Page 28 of Midsummer Phoenixes
He grunted and turned back to the kitchen.
“You look like a Cinnamon,” Ben mumbled, giving Table Fourteen—Grenadine—a sideways look.
“Careful, wolf, or I’ll have you lick my calves,”
“Specific,” Ben said.
“He has nice calves,” Rae said.
I was keeping my eyes on the salt, the tiny white grains raining down into the shakers. No one spoke for a good fifteen seconds.
“So are we doing it?” Grenadine asked.
Rae cleared their throat. “Amory. I was thinking—”
Ben chuckled. In the windows-turned-mirror, I saw Rae frown.
“I was thinking, we should post something on social media. A little video.”
“You’re not putting my face on social media,” I said, keeping my voice calm. I hoped it was calm. My fear with social media was and always had been that my family would see me and…I wasn’t sure. I just knew I didn’t want to be on anything where they could find me.
“If you say so. But for the diner. A little video for the diner. So people know it’s a nice place. Welcoming and all that.”
I pointed back over my shoulder with my thumb. “Dwayne’s right there in the kitchen. Just ask Dwayne. Why are you asking me?”
I saw Dwayne, hairnet and all, look back out through the passthrough. “Kid, if you wanna do a video, that’s okay, but don’t tell everyone about the Pride cupcakes. I have another batch in the oven, but we seem to be out of them all the time.”
Dwayne was not usually a traitor like that, and I didn’t even catch his eye when I turned around, just his upturned thumb.
“It’s okay then?” Rae beamed, rubbing their palms, clearly much too excited.
“Wait, I’m getting my Bluetooth speakers,” Grenadine said.
“I’d best not appear in any video either,” Ben said.
“Rae, what—”
Before I could ask a sensible question, the bell above the door chimed. Rae and I both turned, and said ourWelcome to the Moonlight.They added a little twirl while I very nearly spilled salt all over the counter.
Walking into the Moonlight came four leather daddies. Well, I hoped that was the correct terminology. I didn’t really know, but it was the first thing that came to my mind; four broad-shouldered leather daddies. One of them was wearing a purple fake fur coat. Probably because it was chilly with the harness alone.
“Oh,” Rae said, but they didn’t say it like a normal person would. The single sound came out halfway between excitement and orgasm. “Hi, Daddies!”
“Well,” the one in purple fur said. “I guess we found the place, boys.”
They all stopped to look me over, barely paying any attention to Rae. Then Purple Fur nodded at me. He was a serious-looking dude under all the fur and leather. All of them were Ben’s size, and all that leather gave them a certain…I didn’t know, but it definitely made me give them my undivided attention, salt shakers or not.
The one next to Purple Fur had a carefully maintained beard, tight shirt, and gloves that didn’t even cover his wrists. He said, “We’re just passing through. The parade here is nice, and the bar scene is quite something. We’re looking to have some dinner in peace. May we sit?”
That sounded way too formal for any regular patron, meaning they were most likely pawns, supernaturals.
“Of course,” I said. “Take any table you want.” Purple Coat was about to open his mouth, when my error occurred to me. “Except table three! Sorry.” I pointed at table three, Soyer’s table. “Not that table.”
“Thank you,” Purple Coat said, and the quartet headed to take table five.
The two women at table seven—the Marys, whatever kind of pawn that was—both turned to stare openly. Table eleven, Liam and Dave, also stared, if less openly. Very much interested though.
“You four look fun,” the blonde Mary said, pushing back her glasses the exact same moment the brunette sitting opposite her did.
