Levi stepped forward and held out his hand. “Good to meet you, Nyte.”
Before his recent consumption of modern human entertainment, this moment would’ve confused Nyte. He’d seen humans shake hands before his isolation, but never like this. A handshake was the sealing of a deal, a gesture to solidify an oath, something deeply meaningful and symbolic. He still wasn’t sure how it had become a common greeting. But then there was a great deal about the world that he remained unsure about.
He clasped Levi’s hand, mindful of his own strength. “A pleasure to meet you both.”
“Come,” Maggie said, gesturing to the enclosed table next to them. “Come sit.”
Everyone sat, with Nyte beside Ember and Maggie and Levi across from them.
A waitress promptly arrived to hand out menus. “Hello!Welcome to The Bubbly Cauldron. Can I get you some drinks? We’ve got a list of everything on tap in your menus, along with all our wines and cocktails.”
Both Ember and Maggie ordered cocktails—whatever those were—and Levi requested a water.
“And you?” the waitress asked Nyte.
“Water for me as well, thank you.”
When she left, Maggie folded her arms atop the table and grinned, looking between Nyte and Ember. “Okay, I’ve been saving all my questions for tonight. Tell me. How did you two meet?”
Ember chuckled, though there was a nervous quality to it. “Well, I guess it was…um…”
“She wished upon a star and summoned me,” Nyte said.
With a quiet, startled squeak, she dropped her hand to his thigh in warning as her eyes widened.
Maggie laughed. “So what, did you just fall out of the sky or something?”
He smirked, patting Ember’s hand. “Oh, there was no falling involved.”
“He just appeared in the right place at the right time,” Ember hurried to say as she looked back at Maggie.
“You know she’s not going to quit without the details, Ember,” Levi said with a grin.
Maggie nodded. “Time, place, what you were both doing.”
Ember withdrew her hand and fidgeted in her seat. “Um, we were…”
“In her room,” Nyte said. “She summoned me there.”
“Oh.” Maggie’s eyes rounded, and she blinked slowly. “Ohhhh. Good for you, girl.”
Levi chuckled.
Nyte could feel the warmth emanating from his witch as clearly as he could see it pinkening her cheeks.
Maggie tilted her head. “Was this after your date with Trent?”
“I met Nyte that night. He…kept me company.” Cringing, Ember looked down and flipped open the menu.
“Well, whatever happened, it sounds like you both hit it off well enough,” Levi said.
Grinning, Nyte brushed a finger along Ember’s arm, enjoying the shiver that coursed through her. The way she reacted to his touch was entrancing. “We’ve had some fun.”
Ember groaned. “Oh my God, all these innuendos arenotintentional, I swear. We haven’t had sex. Nyte’s been rooming at my place and helping me at the store. He’s…” She peeked up at him. “He’s a friend.”
A friend. Why did that word both thrill and disappoint him? Why did it leave him unfulfilled, wanting…more?
And she’d said it with a hint of yearning in her voice. Yearning he’d attempted to reject, but which had plagued him ever since he’d been summoned.
