Peri snatched the she-wolf’s arm before she could take another step and jerked her back. “First of all, it’s FEMA, not FINA, you dipstick,” Peri growled. “Second, how would you feel if someone told you your hair looked bad? A complete stranger at that.”
“Like I needed to fix it,” Jen said matter-of-fact like.
Peri groaned.
“I’ve told you before, there’s no reasoning with her when she gets something in her head. You just have to let it work its way out of her system like an intestinal worm,” Jacque told Peri, as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked back and forth between the two.
“Intestinal worm?” Jen scrunched up her face. “Yuck.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who acts like an intestinal worm. If you fit the shoe, then you’ve got to wear the stink.”
Peri snorted and Jen shook her head at her best friend. “I got nothing.”
“Finally,” the high fae moaned. “Now can we take a seat at the bar and see if we can strike up a conversation. And by all means, let me lead.”
The three marched up to the bar and each took an empty stool. Jen’s hands were shaking as she pulled the stool out and climbed onto it. She rested her arms on the bar, careful to cover her hands so that the shaking wouldn’t be noticeable.
Sally looked up from her intense glass drying and smiled at them. “I’ll be with you in just a sec.”
“Not a problem,” Peri assured.
Sally tucked the towel in her back pocket, and Jen had a flash of memory of a time when Sally had worked with Costin inhisbar, and he’d tucked a towel into the healer’s jeans.Times have changed, she thought to herself.
“What can I get you ladies?”
“I’ll take a martini, dry, extra olive, please,” Peri told her.
Jacque ordered next. “I’m just going to take a coke.”
Jen shouldn’t have done it, but her mouth opened and the words spilled out before she could swallow them down. “I’ll take a sex on the beach.”
Peri reached over and pinched the crap out of Jen’s leg, and she had to bite her lip to keep from flinging expletives at the fae.
Sally paused and stared at Jen for a moment. Her face drew into a frown and she looked as though she was in pain. “I don’t think I’ve ever made that one,” she said finally. “I’ll actually have to look that one up. Oh, and I need to see I.D. from my two drinkers.”
Jen turned to look at Peri who gave her a nod letting her know she had it under control. Peri slipped out two I.D. cards fromwho the crap knows whereand showed them to Sally, who nodded and then stepped away to make their drinks. The I.D. cards vanished just as quickly as they’d appeared.
“What time do you close?” Jacque asked Sally after she’d gotten them their drinks and they’d been there casually talking to each other.
Sally glanced at the clock behind her. “In about fifteen minutes.”
So,one a.m., Jen thought and then realized that they’d been there for forty-five minutes and only said a handful of things to Sally, none of which were conducive to building a friendship. She thought back to when they were kids and Jen had met her. She’d informed her, just like Jacque, that she was going to be her best friend and that was that.It worked then. Jen shrugged as she smiled at Sally. “So we’re new in town,” Jen said and ignored the foot stomp Peri was attempting to give her. “And you seem to be like a normal,not serial killer,type. Would you care to hang out with us one night this week and tell us what’s what?”
Jacque and Peri seemed to be holding their breaths as they waited to see how Sally would answer.
Without missing a beat, she laughed at Jen’s comment and then nodded her head. “Well I work most nights. How about we do some shopping during the day tomorrow? Honestly, I’m new here too and I haven’t made any friends other than the coworkers here, so some girl time would be great. And you three look pretty normal andnon-serial killerishyourselves.”
The three laughed. Jen wanted to reach across the counter and wrap Sally in a hug. Her arms ached to hold her friend. It was like holding her breath even though she wasn’t under water. It sucked.
“Okay, awesome.” Jen said. “Would that work for you two?” She asked Jacque and Peri.
They both nodded.
“We could meet at my apartment and then make plans from there. It’s just down the street.” Sally suggested.
“Sounds perfect. Is ten okay for you?”
Sally gave her a thumbs up. “I can totally do ten.”
