Page 3

We move up in line. After about ten minutes, someone comes out with a tray of drinks, handing them out to everyone who ordered one. I sip on my hot chocolate, warming my insides pleasantly.

“Does today feel strange to you?”

Hazel looks up at me with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure how to describe it, only that things feel strange.”

“There’s magic in the air,” she says with a grin. “Maybe you’re just feeling anxious about meeting Nix and Kassian.”

“Why would I be anxious about that?”

“You tell me! Maybe you saw the flyer with their faces on it and got all flustered.”

“Excuse me?”

“They’re very handsome, Dad,” she says with a giggle.

My mouth hangs open before I let out a huff. “Young lady,” I start to say but her laughter cuts off my lecture.

I did not in fact see a flyer with their faces on it. And even so, why would I get flustered over a handsome pair of men? It’s been so long since I’ve even had thoughts like that! At this point, maybe that part of my life has passed me by.

I don’t date. I don’t sleep around. I don’t really go out to meet people unless it’s genuinely just meeting friends. I’ve never really had an interest in that type of thing like other people seem to have.

Sure, I can appreciate when someone is beautiful or handsome, but it’s never really gone further than that in my head.

We finally make our way inside the coffee shop. There’s a line towards a side room, two bouncers standing at the door and ushering people in and out. It’s crowded but not so much that I feel claustrophobic. The smell of coffee fills the air, a comforting scent.

“It’s almost time,” Hazel says, grabbing my sleeve and shaking my arm. “I’m so excited I could pee.”

“Please don’t.”

“I wouldn’t really, Dad.”

“I know but it’s still a good reminder.”

Hazel snorts, practically shaking as we step up in front of the bouncers. One of them holds a box in his hands. Apparently, Nix and Kassian offer their services for free but ask for donations if people are able in order to pay for their travel and hotel fees. I pull out my wallet, sticking a fifty into the box. The bouncer gives me a look but doesn’t say anything.

Two people step out of the room, both of them grinning wide. It’s hard not to smile at them, their excitement and joy infectious. That’s when the bouncer nods at us, letting us know we can go inside.

I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. In front of me is a long table with two chairs behind it. Right now, there’s a man sitting in the chair while the other man is violently spinning the chair in a circle. They’re both laughing so loud I’m surprised I didn’t hear it while waiting outside.

“Stop! Stop! I’m gonna throw up!” the one on the chair is screaming between giggles.

The other man continues to spin him. “That’s what you always say!”

“Bro!”

I start to move before I even realize what’s happening. For some reason, I know I need to move. I need to put myself between the guy in the chair and the wall.

“Dad?”

The man doing the spinning abruptly stops. The guy in the chair goes flying. He tries to stop himself but he stumbles forward and would have flown straight into the wall if I hadn’t been there to catch him in my arms.

We both let out an umph as I catch him. He’s shorter than me, lithe and thin yet even so, I can feel that he’s strong. His hair is long, braided back and flung over his shoulder. He looks up at me, his eyes wide with surprise. They’re the prettiest golden color, like sunshine.

My eyes dart around his face, taking all of it in. He’s so pretty, with freckles dotting across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. My entire body goes warm and I’m pretty sure I’m blushing.

His mouth opens, like he’s about to say something but a shout behind him makes his lips snap closed again.