Nicole gave an offended gasp, and Sam burst out laughing. “Get fucked, Tabs.”
“What? I’m not trying to be a dick!”
“You’re younger than us,” Nicole cried. “And we’re in ourearlythirties!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t mean… God, never mind.”
How was she supposed to explain to her sisters that she didn’t mean that time had passed but that they’d changed? She couldn’t, so she finished her nuggets silently, watching the vampires flirt and taking nothing in.
Sam cleared away the plates and brought them Diet Cokes, which Tabby knew was her way of apologising for her snappiness.
“Thanks, Sammity. For the nugs and everything.”
“All good.” Sam tilted her head to the side. “You okay?”
“Nope,” Tabby said, full of fake cheer. “But that’s what happens when your progenitor shows up under false pretences to get a tattoo out of you.”
“Not that.” Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Are you planning something?”
“No.”
She said it quickly. Too quickly.
Nicole straightened against the couch. “Tabby?”
God, she’d been afraid of this.
“I’m not planning anything!” she said, and this time, she had the right amount of contempt in her voice. “Excuse me for acting a little unusual at this extremely cooked time!”
Nix slumped back onto the couch. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Sam said. “When are you heading out?”
Tabby checked the clock on the wall, ignoring the now-familiar twist of nerves. “In about twenty.”
“Where are you going?” Nix asked.
“Ah, to hang out with some rhinestone company who wants to give me a sponsorship.”
“That’s fantastic—hang on.” Nix pointed to her shirtdress. “You can’t wear that, it’s all rumply. And there’s a stain on it.”
Tabby looked down, and sure enough, there was a white blob of mayonnaise on her hem. She swiped it away. “All better.”
“It is not all better! You can still see the mark.”
“So?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “So, it looks like jizz.”
“And?”
“Whatever, grot. Your nails look shit, too, by the way.”
Tabby studied her hands. Her nails did look shit with their tattered pink polish and bitten cuticles. “Fuck it.”
Nicole groaned. “Pleasego get changed; I can see the stain from a mile away.”
“Yeah, but you always notice stuff like that. I’ll just order something with mayonnaise and pretend the stain happened while I was there.”
