I swear, Odette could convince Theo to wear anything. “How did Odette talk you into that one?” I joked as I slid into a seat beside him. Theo smiled in a lovestruck, googly-eyed way that nearly made me puke.
“Oh, Theo and I went shopping last week,” Odette gushed. “We gotallkinds of matching outfits.”
Both of them raised their mugs at the same time to drink. They’d brought their own coffee mugs, which, if you put them side by side, read,Super Couple.
Dear gods. We’d created a monster by hooking them up. The world wasn’t prepared for Odette in love.
The room quieted down as the cafe manager announced the show was to begin, and Delmare was the first to approach the stage. Delmare was wearing all-black, as usual, with a beret over her hair. She swept up to the mic and sat on the stool, shuffling through journal pages until she began reading aloud.
A raven’srightful cry resounded
The words that he uttered or wings that he fluttered
A fate that breaks the bond between mates
Death has blessed the battlefield.
His black cloakbecomes the worst of jokes
A murder of crows is an unlikely show
But one we all must face
Coffins beneath a barricade
Stony towers looming
Sharp beak feasting on flesh and bone.
“Yeah, baby. That’s profound,”Stefan said. He’d been nodding along the entire time Delmare was reading. I knew he never missed one of these things. He loved hearing Delmare perform her poetry.
The rest of the cafe began snapping their fingers as Delmare rose from her seat. Ethan broke into applause, but Stefan grabbed his arm. A couple of people looked at us.
“No, man, you don’t clap,” Stefan whispered. “Yousnap.”
“Huh?” Ethan blinked.
“Snap your fingers. You know,” Odette said as she demonstrated, finishing with jazz hands. “It’s less disruptive for the audience.”
“Uh… oh.” A tinge of pink speckled across Ethan’s cheeks.
A grin spread across my face. “Can you not snap your fingers?” I asked.
“Not really,” Ethan admitted. “Never got the hang of it.”
“I thought Emma said you were good with your hands,” Stefan teased.
“Ass,” Ethan quipped.
Delmare slid into her seat, and Stefan wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer. “That was beautiful, baby. I love a girl who can go deep.”
“I can go deep, all right,” Delmare purred, and Stefan gave a sexy growl back.
“Guys,” I complained. Kiara and Alexei were the only single ones out of the group now, and… well… I could sense that it was pretty awkward for them. Alexei was playing with the napkin dispenser, while Kiara fiddled with a folded paper in her hands.
Odette did a wonderful job of making a distraction. She bustled up from the table to stand in line near the stage. As her turn came, she strode up to the microphone and shouted, “I wrote this song for my mate! Theo Antov— you all know him, he’s right over there!”
Odette bounced and pointed at Theo. The spotlight swung over to him, and he waved sheepishly.
