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"Pretty, but a little ..."--Zaire rotates his finger around the side of his temple and goes cross-eyed--"if you get what I mean."
The urge to laugh tickles at the back of my throat, and I manage to give him a tiny smile.
"Well, would ya look at that?" Zaire beams at me. "She has one of the loveliest smiles I've ever seen."
I run my finger across my lips, trying to feel what it looks like. I glance at Blaise, wondering what he thinks about all of this, only to find him smiling at me, as well.
"Let's make her smile some more." Zaire's grin broadens, and he slaps his hand against the counter. "Finish the story, Blaise."
Blaise's jaw clenches as he scowls at Zaire. "You're not going to let this drop, are you?"
"Nope." Zaire continues to grin. "I love watchin' ya squirm. It's probably one of my favorite things."
Blaise huffs an aggravated breath then twists toward me. "To make a very painful story short, one time while I was down here, Lucille spiked my drink with oblitus, and I lost my mind for a while."
"Did all sorts of crazy shit," Zaire adds amusedly. "Danced on the tables, stripped his clothes off, and then, at the end, he declared his undying love for Lucille."
"You're in love with her?" I ask. If he is, then why did he seem so repulsed by her earlier?
Blaise snorts a sharp laugh. "Fuck no. It was the oblitus talking. It makes you feel all these crazy, completely false emotions toward the person who gave you the drug. And it takes away all of your freewill."
"Oh." I frown. "That's not very nice that she gave it to you, then."
"No, it's not," Blaise agrees, unscrewing the cap off his bottle of water. "But Lucille's an evil--"
Slender fingers wrap around Blaise's shoulder. "An evil, what?" Lucille appears behind us, her voice as cold as steel. "Come on, Blaise; I dare you to finish that sentence."
Blaise visibly cringes. "Lucille, how lovely to see you again." His glacial tone doesn't match his words.
Her lips curl into a venomous smile, like a snake about to strike her prey. "Come to finish what we started?"
Blaise grips the bottle of water, crunching the plastic. "I wouldn't know since I can't remember what happened."
Her fingers trail across Blaise's back as she leans in and puts her lips to his ear. "You keep saying that, but I know it's not true. I know you remember just a little bit, and admit it, you like what you tasted."
"I didn't taste much, thank God," Blaise mutters, wiggling his shoulder to shake off her hand.
"Only because your stupid friends stopped us," Lucille purrs. "And, if I remember correctly, you were pretty upset about it. I've never seen a grown man have such a fit."
"That was the drug talking." Blaise moves away from her and spins around on the stool, folding his arms over his chest. "What do you want? Or did you just come over here to remind me what a bitch you are?"
Her eyes narrow to slits. "You better watch how you talk to me. I'll forgive you once, but it won't happen again."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Blaise brings the bottle of water to his mouth and takes a swig.
"How dare you talk to me like that!" Her face turns red as she rips the bottle from his hand. Drops of water sprinkle all over Blaise's face and the countertop. "You better watch it. This time, you don't have your stupid, little friends to watch your back."
Blaise calmly wipes water off his cheeks with his hand. "Is that all you wanted to say?"
Her fingers curl inward as she strangles the bottle. For a second, I think she's going to throw it at him. But as quickly as she became angry, she squares her shoulders and lifts her chin, composing herself.
"I just wanted to say hi to your new, little friend you brought with you." Her gaze cuts to me.
"Leave her alone," Blaise warns, shifting toward me to block me from Lucille's view, but I can still see her face from over his shoulder.
Her smile goes from venomous to ecstatic. "Why? Who is she? She looks ... I don't know, scared, lost, confused, stupid, like a Nameless or a Forsaken."
Horror lashes through me. Can she tell, or is she just saying that to make Blaise angry? It's hard to tell, but if she can see what I am, then can everyone else?
Blaise glares at her while placing a hand on my knee. "Shut the fuck up before I decide to make you."
When Lucille notices Blaise's hand on my leg, daggers practically launch from her eyes. "Like you'd ever hit a girl. I know you wouldn't. It's not in you, no matter how bad you try to make yourself seem."
"You know what, I wouldn't," Blaise replies calmly. "But I do know some people down here who would."
"You know, everyone around here thinks you're in the right and I'm in the wrong for what I did with the oblitus, but you led me on, Blaise." She jabs a finger against his chest. "You talked to me and helped me out with that thing with my father, and then you blew me off. You can't just be nice to people like that then take it all away."
"I didn't take it away." Blaise shoves her hand away. "I was nice to you as a friend, but you couldn't accept that, and what you did with the oblitus was wrong."
A series of emotions flash across her expression, but she promptly collects herself, smoothing her hands over her hair. "Whatever. One day, it'll come back and bite you in the ass. No one hurts me and gets away with it." She spins on her heels, whipping her hair around in Blaise's face as she stalks away.
Blaise rubs the heel of his hand against his eye. "God, I don't think she's ever going to let this go."
"Probably not," Zaire says, picking up a dishrag from off the counter. "I feel bad for bringing it up now."
Blaise raises his head and glowers at Zaire. "You should feel bad. I don't give a shit if she goes after me, but now Allura's been brought into the drama."
"I have?" I squeak.
Blaise offers me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for Lucille and the way she acted ... that stuff she said. You know none of it's true, right?"
"Of course she knows it's not true." Zaire winks at me. "She looks like a tough, smart girl, someone who's been through a lot. Listening to Lucile bitch should be a piece a cake."
Even though what he said isn't entirely accurate, his confidence in me makes a smile rise to my lips again.
"Look at that. Another smile." He grins then holds up a finger. "You know what? I think ya deserve something
special." He bends over, disappearing behind the counter. "Something that'll sweeten you up and wash away the bitter taste Lucille always leaves behind." When he stands up, he drops something on the counter in front of me.
I stare at the dark brown object wrapped in clear plastic. "What is it?"
Zaire's eyes practically sparkle. "That, my dear, is a cupcake."
I dig deep into my mind and make the connection. Cupcakes are sweet desserts, I think.
"I don't think I've ever had one." As soon as I say it, I wonder if I shouldn't have. Blaise wanted me to blend in. Is it normal to never have eaten a cupcake before?
"Most people haven't," Zaire says, alleviating my concern. "They're pretty rare these days."
I eagerly tear open the plastic. Zaire and Blaise both watch me as I pick up the cupcake and bring it to my face. It smells amazing, like sugar, chocolate, and cream. I breathe it in, savoring the scent.
Zaire drapes the dishrag over his shoulder. "You better eat it quickly before someone tries to steal it."
He's probably right. I steal one more sniff before I take a bite. The sugary sweet taste bursts against my taste buds as the chocolate and cream fill my mouth.
"Oh, my God, it's so good," I moan. How can something taste this good?
Zaire chuckles then wanders off to help a guy who approaches the counter, asking for a drink.
I look at Blaise with my fingers pressed to my lips. He's studying me with his head titled to the side, a somewhat perplexed, somewhat amused look in his eyes.
"Want a bite?" I offer. While I'm starving, the cupcake seems too good not to share.
"No, thanks. You need to eat it more than I do." He pushes back from the counter and rises to his feet. "Let's go get you set up in one of the bathrooms. Then I'll make you something a little bit better than a cupcake."
I swallow down the bite. "I don't think anything can be better than a cupcake."
He rolls his tongue inside his mouth, as if trying not to laugh. "I meant something healthier." His lips sink into a frown. "They didn't feed you very well down there."
I take another bite. "When they got mad at me, which was kind of a lot, they'd punish me by not feeding me."
"That's what I thought." His shoulders heave as he sighs. "That's going to change. You'll always have something to eat now. I promise."
