“We're meeting some friends for dinner,” Qwill beamed. “The reservation is under Qwill.”
She paused to read over the ledger that was in front of her. Lifting her smile to greet him again, she nodded. “The other two people in your party arrived a little early and have already been seated. Follow me and I'll let you join them.”
“Great, thank you.”
So much for me being able to get the low down on Qwill's friends before meeting them. We followed the redhead through the moderately busy restaurant, weaving through the traffic of people enjoying their dinners. It was so comforting to see a mixture of patrons. Orb couples were sharing entrees, human friends were celebrating a promotion, even a few Orb and humans co-mingling for one reason and another. And no one was batting an eye. I knew Bas had told me before that he'd experienced the same instance when he'd traveled to D.C. with his boyfriend Kroven, but seeing it for myself right here in Piper was a sight for sore eyes.
“Here you are.” The redhead said as she stepped aside from in front of Qwill. “Enjoy your evening.”
Qwill nodded and gave her another grin. “Thank you so much.”
When he stepped aside to hug one of the friends in question, my entire body went cold. I observed, a settlement of feeling dumbstruck raining on me as Kroven lifted himself out of the booth, chuckling a greeting to Qwill as they enveloped in a hug. My eyes immediately went to where Bas was sitting, giving Qwill his own smile until our eyes met. Surprise littered both of our faces, and I knew things were about to get a hell of a lot more interesting.
Chapter 15
Horror.
Seeing Bas fling himself out of the restaurant's booth felt like an entire band was performing a drum line on my heart. It wasn't the fact that I was scared or worried for Bas to see me with Qwill. It was the fact that I hadn't had a chance to talk to him about it yet and now I had no choice but to address it without having had time to prep.
At Bas' sudden movement, Kroven turned to him with a confused look destroying his face. Across Kroven’s pale creature features, I saw his pointed ears twitch in response to Bas’ reaction, his red eyes reflecting the alarm they protruded.
“What's wrong,blomsjett?”
Qwill set his eyes on me before looking at Bas with the same weirded out look Kroven did. He kept swiveling his head between us.
Kroven finally glazed over me, recognition registering in his eyes. “Thayer? What are you doing here?”
“This is my date,” Qwill nodded. His handsome face squished as he gave me a look. “You know each other?”
“Thayer is my best friend,” Bas cleared his throat, lookingabsolutely floored. “We used to live together before I moved in with Kroven.”
“Ahh, wonderful.” Qwill smiled, clearly not registering the awkwardness that was evident in the air. “Then everyone's familiar to with each other already.”
“Thayer and I are going to the bathroom before we order.” Bas settled, walking over and grabbing my wrist before he started dragging me to the back of the restaurant in lieu of the bathroom. Kroven and Qwill had matching expressions of bewilderment as I struggled to keep my balance as Bas' surprising strength led me further into the restaurant. By the time he threw us both inside the men's bathroom, I was trying to regain autonomy over my body as he checked the stalls. Bas made sure that we were alone as I leaned against the bathroom counter.
Bas placed his hands on his hips and stared at me like he had swords for irises.
“What the fuck, Thayer? You're dating Qwill?!”
“I haven't had a chance to tell you yet,” I tried to explain. “I didn't know you knew Qwill. Or that Kroven did. I had no idea you two would even be here tonight.”
“Qwill didn’t mention Kroven’s name when you asked about who the hell you were meeting for dinner?”
“No!” I elevated my voice, clearing my throat at the realization that my voice was amplified by the bathroom’s walls. “Qwill didn’t tell me.” My head tilted as I amended. “Well, I didn’t exactly press him either, but that’s because it didn’t matter to me who his friends were.”
“Okay,” Bas exhaled, taking in a new breath before continuing on. “Let’s move on to the fact thatyou’re dating Qwill.”
I sighed. This wasn’t how I thought tonight was going to go. I’d been looking forward to meeting Qwill’s friends, hearing stories about Qwill that would, inevitably, further my fascinationwith him. Drama hadn’t been at the forefront of my mind at all.
That being said, I understood where Bas was coming from. He’d only known me to date women. Human women, at that, so me strutting up with a male Orb on my arm, well, I could see how that would be startling as fuck and confusing as hell. I just didn’t want to get into the weeds about it. My relationship with Qwill was just that. I didn’t want to feel like I had to validate my blossoming relationship, even if it was my best friend standing in front of me.
“It just sort of happened.” I shrugged, not wanting to meet his eyes. I ran my hand through my tousled hair. “Qwill came into the club and his friends bought him a lap dance with me. He’d been a fan of my routine and got to experience it up close. After that, I’ve been trying to reconcile how I’ve been feeling around him and I finally decided to explore it.”
When I looked up from the bathroom floor, I fully expected to see irate feelings reflected in Bas’ eyes. Fortune graced me as I saw the subtle smile on his face, followed by his eyes wobbling with emotion.
“Thayer, I’m so happy for you! You should feel free to explore what you’re feeling. I just—”
The sound of the bathroom door being pried open took both of our attention from us. A tall guy wearing flannel and blue jeans took a single step inside before he saw us.
