“Too much?” Luke tilted his head, feigning deep consideration, then snapped his fingers. “Okay, how about this? I suddenly remember I left a cursed amulet outside its jewelrybox. Dangerous and deadly. Could summon demons. I must return home before the blood moon rises.”
“An amulet? Really?”
“Inherited from a long line of Eastern European mystics.”
“Why don’t you say you’ve been possessed by Edgar Allan Poe?”
“A macabre possession by the tortured poet himself, a perfect excuse. I like it. I’ll rise suddenly, mid-meal, clutch my chest and rasp, ‘The ravens, they’ve found me,’ before fleeing into the night.”
“Don’t forget to scream ‘Nevermore!’ on your way out,” I said.
“Naturally! What do you take me for? Some uninspired amateur who can’t commit to a spirit possession? Please. If I’m going to become a nineteenth-century spirit vessel, I’ll do it properly. I’ll reference black cats, and mutter about pits and pendulums.
Laughter poured out of me, softening the pit of anxiety I’d been carrying. His ridiculousness steadied me, and I think he knew that.
“Alright,” I said. “Now that we’ve discussed our exit strategy in detail, I suppose we can head out.”
“You ready?” Luke asked after he’d pulled up to the curb of Ezra and Micah’s home and cut the engine.
“Yeah. Let’s do this.”
Luke knocked on the door, and a moment later it opened. The man who stood in the doorway I recognized from the club, so this had to be Ezra.
He was attractive, built, not quite to the degree of Luke, but with definite musculature, dusty-blond hair, and kind eyes that lifted at the corners when he smiled, much like Luke’s.
I was going to pretend I didn’t notice the way Luke had become the standard by which I measured everyone new. De Nile... Such a lovely river. Assuming I didn’t get capsized by this hippopotamus of growing feelings, or chomped on by the crocodile teeth of this dangerous attraction.
“Hi, so glad you both could make it, please come in,” Ezra greeted.
As we stepped inside, I thrust forward the canvas bag. “I made dessert. I didn’t know what you might prefer, so I have a variety of cookies and brownies.”
“You can never go wrong with dessert in this household. And that makes you an instant upgrade from this one,” Ezra pointed to Luke. “He never brings anything anymore.”
Luke scoffed. “That’s slander. I bring something invaluable to every gathering.”
“Yeah, and what’s that?”
“Myself, of course. A rare and cherished gift.”
“Rare and cherished, more like expired and exorbitantly overpriced.”
“Then that would make you chronically ill and perpetually broke,” Luke fired back. “You’re the one who keeps inviting me back.”
As their banter carried on, a man approached from behind Ezra, leaner than both Ezra and Luke, though he still carried more mass than I did. His polished face, all sharp bone structure, was tinted with rosy warmth.
I became acutely aware of myself in contrast. Three men stood around me as if they belonged in some lifestyle ad for confidence and attractiveness, while I stood there, rigid with anxious energy radiating from me. Before I could spiral too far into self-deprecating thoughts, the man spoke.
“Ignore them, they’ve been stuck in a verbal tennis match for years. You get used to the ricochet after a while. You must be Oliver, it’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Micah.”
“Yeah... uh, that’s me, hi, I’m Oliver, which you knew already, obviously.”Wow, Oliver, dropped china lands with more grace than whatever the hell that was. He’s going to catch secondhand embarrassment.
But Micah’s smile didn’t waver. If anything, it softened. “Why don’t I show you to the kitchen? No sense in hauling all those desserts if the weight isn’t inside you, am I right?” he asked with a little giggle.
“Dessert weight should only be carried inside you,” I replied.
“Glad we agree. This way.”
As we passed a wooden cart nestled unobtrusively against a wall, my eyes were drawn to the peculiar centerpiece atop it. Not a real plant but one constructed from interlocking plastic bricks.
