Dre and Alerion were wiping tears of joy from their eyes while Barion tried to wriggle out of that one. Of course they wouldn’t help him. “Uhm, that’s very nice of you, Sammy. We’ll see. Now how about we call Ottilie and Brice back? Have you ever had Swiss cheese fondue?”
The mention of food was enough to distract Sammy for the moment and Barion was able to relax a little, though it didn’t last long. Once Brice had brought the baskets with delicious bread and the steaming pot of melted cheeses—Gruyere, Emmental and Gouda, the classic mixture for fondue—they started eating, and with the dunking of the bread into the cheese came the questions.
“So, you and Jon spent the day together?” Sammy was even worse at being subtle than Dre and Alerion, which was saying a lot. Barion decided not to be cowed. Sammy was just looking out for his friend and tenant, and Barion hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Yes, we played The Witcher III: Wild Hunt for a bit. We thought together we might be brave enough to betray the Whispering Hillock, but we like the horse too much.”
Dre huffed around a mouthful of cheese and bread. “I’m not even going to pretend I understood the second sentence at all.”
“I can break it down for you. Jon and I play game. Big game. Many choices. We not make one choice.”
“I hate you.” Dre dunked another bread into the cheese.
“You love me.”
“You’re family. Love is built in.” Sammy was trying to get another bread on the fork-like tool they used to get the cheese out of the pot. Alerion absently took it from him and expertly stabbed the bread. “Thank you, Dad. Now back to Jon. What are your intentions with him? Because he’s a good guy and my friend and I want him to be happy.”
“I can assure you, Sammy, my intentions are pure. I like Jon, he’s fun to hang out with, he loves video games, the same as I do, and we had a blast playing last time. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“You’re meeting again?” There was a gleam in Sammy’s eyes and Barion knew he had to act fast if he didn’t want an unwanted audience during his gaming day with Jon.
“Yes, and we’re going to play video games the entire time, which will bore you to death, but I promise I’ll check in with you before I leave.”
“And when you arrive.” Sammy sounded a lot like a worried parent.
“And when I arrive.” Barion sighed. “I promised Jon breakfast. Can I bring you something as well?” It was always a good idea to have food handy to placate the beast.
“Dre? I know Jon loves crêpes, and I could do with one as well…or two. Make that three. One hearty, two sweet. From the café in Paris you recommended.”
“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll take six, half hearty, half sweet. Thank you, brother.” Dre smiled broadly at him, showing a hint of fang, which would have been more impressive if there hadn’t been a bit of cheese dangling from it.
Barion sighed. “Will do. Now can we please talk about something else?”
Chapter Five
Jon was pacing again. This seemed to be his default when it came to waiting for Barion. He was a bit unsure if twice was enough to qualify as a repetitive behavioral pattern, but since he usually didn’t even do once with other people, twice was a two hundred percent increase, which had to be good. Unless you counted pacing as a nervous habit then increasing it wasn’t good at all and, oh gods, he’d need a shrink, one who made house calls—and where would he find one of those without Sammy and Dre and the others getting wind of it, not to mention Grann, who would tell him to come home immediately. Why is it so difficult to get a life? The irony in that question had him chuckling.
The sound of steps on the stairs pulled him out of this train of thought that was rapidly heading toward a very dark tunnel. Barion’s voice was clear on the other side of his door.
“I told you, Sammy, it’s fine. I can carry breakfast for Jon and me. It’s not that heavy. Plus, I could have just taken the short cut into his apartment.”
“No, really, Barion, I want to help.” Sammy had this stubborn tone Jon knew all too well. His friend and landlord was in meddling mode, born out of true worry for Jon, which was the only reason Jon was willing to accept it. Barion must have thought along similar lines, because despite his own tone carrying a hint of exasperation, he was patient with Sammy.
“Sammy, Jon and I are fine. I’m not going to kill him or leave him stranded in some weird-ass dimension. We’re just playing a video game!”
“You’d leave him in another dimension?” Of course Sammy would latch onto that. Jon grinned, wondering how Barion would weasel out of it.
“Never! That’s what I said. He’s perfectly safe with me.”
“But you could.” Sammy was more stubborn than a mule in front of a dark patch on the ground. Barion’s sigh was long-suffering.
“Dre, could you please tell your mate I would never, in all my life, leave Jon in another dimension.”
So Dre is there as well. Not really a surprise.
“Sammy, Barion would never, in all his life, leave Jon in another dimension. Time seems to be still on the table, though.”
“Dre, you asshole!”
