Now the two were giggling to one another, Wendy’s beaded braids covering her face as the two whispered about something.
“Introducing you two to one another was the worst thing we could have ever done,” Reggie commented dryly. “At least Daphne behaves herself.”
“Not if you ask Cash,” Fiero chimed in from the end of the table earning himself a high five from Heath but a glare from my gargoyle.
Everyone was in good spirits. Even Ambrose had finally made his reappearance while we were gone. He still wasn’t overly friendly to me, but at least he wasn’t giving me the stink eye anymore.
Something about a permanent mating bond must have made him realize that I really wasn’t going anywhere.
“You may not ask Cash,” I answered primly. The bubbles in the hard cider I was drinking were starting to make my head feel fuzzy.
The satyr didn’t seem to mind, instead he just threw his head back and cackled before chugging the rest of his beer. It was his fourth of the night and when he was done he slammed the glass down on the table and stood. “And with that, I see a lovely nymph across the bar that I’m sure behaves about as well as Daphne does.”
With one last salute, Fiero was ducking and dodging his way through the packed crowd to the bar where a pink woman was waiting for him. She didn’t waste any time wrapping her arms around Fiero’s shoulders and the two began to sway to the music that was blaring through the speakers.
“I swear that satyr has more game than the wiliest incubus,” Wendy said, fanning herself. “As soon as I walked in the door yesterday he had me blushing, right, Reg?”
Reggie seemed less than enthused by his wife’s words and slung a striped, furry arm over her shoulders. “Yeah, not my favorite moment of the trip. The guy almost lost a hand when he went in for a handshake.”
Dallan’s chuckle rumbled from his place next to Ambrose. “Fiero’s all talk. He’s harmless.”
We all glanced over at the satyr in unison only to find him already heavily making out with the nymph before we turned to look at Dallan again.
“All right, he’s mostly harmless, but he definitely doesn’t go after married women,” the Cthulhu amended, his tentacles twisting as he grinned at us.
The song on the speakers ended and suddenly the slow, romantic music changed into something more upbeat.
“Oh, I love this song!” Effie gushed as she jumped to her feet. “C’mon, Dall, let’s dance!”
Her vines snaked out to snag Dallan’s wrist as she practically dragged him onto the dance floor. Most of the time the two bickered endlessly, but not tonight. Tonight, something must have been in the air, because the two moved together easily, Effie’s fingers laced behind Dallan’s neck as she chatted up at him.
Wendy and Reggie were next, the two in complete sync as they strutted amongst the couples. A few of the monsters in the bar did a double take when they realized that a tiger beastman was dancing with a human woman, but just as quickly they all went back to minding their business as the pair twirled around the dance floor.
Heath looked longingly at the people dancing before turning to Ambrose.
“Don’t look at me, pup,” the dark elf muttered before getting up to head to the bar.
My heart squeezed for the werewolf and I glanced up at Cash, silently asking my question.
“You’re going to leave me for the puppy?” Cash asked, his silver eyes twinkling as he leaned in close.
“Just for one song,” I said, pressing my hand flat to his chest in order to listen to the symphony that only we could hear.
Cash glanced between me and Heath, his eyes taking in the kid’s dejected demeanor.
“Fine,” he finally surrendered before pressing a lingering kiss to my mouth. “But I get the next song.”
I gripped the front of his shirt and dragged him down for one more kiss. “I adore you,” I whispered before turning to face Heath.
“Come on, Heath, let’s dance,” I said, holding my hand out to him.
Heath’s blue eyes widened and he looked over my shoulder at Cash. Whatever he saw there must have convinced him that I wasn’t joking because his face broke out into a broad smile.
He looked like every quintessential football jock on TV, all golden curls and dimpled smiles. If I didn’t have a handsome gargoyle mate that slowed my heartrate down, his smile may have made my heart flutter just a tiny bit.
“You’re the best, Daph!” he shouted over the music before taking my hand and practically dragging me onto the dance floor.
The song was fast, and the bodies on the floor were gyrating like they were in a club rather than a dive bar. But Heath quickly changed the tone as he performed some of the cheesiest dance moves that I’d ever seen. The chicken, the snake, and the sprinkler were all whipped out and soon he’d distracted the other couples enough that they broke away from each other to do the same.
