“Well, I got the number of the designer. He doesn’t just do dresses, he does amazing suits too. I’ve worn a few of them to special occasions a couple of times.”
“They’re not all weird, right? Just suits? I’m not going to be wearing a skirt suit or something?” Because this is going to be ridiculous enough as it is.
“They’re just suits.” Zack laughs. “Remember the jacket I wore on my birthday? He designed it. That was from him.”
I push at Zack. “You asshole.” I’d been asking him for weeks where he’d gotten the jacket and he wouldn’t tell me shit. It looked amazing on him, making his shoulders broader, his waist slimmer and somehow the whole thing had made him look even taller than he already is. And the fabric... It had had these really subtle scales on it, only visible at the right angle. Hell. Now he tells me where he got it from?
“Hey.” He grins. “A man’s gotta have some secrets. I can’t have you know all the best places, or you’ll be better dressed than me.”
“Whatever. Just get us there.” I know that Zack is always trying to be stylish, but I had no idea he was this secretive about where he got stuff. I just thought he was pulling my leg about the jacket and he’d gotten it somewhere strange, not at a local designer, but like... I don’t know, from the other side of the world or something.
“Will do. Follow me.” He turns us in the other direction. “His place is actually pretty closeby, we can just walk.”
I let him push me in the right direction. Sometimes it’s hard to understand Zack, or to understand why he thinks some things are super important and he can’t bother about other things. But I think that deep down, he likes these kinds of surprises because he knows that I’ll appreciate them. He can be so childish, but he’s caring too, no matter how weirdly sometimes.
Even as we go to the designer’s place, I can’t put Cyra out of my head, she’d really looked exhausted. And I didn’t know how to make it better, so I did something weird. Maybe I should bring her something nice or fun next time. Though, maybe getting Zack to behave well would be enough of a gift to her.
And that feels stupid. It feels not enough, even though bringing her gifts would probably make her even more awkward about it. Arg.
10 Cyra
When I reach my apartment building, my feet heavy and my head full of bad thoughts, I find two guys leaning against my car. My car, which is parked in front of the apartment, in the place where I always park it. Like it had been there this morning, and it wasn’t in some totally other neighbourhood, broken down.
“Hey.” Liam pushes off the car and comes over to me, grinning as he holds out the keys. “Got you your car back.”
“Thanks.” I take the keys and while I try to be happy, I can’t. I’m done, exhausted. “How much... How much do I owe you?” Let’s get that out of the way first.
“Nothing.” He shrugs, still smiling. “This one’s on me. Though, next time, I might just get you a new car instead. Would probably be cheaper than having to repair it all the time.”
“I can’t accept that.” A sob escapes me. I can’t just let him pay for the repairs. I can’t owe him anything. I can’t owe a shifter anything. “How much was it?” But the words barely leave my mouth. I’m too tired. I’m just done with this all, with the whole world. I’ve been worried about the cost of the repairs all weekend and all day at work today.
Two strong arms surround me, and then Max’ voice rumbles in his chest. “What did you say to her?” He’s talking to Liam, his tone accusatory, as his arms tighten around me.
“I just... I told her that she didn’t have to pay me back for the repairs. I thought she’d be happy, not start bawling.” I hear Liam sigh. “I really don’t mean anything bad with it. Just... You looked like you could use a surprise like that. I thought you’d be happy.”
“I’m not a charity case.” I move my head up, but somehow I don’t really want Max to let me go. “I can... I can pay you back. I might... But...”
“What if it’s a shared gift?” Max’ voice is soft. “What if Liam and I both paid for it? What if it’s a gift from the both of us, as a thank you for being such a great entertainer last weekend?”
I shake my head. “I can’t accept it.” Fuck. They’re trying to be so nice and I just... I can’t... I really can’t, and I can’t tell them why either. I just... I can’t be in debt to a shifter, especially not two of them at the same time. Two very fucking rich shifters who could make my life hell if they ever got upset with me, who might try to cash in on this favour at some later date. I can’t risk it.
“Let’s make a deal, then.” Liam tries to smile as he meets my eyes. “In exchange for us paying for the car, you come with us to a party this weekend.”
“Liam...” Max growls, his arm tightening around me. “No. You can’t... She won’t go for it.”
“Why not? It might actually make the party more fun for all of us, for a change. It means we get to talk to an intelligent and pretty girl all evening and we won’t have to make small talk with boring people like previous years.” He shrugs. “It means we’re not simply ‘gifting’ her the cost of the repairs, she works for the money, and we all get out of it what we want.”
That sounds like a bad plan... A really bad plan... They might not be saying it
