“About my favorite sushi.”
“No. You told me.”
“I did?” I couldn’t quite recall, but there were many instances where Chanelle badgered me incessantly until I disclosed whatever the hell she demanded I share with her. “Surprised you remember.”
“I’m a good friend, unlike some people.”
“Oh.” I popped the tray open and grabbed a piece of eel, savoring the smoky teriyaki tang. “This is guilt sushi.”
“Damn straight—minus the hetero bullshit.” Chanelle pursed her lips, pouting, then grabbed a piece of her crunchy tempura roll.
“How am I a bad friend?”
“You’ve been having double dates without me,” Chanelle said. “I’d like to join your new friend group.”
“What friend group?” I dipped the wasabi in the soy sauce, stirring it until the spicy green paste mixed with the salty sauce.
“Diaz and his wife. Milo mentioned you guys have been hanging out.”
“Like two or three times,” I answered, dipping a piece of the octopus into my sauce concoction before taking a bite.
“Well, what makes them so great?” Chanelle asked. “If you’re looking to play, you should be hanging with me and Kyle.”
I choked on the sushi, coughing and wheezing when the spicy sauce caught in my throat.
“What?” Chanelle made a face. “We are killers at any board game. And card games, it’s over. Hand us the gold.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
In my mind, when she said ‘play,’ I immediately envisioned the wrong type of play. Recalling how I’d spent a good portion of one night playing with Diaz’s balls, gargling them at his request.
“Your game nights,” Chanelle answered. “Didn’t you just have one with the kids?”
“Ooooooh.” I nodded in agreement. “Yes, we did. Duh.”
Considering we’d only fucked the couple on one outing, the memory still rose to the surface of my thoughts more often than it did the other three. At least, Milo didn’t dwell on it much, and when we spent time with the couple, they didn’t seem to think about it either. Not in the same manner as I did. Maybe it was because I didn’t hook up much, but I did enjoy the gathering. Still, it made our regular playdates a little awkward for me—and suddenly grateful I was the only telepath in the room.
“Is it cause we don’t have kids?” Chanelle asked quite bluntly.
“No,” I answered. “It’s because I don’t plan anything. Milo does it all. I just get dragged places.”
“I see.” She nodded. “I’m harassing the wrong guy. I’ll go pester him soon enough.”
“Thank you.” I half-smiled. “For the sushi and the annoying friendship.”
“You’re stuck with me, bitch.” Chanelle pinched her chopsticks in the air like she was trapping me.
“I couldn’t be any luckier.”
We spent the better part of the hour catching up. I asked her how the Cerberus-Gemini merger was holding up. She divulged the difficulties guild members had when they lacked basic comprehension of educational necessities. We discussed the student internships. Yes, I made it clear that I telepathically eavesdropped on my students, ensuring their progress over the last few months was going well. She shared the many check-in benchmarks she required to make sure none of the nearly six hundred third-year students at Gemini Academy slipped through the cracks.
All in all, it was a nice chat. Even listening to her ramble on about random gossip between staff members I couldn’t give a fuck about was fun. It was just nice catching up.
“I should be getting back to Cerberus.” Chanelle grabbed her purse. “Lots and lots of paperwork. Ugh, why did no one tell me being in charge would suck the life out of my soul?”
“I thought you liked sucking.”
“Yeah, when I’m doing it.” Chanelle playfully shoved me. “Lunch was nice.”
