“But isn’t it irresponsible?” she sighs. “Going out partying, when the fate of the world is on our shoulders. And Alexis said we should all keep a low profile. Just go about things like normal?”
"What could be more normal than me taking my best girl to the party of the year?” I watch the gears whirr in her head. “And it could be handy too. You can listen in on the bigwigs at the ball.”
“Yeah, it could be a good opportunity for intel gathering,” she replies, her face lighting. “OK. Let’s do it!”
I go down on one knee. “Will you go to the ball with me, Cinders?”
She giggles. “Yes, please.”
Perfect. Mission accomplished.
Suddenly, the laughter leaves Theo. “But what about Wes?”
Max throws the last of his chicken bones onto the plate. “I know I’m not Wes Hart, Sparkles, but if you need an extra arm—take me? Please? I’ll be good, promise.”
I can tell Theo is still sad, but Max makes the corners of her mouth turn up. That’s good. She needs to smile.
“Yeah, Tee, it’ll be fun, let's do it. Me and Max will take you to the ball. And if Wes is—if he gets better before then, that just means you’ll have three escorts.”
Max gives me a grin. “You got a spare monkey suit for me? I don’t exactly have posh going-out clothes.”
“Sure, you can have my old one, I’ll get something new on Saturday.”
“That’s very generous, Donovan.” Theo kisses me on the cheek as Max puts his hand up for a high five. “Yeah, appreciate it, bro.”
A warm feeling of making them both pleased fills my chest. “Happy to help.”
“That reminds me,” Max says, snatching the last wonton. “I’ve got something for Bully.”
“Bully?” Theo looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
“I think he’s talking about Ludo,” I tell her, snatching the wonton back from Max’s plate, then throwing it in my mouth.
“Hey, asshole, you’ll pay for that.”
“What were you saying about Ludo?” Theo asks, ignoring the chopstick fight that Max is trying to make happen.
“Right, my bull-pal. Anyhoo, I found my old phone by the still. It works fine, so I don’t need the one Cos got me. Thought Mino T. Rex might want it? I’ve put my digits in so that he can call me. I’ve been missing my beast-bestie.”
He hands Theo the state-of-the-art cell phone.
She blinks a couple of times. “That’s really nice of you, Maximus. I know Ludo doesn’t have a phone.” She slips it into her bag, but then picks up her own cell. “And I guess I should take your number too.”
“Music to my ears,” the cheeky dog grins. They start swapping deets.
I watch impatiently. Now I’ve food in my belly, all I have in my mind is sweeping Tee off into my bedroom, then feeling her pussy-walls milk my cock.
“Donovan?” she says.
“Oh, sorry, spaced out for a minute.”
Theo's smile has faded again. She’s staring at Wes's closed door. “I just can’t bear it. I’m so desperate to hold him, take away his pain. It’s so awful.”
Instantly, my throat is full of a heavy lump.
I take Theo’s hand, and Max takes the other. “Sparkles, I swear on my hellhound, I’ll keep working on Wes. I know he’s fucked up at the moment, but we’ll get him back.”
“We’ll get him back,” I echo, pulling them both into a tight embrace.
