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ARIA
Auren had never looked more uncomfortable than when Sariel suggested we all hang out. Internally, I was cackling.
Johnny and Neo were being their usual friendly selves—well, if Neo could really be called “friendly” these days. Sariel was trying to be more interactive; I could only imagine that discovering your long-lost brother had left a void where the how-to manual of communication should have been. Oddly enough, it seemed like Reese and Auren got along the best in our circle, as the two talked like they were old friends.
Which wasprobablywhy Neo was so pissy, I realized, smirking at Sariel.
Are you loving the karma right now, or is it just me?I teased. When I saw his eyebrows furrow in confusion, I added,Reese and Auren! Remember that time Neo was flirting with me, and it set off your angel?
His face smoothed over. He glanced at the two mentioned, who were having a hushed conversation across the room and then joined me in smirking. Mischief tingled down the bond, and I knew he wanted to give Neo shit, so I wrapped my arms around him to keep him still. Predictably, he wrapped me up in his embrace, swaying a bit.
Don't be a bully; they're going through a rough patch.
Sariel rolled his eyes.If he would quit pretending they're not making heart eyes at each other all the time, they probably wouldn't be.
I actually think it's Reese freaking out because she's human that's hammering that wedge between them.
His expression was skeptical, but since he opted not to set Neo off, I considered it a win.
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head when I ducked it under his chin, nuzzling into his collarbone.This feels like wolfy behavior.
You did not just call me snuggling you wolfy behavior.
I went to pull away, feigning most of my indignance, and he just squeezed me tighter.Babe, you were sniffing me.
I was not!
Sariel laughed into my hair, making snuffling noises that sent shivers down my spine as I tried to wriggle free without drawing attention. He only let me go because Johnny had the bright idea to play a card game and share some wine, which was hilarious.
Auren was the procurer of the card game, and when he showed the black box for Cards Against Morality, we all broke into a fit of giggles.
"’Blank’ is-slash-are a woman's best friend," Auren deadpanned, which made the series of cards we dropped into the pile even more heinous. There was a moment I was convinced he was simply going to walk away rather than read off our answers, but he persevered.
"Giant knotted dildos—tentacle porn? Why? Red wine, chocolate-flavored condoms, happy hour, or diamonds."
Auren stared at the pile, chugged what was left of his wine, and announced 'giant knotted dildos' was the winner. Johnny howled with laughter but otherwise accepted his win gracefully as we went around the circle.
"Signs you are—I don't want to read this one," Marilyn grimaced, and the circle promptly booed her reluctance.
Johnny leaned over and read it off on her behalf. "Signs you are the least favorite child."
Everyone shared a dark little giggle. Sariel demanded someone fish him out a blank card to fill in and then threw down our answers into the pile.
Eventually, we were all buzzed enough that the game started to get repetitive, and thereallyfun conversations came.
They jumped from Reese’s explanation about her field of work—which unfortunately went over all of our heads no matter how much she tried to dumb it down—to Johnny’s favorite building designs. Auren admitted that after he met me outside of AMH, he had looked up some of my work. Marilyn talked about how a lot of her Para buddies had addictions to different substances to keep them leveled out. Neo had apparently never had fast food until he met Rory, and Sariel mumbled something about trying to paint his feathers one time after I mentioned my brief stint into photography.
Then everything went downhill.
"Auren, how did you become the Resistance sugar daddy?" Reese asked, flopped over on the ground and staring at the ceiling. Thankfully, the carpet was thick where we were all settled on the floor at. Neo was on her left and Auren on her right, and I was almost positive I saw steam leaving Neo’s ears for a heartbeat when our resident human smiled at the other man.
"You mean besides the app?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "It's not a great party story."
"Well, now I'm curious," Neo baited. If Auren’s eyes weren't hidden behind those aviators, I would have guessed he was glaring.
"There was more?" Sariel asked, sipping his drink.
I elbowed him, only for him to smirk at me and shrug. It was so clear to me that whatever he'd avoided telling us was a story best left alone, but everyone else seemed eager to hear it.
