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Charlie was right that theIHOP is open despite it being New Year’s Day. It’s not busy, though. We mostly have the place to ourselves, which is nice, but we’re wreaking havoc on our poor waitress. The human girl can’t be more than eighteen or twenty, and she gives off a shy vibe. We’ve reduced her to a shaking, stuttering mess simply by being us.
I can’t blame her for being flustered. Humans have an instinctive aversion to most underworlders. They subconsciously recognize us as predators, whether they realize it or not. With such a large group of us, the poor girl barely manages to take our orders. On top of that, Terrance is huge and grumpy, Illren is terrifying no matter what he does, and even Rook gives off this intimidating dangerous-alpha vibe. Then there’s Charming Charlie, too gorgeous for his own good, who keeps making her blush with his killer smile and flirty personality. Even I make her nervous. The only person she seems at all comfortable with is Oliver. Her lack of intimidation toward him is obvious, and it’s amusing the hell out of the other guys. It’s a welcomed distraction from the bad news Giselle delivered.
After bringing the last of our food to the table, the girl glances quickly around our group before settling her attention on Oliver. “Can I get you guys anything else?”
The guys all snicker. Oliver forces a polite smile at the girl and shakes his head. “I think we’re good now. Thanks.”
She blushes, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and gives him a shy smile. “Okay. If you’re sure. Just holler if you need me.”
As she walks away, the guys’ snickers become laughs. “I think she’s sweet on you, Oliver,” Rook teases.
“She is,” Charlie confirms. He would know.
Oliver blushes at this.
Their banter is nice, even if it’s at poor Ollie’s expense. It’s good to see the guys joking around with each other. Even Terrance gets in on the action, surprising us all when he says, “It’s because he’s soadorable.”
Oliver’s face turns cherry red, but he rolls his eyes at the group. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Nope,” Rook confirms.
“Never,” Charlie agrees.
Terrance smirks and shakes his head.
Illren is too busy pouring an unhealthy amount of sugar into his coffee to respond.
“Be nice, you guys,” I say, cutting into my raspberry and cream cheese crepes. “There’s nothing wrong with being cute.”
“Cute?” Rook parrots.
The guys all laugh again, and Oliver groans. “Not helping, Nora.”
I try to wince, but I’m sure everyone can see I’m close to laughing, too. “Sorry, Ollie.”
Oliver tries to glare at me, but he cracks a smile and laughs softly as he cuts into his ham and green pepper omelet. He gets a moment’s reprieve from the harassment while the guys all dig into their food. The way these men can attack a meal is always a bit awe-inspiring and slightly horrifying at the same time. After they’re all nice and settled in, Rook clears his mouth and says, “If Oliver’s the adorable one, that makes me the sexy one, right?”
I consider him for a moment and shake my head. “You’re more ruggedly good-looking.”
Rook grins. “I can live with that.”
“Then who’s the sexy one?” Oliver asks. “Parker?”
“No, Parker’s gorgeous, but sexy is different.”
My eyes flick to Illren before I can stop them, and everyone at the table notices. Rook drops his fork and gapes at me. “Kovros?You think theassassinis sexy?”
My face turns as red as Oliver’s was, and I focus on my plate, refusing to look Illren’s direction even though his smug stare is burning a hole in the side of my head. “What?” I shrug my shoulders. I’m busted. May as well own up to it and save some of my dignity. “Dangerous and mysterious is sexy. Haven’t you ever heard that chicks dig the bad boys?”
“Then what’s Terrance?” Rook asks. “He’s just as dangerous as Illren. Is he sexy, too?”
“Nah, Terrance is broody for sure, but he’s a big teddy bear on the inside.” I grin at T-man, and he cocks an eyebrow as if daring me to call him sexy. “I’d say you’re more handsome than anything.”
Terrance snorts and shakes his head as if he finds me—or this whole conversation—ridiculous. I flash him a wide smile, showing off all my teeth.
“What am I?” Charlie asks. “And please don’t say cute or adorable.”
I smirk at him over the rim of my coffee mug. “No, you’re pretty.”
