Page 13 of Crown of Steel

We watch him leave, then Dominique rolls his eyes at me. “Always so dramatic,” he sighs, his voice thick with amusement. “You’ll get used to them. Come on.”

Maxime’s already waiting for us by the time we make it to the quiet corner, eating and smiling brightly while he chats with some other guy, visibly unaware of the show we accidentally just put on. Maybe we weren’t as obvious as I suspected after all. Although that does nothing for my rapidly beating heart. Shit, that was weird.

“Hi there,” I clip, feeling stiff and even more agitated. I should have not come down here, because now I’m standing like some god damn wooden fool who can’t fold his body in order to sit down.

“Here.” Dominique quickly pulls out the chair next to his, as if nothing happened. “Come sit next to me. Jo, I’d like you to meet Régis. Régis here is Louis and Arthur’s little stepbrother. He’s new here.”

“Stepbrother?” The guy named Jo blinks his pale eyes. His longish blond hair is tied back with what looks like a navy-blue pre-wrap that matches the color of our uniform, giving his square face even more sharpness. “The Deveraux twins have a stepbrother?” He huffs out a laugh, then draws a cross with his index finger. “God bless you, dude.” Every single nerve in my body freezes, except for the one I feel ticking in my jaw. I should get up—get up!—but can’t get myself to move. I’m glued to the damn chair. Right when I feel like I should say something, anything really, even if it’s a pitiful stammer, he stretches out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Régis. My name is Jonathan, but my friends call me Jo.” He smiles. “Just stick with us and you’ll be fine. Plus—” His smile widens as he juts his chin toward Dominique. “We’ve got him, and Gaël’s boyfriend keeps them all in check.”

Said boyfriend huffs out an amused chuckle. “Oh, come on guys, they are not as bad as they’ll have you believe.”

Maxime lets out a snort.

“You’re right,” Jo smirks. “Besides, Louis is a decent football player.”

“Oh, come on,” Dominique chimes. “He’s more than that. Louis is a good guy, kind and hospitable. A great cook.”

“Cook?” Maxime perks up. “Who would have thought that any of the Deveraux boys could cook?”

“Hmm,” Dominique nods. “That’s right.”

“Just get used to them being very present at college,” Jo says, cleaning his plate with a last piece of bread. “I think that we’re all familiar with the concept of ‘popular kids’. Well, consider them the popular, loud ones. So, you just have to stay away as much as you can.”

“Which is not easy when you share a dorm with them,” I mutter, not missing how Maxime and Dominique exchange a private look. I should talk to that guy Pierre again.

“They have their own friends anyway,” Maxime adds. On queue, I hear Louis bark out a laugh at something someone said.

“So…how about you joining our chess club, Régis?” Dominique, who has finished his lunch, pushes his plate aside and gives me a pleading look that makes me let out a nervous chortle. But before I can reply, Maxime groans.

“Now that, my friend, is a poor pitch. Haven’t they taught you how to be more convincing? Coming with arguments and all that?”

Jo huffs out a chuckle, then steals a piece of bread from his friend’s plate. Maxime pats his hand, but only after the bread has disappeared into Jo’s mouth. And then his light gaze is back on mine. It’s making me fidget.

“Uhm—”

“We’re really cool guys,” Maxime says.

“Well, I’m not sure—”

“And we’re one guy short,” Jo adds.

I sigh in desperation, a smile creeping up my face. I’ve never been asked for anything and it feels kind of flattering. I like it. “Why don’t you just ask one of your friends?”

Jo laughs. “We already did. But—”

“But we want you,” Dominique interjects with a firm voice. His coffee-colored eyes stare right into mine. Calm, and confident. “Because I like you. Because you and I are both the black sheep slash extension of the Deveraux family and we need to stick together.”

“I thought you said he knows how to beat Arthur in chess?” Maxime asks sheepishly.

“I did,” I reply. Once. I’ve only played a few times with himwhen I was here in Monterrey Castle, “getting used to” my new environment. “But the asshole plays seriously good.”

Maxime’s smile widens as his flush deepens. “So you’d be a great asset to our little team. You look like a nice guy, and Sunshine here likes you.” He points toward Dominique.

“And since Pascal got kicked off the team, we could do with a new member,” Jo adds drolly.

“He wasn’t kicked out,” Dominique balks.

“No, you’re right. He was kindly requested to leave by Gaël and the Deveraux twins.”

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