“I said you could join us.” Erick moved behind the woman and kissed her bare neck, still looking at me. Her eyes fluttered, and she leanedinto him.
I had zero interest in his offer and did not want to be here for the show. For a heartbeat, I considered running back out and finding my friends.
The weight of Brody’s stare had followed me all night, and Erick’s warning about his past made my skin prickle. He’d been using the secret of my gender as leverage, and now that card was gone. I doubted he’d take the loss well. He could be lurking in the hall right now, waiting for a late-night run-in. If he’d been watching my dorm, he would have seen this woman enter and assumed I’d come running out to him.
I grimaced. “Pass, but you two have fun.” I ducked under my bed, where I’d managed to hang up a few sheets to give me some privacy, and stripped off my beautiful dress.
The sounds of cringey foreplay filled the room. “So perky. Push those fun bags together, just for me.”
Was that meant to be sexy?
After carefully depositing the dress in my void, I pulled on my pajamas and shuffled to my ladder. Erick already had the woman mostly naked. I did my best to ignore them as I crawled into my bed and stuffed my pillow over my head. Thankfully, I’d had enough to drink that I passed out before any moans or grunts could invade my subconscious.
My play-by-play of last night ended. I found myself staring at my hands. They ached and slightly trembled from overuse. Oil had sunk into the cracks, making them look weathered and ancient. After my extra three hours of hauling crates and cleaning train parts, I was definitely wondering what those options Erick mentioned were.
Maybe if I had magic, it wouldn’t be so bad. By the time my full shift ended, I could barely lift my arms.
I stumbled to the Happy Rooster. The sun barely peeked out of the gray sky. However, it wasn’t raining, and people filled the outside tables and chairs. Most of them didn’t notice me in my overalls withgrease smudged on my forehead. The few that did turned to their friends and whispered. One man waved, and I waved back because that’s what people do.
Tension released in my gut. Despite Erick’s reaction, so far, nothing was really that different. I hadn’t done much to pretend I was a boy. It seemed the Architect’s family goal, ‘equality for all,’ held up, so far. Moreover, an authority figure hadn’t appeared to reprimand me or limit me further, which reinforced what Brit said about the Architect building something fair.
On some level, I wanted Ezra to confront me. I hadn’t seen him since our moment at the cannons, and as angry as I was at him, I also missed him. Why was this so complicated?
I got a foot from the entry before Brody slid to my front and cut me off. “We need to talk.”
“We definitely do not.” I physically pushed past him and rushed to the bar. “Matt, coffee, food, TB. In that order.”
The judgmental, burnt-caramel-haired bartender paled. He glanced around before quickly pulling me into the back. “You can’t use the front door.”
“I did.” I pointed out. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
He grimaced. “It's the back door from now on. And I need you polishing. We’re overrun this morning. How long can you stay?”
I jerked back. “Ah, five minutes? Do I look like I want to be here? I’m only doing this because it’s the only way to see my TB. Unless these hours suddenly count toward my debt.”
“That’s not my decision.” Matt put his hands up.
I mimicked him. “Then you being short-staffed isn’t my problem.”
Matt gritted his teeth and leaned forward.
My heart raced. I loved being bold Quinn.
After spinning on the makeshift stage last night, my friends hadn’t left my side. Everly’s amazing dress wrapped me in her and Cayden’s colors. Instead of avoiding me, people braved Cayden’s dark scowls to introduce themselves. I’d been a dark Christmas present, glitter and all, whom everyone had wanted to meet.
I might be wrapped in shitty packaging and surly as shit this morning, but I was the same Quinn as last night, and I wasn’t taking Matt’s shit.
That was a lot of ‘shit.’ Maybe I needed to calm down.
A server slid a tray of coffees onto the bar, and I started salivating.
“I still want to fix this myself.” I leaned forward and blinked innocently. “But I guess I can talk to Brit and see what she recommends I do?”
The color drained out of Matt’s face.
“Oh, look, my coffee!” I exclaimed, helping myself to a cup of what was hopefully mocha. Warm caffeine and chocolate filled my mouth. My empty stomach wasn’t keen, but the jolt of energy would be worth it.
Anger burned in Matt’s gaze.
