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I went hot with embarrassment. “Oh. Um…”

Okay, the thing was, I was kind of a late bloomer with my wings. They were still growing, and I wasn’t all that great at flying yet. Nolan’s wings had developed way quicker than mine, which pissed me off, and it was a bit of a sore spot for me despite how fervently my parents told me that it was completely natural and fine. But I’d seen Crossbody eyeing my piddly wings before, his brow quirking in a snooty expression.

Yeah, well, we can’t all be fae royalty with giant, awe-inspiring wings, your big stupid highness.

“Um, nah,” I called back up to Kit, then held up my phone. “Uh… gonna play some Moth Sim.”

“You unlock the giant moth yet?” they asked smugly, which meant they already had.

I chuckled. “You’re obsessed, dude.”

They shrugged, wings moving languidly as they leaned back on their hands, tarsal claws kicking through the air. “They’re my peeps.”

Snickering, I looked back down at my phone to reply to Hans, then reached for my soda. As I sipped it, I glanced around the yard and felt a little jittery when I noticed something.

There were couples, like, everywhere, and they were all kissing and getting a little amorous. Well, Biff and Gabe were getting more than a little amorous—they were furiously making out by the grill, not even trying to rein it in despite all the people who could see them.

I mean, that seemed a little inappropriate to me, but whatever. I looked away and caught sight of Susan and Asmo. They were lying on a lounger together, the banshee nestled between the incubus’s thighs and leaning back against his chest. Asmo was pressing kisses along her shoulder, his fingers tracing patterns on her bare stomach.

A tiny flare of arousal tightened my gut. Not from watching them like a perv, but because that looked like it felt… nice.

Holt and Taylor were sitting side by side, close together. Taylor was sober, like me, but Holt was definitely at least tipsy. He was saying something to Taylor, cupping his cheeks and periodically leaning in to kiss his mouth, chin and jaw, smiling like a big dope who was madly in love or something.

I huffed, looking back down at my phone. Why was everyone kissing? And being all romantic and shit? It was weird. Hesitantly, I peered back at the hot tub.

Seb was talking to Ludo and sipping a beer. He’d been nursing them, so I was pretty sure he’d only had a couple, and he was so big that there was no way he was drunk. The fairy lights strung along the porch were reflecting in his eyes, and I could just about see his little brown nipples as the water lapped around his chest, matting the hair there.

His biceps looked massive with his arms stretched along the back of the tub. I found my gaze locking onto the dark hair I could see in the hollow of his armpit. And then I found myself picturing him with his arms cocked behind his head, maybe on a bed or something, while I rubbed my nose against his chest hair then buried my face in his armpit to give it a good sniff.

I flushed, wondering if that was a weird thing to think about, but still couldn’t look away. He chuckled at something Ludo said, lips curving up. It wasn’t the big grin I’d only seen him give me.

I stared at his lips as he said something to Ludo that made the rest of them laugh. They looked… nice. Like they’d be soft but firm. Then he took another sip of beer and licked a droplet off his lip, and my gut plummeted with something sharp and hot.

I was breathing a little faster when I turned back to stare blankly down at my phone. My heart was pounding. Without letting myself think about it too hard, I opened up my messages and sent him a text.

Can I talk to you about something?

Nerves flooded my entire body, but I forced myself to text him again.

If you’re free, I’ll go wait in that bedroom with the green wardrobe thing.

I’d been to Holt’s place several times before and had obviously insisted on a full tour. He had three bedrooms, and the two spares were decorated a little weirdly, in my opinion. One looked like it was straight out of the sixties, with gross orange-and-brown carpeting, while the other was what he’d called “maximalist” with this ugly lime-green wardrobe that he’d said was a “refurbished armoire.”

Clutching my towel tightly around me, I stood and said, “Just need to take a piss,” in case anyone was looking. Powerwalking toward the house, I kept my head bent and my gaze firmly away from the hot tub as I passed it on the deck.

The house was quiet and empty. As I made my way to the stairs, the sounds of everyone talking and laughing got fainter, as well as the music Asmo had put on through the speakers. The carpet on the stairs felt warm and a little itchy under my cold, bare feet. Inching the door to the spare bedroom open, I poked my head in and turned on the light. I was greeted by the sight of loudly patterned tropical wallpaper, a leopard print bedspread, a hideous crystal chandelier and an oversized pink lawn flamingo tucked in the corner. But it was at least empty of people, so I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

What if Seb didn’t check his phone? I’d feel like such a dweeb if I had to slink back out there if he didn’t show, and then he saw the text and realised I’d been up here waiting for him. Fuck. I shouldn’t have texted him in the first place. He was clearly having fun with his buddies.

I wrapped my towel around my waist and tucked the end in to keep it secure, then ducked down and crept over to the window so I could peer outside. I frowned when I realised I couldn’t see the hot tub from here.

Stretching an arm up, I closed the curtains. Just… in case.

Then I sat on the end of the bed, my knee bouncing frantically as I stared down at my phone. I could see that the messages had been delivered. They were there, waiting on his phone, but I had no idea if he’d even read them.

Or worse, if he’d read them and decided to ignore them.

I tried to keep my leg still, worried that someone might come inside and hear my heel thudding manically against the floor through the ceiling. But every time I looked up at the closed door, it began bouncing again. As the minutes ticked by, I started wondering if I should send another text to make it seem like I hadn’t wanted to talk to him about anything important. But I couldn’t think of anything. What unimportant thing could I possibly want to tell him in private in the middle of a pool party?