Page 109 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

“You’re joking right?! Flavored coffee?”

“Vivi,” I snapped. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Girl, I am on your side. I’m also freaking starving for pancakes.”

A small smile pulled at the corner of my mouth. “Wanna split them?”

“Tcha! Yes. You bet your freaking life I do.”

We pulled up chairs and forks. Beneath the plate cover, we found four fluffy, perfectly formed pancakes topped with expertly arranged sliced strawberries, a generous side of bacon, and syrup.

“Aww, he arranged the strawberries like flowers!”

“Vivi!” I snapped. “Not. Helping.”

“Right. Sorry. Fuck him! Who plates food like this? We should mess it up.” With that, she grabbed the syrup, doused the pancakes, then cut into them. I snickered, waiting. Her groan made me grin. “Oh. My. Fuck!” She said through a mouthful, then swallowed. “Is that…vanilla? And almond extract? And cinnamon too? What the fuck are these?!”

I sighed, sinking low into my chair. “The best pancakes in the world. That’s what. Ugh.”

“You should demand a thousand of them, in penance for what he did. Pancakes every single day—for the rest of your life. And…don’t forget about your friends.”

I rolled my eyes, then took a forkful and shoved it in my mouth. I didn’t bother hiding my own groan of delight. These were especially good, like he’d really pulled out all the stops to make them perfect.

“I fucking hate him,” I groused. “For being so goddamn perfect, and then being an asshole at the same time.”

We spent the rest of our meal talking shit about how amazing Bastian’s pancakes were and how much we hated him for it. Turns out, that was exactly what my heart needed. Damn that goblin!

Vivi insisted that I do everything as normally as possible, so that’s how I found myself at my martial arts studio later that afternoon, and then at Awake Coffee, grabbing drinks. I was waiting in line when I felt a tug at my abdomen. The sensation jolted through me, like someone was pulling out my insides. I gasped and placed a hand over my stomach.

I glanced at my phone. Bastian hadn’t texted me all day. Shouldn’t he have?

In a moment of weakness I wasn’t proud of, I opened my texts and fired one off.

Thanks for the pancakes. They were amazing. I’m still mad at you. Don’t think this fixes anything.

There. That would set matters straight. I considered adding something about how, maybe, if he sent me pancakes every morning, it might help me figure things out faster. But at last, I decided not to push it. I stared at the screen for a moment, but nothing came in response. I slipped it into my pocket and stepped up to the counter, placing my order with Tara.

“Excited for girls night tonight?” Vivi had let it slip that she’d invited her.

“Yes! Should I bring anything?”

I grinned. “Just yourself. Well, and maybe a bottle of wine.”

“Vivi told me you were having boy trouble.”

I snorted. “Of course she did.”

“So… Maybe I should bring two bottles of wine?”

“One is fine. If I have too much, I’ll end up drunk dialing him in the middle of the night.”

“Been there, done that,” she joked.

I paid for my order and went to wait for our drinks. Vivi, bless her, had sent out the call. Those of us who were scheduled to work, (Kaylee, cough-cough) decided to make various excuses about being ill so that we could all be together.

Admittedly, I was looking forward to it. As much as I wanted to mope around, eat ice cream out of a container, wear PJs, leave my makeup a mess, and lounge in bed watching TV for the foreseeable future, this would be good for me.

The door bell rang later that evening and Vivi began buzzing people up. Soon, the couch was filled. Amira, Kaylee, Mikka, Tara, Yvonne, and Vivi gathered around me. Three bottles of open wine sat on the coffee table, along with one of Vivi’s famous charcuterie boards. I took a sip of Chardonnay, trying not to think of Bastian. He still hadn’t responded to my text.