“I suppose not. I might take her to the community gardens to let her sniff around a bit, if that’s okay?” I say.
Pike nods and eats more of his ice cream. “She loves it there.” He gives Lark a sideways glance.
“That way you can have relations in a completely empty house.” I smirk when Lark goes bright red.
“We’ve been trying to keep it down,” he says.
“My dear, beloved brother.” I press a hand dramatically to my chest. “I was a courtesan. Nothing you do or say will phase me in the least.”
“But youaremybrotherand I don’t want you hearing certain things.”
“And I get that. Which is why I wear earplugs to bed or whenever the two of you leave the room together. But what you can’t stop are the sex dreams. I haven’t had sex in three weeks, but it doesn’t matter because those incubus dreams are intense.”
I fan my face and blow Pike a kiss.
Lark goes redder. “It took a bit to get used to those after the change.”
“I bet.” I snort thinking about how those first nights might have gone.
The song on the TV stops and changes to the next one. Frankie barks, clearly wanting an encore which Lark gives her.This goes on for several minutes while I simply exist and watch the hellhound have the time of her life.
That’swhat I want. True carefreeness. Because that’s now a word. Frankie turns to look at me before licking me from chin to forehead.
“What was that for?” I ask, and she winks right when the song starts up again.
Maybe she knows something I don’t. Maybe she just sees me as needing cheering up.
The four of us spend a few hours just relaxing and talking. It’s like that a lot around here. Soon, though, they have to get ready to head over to Flutter and Fangs for the evening. Lark doesn’t perform all that much, but Gabe and Sparkle also work there.
“You know if you wanna work at F&F, we’d be happy to train you on anything and everything.” Lark grabs the keys hanging from the hook by the door.
“I know, but I want to branch out. Try something I’ve never tried before. I think it’d be good for me. But I might come dance sometime. Dare Sparkle into a dance-off or something.”
Pike snorts and heads out the door.
“I’ll see y’all later,” I say.
Frankie trots up to me with her hot pink harness in her mouth.
“I haven’t forgotten about your walkies.” I wrap her in the harness and connect the leash. She’s always so sweet and doesn’t pull.
“Ah, Frankie, this is the life, isn’t it?” I say, grabbing my own key. But as soon as I step outside, it’s instant regret. “Holy hellfire,” I choke out on the thick humidity stealing my breath.
Frankie ignites her blue hellfire, lighting up her ears and tail. She takes a few steps as I lock up. Then she sets a fast pace all the way to the community gardens.
“Slow down, gonna need a sec.”
People mill around as the sun starts to set. The air doesn’t get any less soupy or cooler. Not that I expected it too. I navigate us to the giant dirt steps that make up the strangely cozy amphitheater. There’s already a show going. The wood nymph sings their haunting song as they knock on their chest.
With the heat and the music, I’m almost lured to sleep, but Frankie licks my face, waking me up.
Hex is beautiful, and I take in my surroundings. The amphitheater has several people dancing on the dirt steps, and I want to do that too. Why not?
I push to my feet and sway to the melody. My eyes shut and I just breathe in the notes and the soup air. Frankie sticks to my side and seems to sway with me.
Goosebumps ripple across my flesh. Not able to shake the feeling of being watched, I open my eyes. The sun’s all the way down and the sky is a riot of the most pretty colors. Pink and purples. I wish I could paint because I want to capture the moment.
I turn, and that’s when I notice Talon sitting in the very back alone with his eyes closed. I don’t think he’s who was watching me. He seems so into the music I don’t want to bother him. I press my fingers to my lips when I shoo Frankie to move down from the dirt step so we can walk away. She looks from me to the stage and me again. Her tail wags so aggressively it throws dirt in the air.
