He winks. Because of course he does. As I squat down by my twin, I see Theo throw her arms around Maximus and kiss him on the cheek.
Yeah, the hound did good.
“You hungry, Wes?”
He shrugs. “Not really.”
“When’s the last time you ate, seriously dude, you need food.”
His eyes narrow. “You’re not my keeper.” Pushing to his feet, Wes grabs a carton and some chopsticks from the counter and disappears into his room again.
All of a sudden, I feel a hundred years old. “Fuck.”
Theo comes over and hugs me. “I wish there was something I could do; I just seem to make him worse.”
“It makes no sense, Tee. I hate it.” She pushes a plate of food in front of me, and then gets another round of beers from the fridge. “Eat. Wes will come back to us. I know he will. Maximus, you were so good; it was smart not to push him.”
Max grins, looking like a total savage while chewing on a fish sauce-glazed chicken wing. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Anyway, can we talk about something not stressful? All the angst will give me indigestion. What’s the gossip?”
This makes Theo’s face break out in a smile. “Wait a sec, and I’ll find out.”
She taps out a message on her phone and instantly gets an answer. “Yes!” she cheers quietly. Looking up at us, she grins. “Willow asked Naomi Watson to the All Hallows Ball, and Naomi said yes!”
She’s talking about her friend, the freckled one, I think.
“You mean Curly-Sue?” Max asks.
Theo flicks him on the arm. “Can you stop with that? You know perfectly well what her name is.”
“True,” he grins. “So, Freckles has got the hots for Watson? She’s got bigger balls than me. Naomi Watson looks like the kind of chick who cages cocks.” He shudders.
“Cages cocks?”
“Chastity devices. Wait, I’ll show you.” He pulls up images on his phone, and Tee nearly chokes on a noodle.
Max smirks. “But if you asked, I’d let you restrain me.”
“I’d do that, and throw away the key,” Theo retorts, with a twinkle in her eye.
Is my Tee-Tee flirting with Max? I don’t really care; Max is family.
Tee-Tee’s phone pings again. She reads us the update from Wills. “She’s got a fashion crisis. Hasn’t anything formal here and can’t go into town shopping because we’re freshmen.”
“You just need permission from a faculty member," I say, snagging a wonton. "Don't you have one in your pocket.”
Theo’s face lights up. “Good idea!” She’s immediately texting again.
After several more beeps, she puts down the phone and picks up a spring roll. “All sorted. Alexis granted me and Willow leave to go into Havengard City on Saturday morning, though he did say we should take some ‘man-power’ with us, which is a bit sexist if you ask me.”
“I’m obviously the perfect man-power for the job,” I tell her, getting up to fetch another round of beers. “And anyway, you’ll need my opinion for your dress.”
She looks up at me, all big-eyed. “Me? I’m not going to the dance.”
“Come on, baby, you don’t think I’d let you be Cinderella and stay home from the ball, did ya?” I pick her up and whirl her around, and she laughs.
Being stuck in the white sands feels like a million years ago.
When I put Theo down, she’s flushed a pretty pink, but her bottom lip is all worried-looking.
