I snickered as I leaned over to Danny to whisper, “She’ll get his head one way or another, but it won’t be the gruesome kind.”
Danny chuckled, and I shot a glance over my shoulder to see Charlie scowling. He’d obviously overheard my joke and didn’t like it. Probably because he wasn’t getting any head of his own, and I bet he wouldn’t ever again. I rolled my eyes and continued wheeling myself forward.
We reached the royal box, which was a big room with floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a full view of the rink below. Luxurious leather couches sat in front of wide screen televisions, and rows of theater seats were positioned in front of the windows. The staff had set out a buffet of wings, pizza, and other snacks along a countertop, and the smell of freshly popped popcorn wafted from a movie theater-style popcorn machine.
“Check this out!” Ez had already made his way to the dessert table and held up a cookie that looked like a hockey puck. He took a bite and spoke with a full mouth. “What a way to celebrate!”
“Celebrate with this,” Opal teased. She pulled a foam finger from her gift bag and smacked Ez on the ass with it.
He whirled around and grabbed her at the waist, tickling her middle. “You can spank me later, beautiful.”
It was really weird watching my brother flirt, so I turned away. Unfortunately, Opal’s joke had given Chancey the bright idea to hold his foam finger against his crotch and wave it around like a limp dick. “Who needs a real spanking?”
“I’ll take one if you’re offering,” Danny volunteered, but Chancey wasn’t bluffing. Neither of them were ones to back down from a challenge, which resulted in them playing with their foam fingers, whacking them around like a sword fight— and not the deadly kind.
Eddie sighed. “That is not how it is done, my friends.”
“Oh, yeah?” Chancey demanded. “You want to show us?”
“It’s much more fun if you go in this direction.” Eddie poked Chancey’s ass with the end of his foam finger, which caused the angel to scamper away.
I laughed, because I was glad everyone was having a good time.
Not Charlie, though. He didn’t even crack a smile. I didn’t know what it’d take, because our friends were being an absolute riot.
He’s not my problem anymore, I reminded myself. I tried not to focus on him, but the best I could do was look away.
We started in on the snacks while the pre-game commentary played on the TV. Marcus was clearly freaking out, because he kept rambling on about a play he was writing.
“It’s going to be a magical affair— the best performance Ilamanthe has ever seen!” he burst. “Every song will feature dancers and performers who use their bodies to tell their stories onstage.”
Danny chugged his beer. “There’s only one kind of story I tell with my body. I’d be more than happy to play that out for you onstage.”
Marcus pushed him away. “It’s not like that. It’s a spiritual journey!”
“I promise ye my performance would be of a spiritual nature,” Danny quipped.
“If you want to participate, all you have to do is ask,” Marcus said. “I need to cast my leads soon, because I’ve already started posting flyers!”
Kallie frowned as she piled her plate high with hot wings. “Marcus, you can’t start advertising the play without a cast.”
“Sure I can!” Marcus insisted. “I need to get the public interested before I announce auditions!”
Kallie brushed back his hair. “Whatever you think is best. I’ll be in the front row.”
“Oh, no, I’ve already decided your part,” Marcus said brightly. “You’ll be in the opening act!”
Kallie’s mouth went flat. “Excuse me?”
We moved into our seats as the game began. I was thrilled to see there was a ramp that led to the lower level of our stadium seats, along with an accessible handicap spot where I could park my chair right next to the window. That meant I got to sit next to Kallie and would get a front row seat to the engagement once it happened. I was holding my breath in anticipation, because it was really difficult not to drop any hints about what we were doing here.
Oberi sat near my legs, panting and smacking his tail on the ground. Charlie noticeably hung back by the TVs. He made it seem like he was listening to the commentary to accommodate his disability, but I’d seen him sulking around the room when we were filling our plates at the buffet. He was acting like we were all infected with some flesh-eating bacteria he didn’t want to catch. It irritated me more than it should.
The players faced off at center ice, and the game began. I didn’t know any of the Elvish players, but Kallie’s dad was playing left forward, and her uncle Stefan was playing right forward. They passed the puck back and forth in a blur, until King Ethan sunk a goal into the opposing team’s net within the first thirty seconds of the game. Hell, he was fast. The fae fans erupted, while the Elvish fans booed.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Kallie cheered. “Way to go, Dad!”
Hockey was fast paced. My eyes had trouble keeping up as the puck was passed back and forth by supernatural players. An Elvish player used their stick to trip Ethan up, but Stefan came in from the side and slammed the Elvish player against the boards, performing a check.
