Page 9 of Chivalry is Not Dead

Sanders deftly swerves in front of me, blocking me from what I’m sure he views as a danger.

“It’s fine.” I swat him away. “It’s my friend Leah whose party you were at last night. She’s a menace but she wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Tentatively, he moves out of my way but stays close enough to jump in, just in case.

I leave the top chain on and slowly open the door a few inches. “I need you to be chill,” I hiss.

Leah is beside herself. “Let me in, Penelope Marie Graves.”

“Marie is not my middle name and you know that!”

“That’s the name you get when you’re getting on my nerves!” she retorts.

I roll my eyes—she’s the most extra person I’ve ever met. “I will let you in but, for the love of all the gods, be. Chill.”

“I am chill,” she shrieks.

“Convincing,” I mutter, closing the door and unhooking the chain lock. Leah is ready to push through the door as soon as she hears the click. She barrels past me and straight into Sanders, who—damn him—doesn’t budge an inch.

“Holy. Shit. You are gorgeous.”

Good gods. “Really chill, Leah!”

She turns back toward me. “What? It’s true. Have you seen him?”

I refuse to answer that question, instead grabbing her hand and dragging her to my bedroom. She drops the bag of supplies on my bed before flopping down next to it. “So he’s actually, like, a medieval knight in shining armor?”

“It appears to be that way.”

“That is so weird,” she responds, blowing a curl from in front of her face.

“Coming from a Were, that’s a bit like a pot and kettle situation.”

Leah pops up onto her elbows, obviously offended. “Weres aren’t weird.”

“Not in Auraria, but you’ve told me they aren’t commonplace. Imagine being in a different city that has never heard of Weres and having to explain where you go every time the moon is full. Sanders needs help, and I know it feels strange, but I guess I need to help him.” I’m giving myself this pep talk as much as Leah. She’s my best friend, but I still don’t like for anyone to see me in situations where I feel less than competent.

She rolls over and opens the duffel bag she brought. “I love your dedication. Though, after seeing him, I would be dedicated to him too.” She pumps her eyebrows several times.

“Oh my gods!” I throw a pillow at her in a failed attempt to shut her up.

“What?” She laughs. “Who wouldn’t be dedicated to that tall hunk of—oomph!”

I tackle her. “Shut up! He can hear you, these walls are thin!”

She’s in a full giggle fit now. “Can I stay and see what’s beneath the armor?”

I give up. We both collapse, laughing uncontrollably until my sides hurt. “Shit, this is wild,” I pant when I finally catch my breath.

“The wildest,” Leah agrees. “Okay, let’s see what Dane packed.”

Dane is Leah’s brother and I would guess is around the same size as Sanders, which is why I had Leah raid his drawers. She pulls out tennis shoes, a few T-shirts, and sweatpants but no underwear.

“That’s in here!” She appears in front of me with a bag from Al’s. “I could not bring myself to open Dane’s underwear drawer—blech. I’m disgusted just thinking about it.”

Leah also purchased a toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, and deodorant. “I should have thought about grabbing the essentials when we were at Al’s earlier, but I didn’t know he’d be staying with me yet.”

She waves me off. “If you had, I wouldn’t have been able to come over and be a creep. Can we go stare at him again?”