In case you want to crack jokes about me being a fossil next time.”
Leon’s cheeks reddened, all flustered. Very cute. Kind of sexy, too. Reminded me of his face in the back seat of my car.
“You’re just old school, is all,” he said, tugging on the collar of his shirt. “More mature than I’m used to. Old fashioned. Nothing wrong with old fashioned.”
I turned my eyes to the ceiling and sighed. “Yes, thank you, excellent idea. An old-fashioned sounds perfect right about now.”
Johnny twirled his finger in a circle. “Round of old-fashioneds, coming right up.”
Roscoe clapped Leon on the shoulder and waggled his eyebrows. “More mature than you’re used to, huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, wow, I’ve always been so curious about cocktails,” Leon stiltedly announced. He stood bolt upright, face as red as a tomato. “I’ll come and watch you make them, Johnny Slivers.”
“Uh, sure, I guess.” Johnny beckoned, leading him over behind the bar.
Not once did Leon look in my face.
“Aww.” Roscoe grinned, resting his chin in his hand, head tilted as he studied my face. “He really likes you, Maxy.”
“Stop it,” I grunted. “I fucking hate it when you get all smug like this.”
His forehead creased, his nose wrinkling as he sniffed at the air. “Hold up. Do you smell that?”
I glowered around us, taking a deep inhalation of breath. Did Atomica send some thugs after us? Was there a Diablo 69 private army I didn’t know about?
“Love,” Roscoe purred, sniffling dramatically. “Love is in the air.”
“I could honestly fucking kill you.”
Ross rolled his eyes. “And I could honestly knock your head off. Enjoy it, Max. In all the time Johnny and I have known you, we’ve never seen you in a relationship. And that’s fine, totally your choice.”
