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I looked at the time when I calmed down and made some calls. I ordered what I needed and then realized I had a bit of time to kill before dinner was ready. After a bit of back and forth, I decided to talk to Mason about my idea instead of just buying him something he might not like. So I went to my apartment just to shower and change, grabbing some other things I would need as well.
Then I picked up the food from one of the clubs and thanked them before laughing that I couldn’t carry it all. So I borrowed their cart and used it to load it all up before pushing it through the portal into the villa.
“Yeah, this got weird,” I sighed when Mason simply blinked at me. “And it’s probably going to be weirder when I tell you that I wanted to buy you a housewarming present, but then I chickened out that you might not like the one I wanted to buy you, so can we shop together for my idea so you get the one you like? I mean, even if it’s my house? Please don’t laugh.”
“I think it’s amazing,” he said easily as he came towards me with a smile. “And I smell a lot of butter?”
“You didn’t say what you wanted for dinner, but you love seafood. One of the clubs was having a king crab night, and they had enough at the tail end, so I got some trays put together for us. Oh, I invited Aidan if that’s—”
“He told me and we talked. It’s fine if you’re fine with it?”
“Yeah. It—it sounds nice.” I shrugged. It did.
I wasn’t lying about that.
“Um, I hate to ask, but there is something I wanted to ask—you sort of alluded to it before—I don’t even know if it’s possible but—”
He was kind and didn’t make me keep rambling. “Blocking desires.” He sighed when I nodded. “I can do it when I’m present. So if something troubling is happening or going on, I’m more than happy to help out. I want to work on that, but it’s not something—I’m familiar with power-blocking charms which are common for warlocks when they meet.
“There’s not much trust among monsters, so they wear a sort of barrier. I don’t know if that will work with you, but it could also limit what you could do in a moment, especially since you shift forms. It’s something we’d need to test.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all, muffin,” he promised, smiling when I did. He told me to go get our guests and he’d set up dinner.
I blinked at him a moment but then nodded, going for the portal. He made it sound like a dinner party or something, but then I realized it sort of was.
Evan and Owen were all hugs and kisses when I arrived, checking on how I was with worry thick in their eyes. I told them the truth that I felt fragile but better. They brought some amazing-smelling cheesy bread they picked up from some trendy place in Denver.
Then I went for Aidan, and he had a few cheesecakes in different flavors.
I smiled as we all gathered in the kitchen, Aidan and Evan talking about the wine Mason picked while Owen and I were sticking to sparkling water. “This is nice, really nice.”
They stopped and all smiled at me, agreeing.
“Mate, you’re spoiled,” Owen chuckled when he saw what we were having. “Seriously, this looks amazing.”
“Join us any night you have off,” Mason said easily. “Living at home base for all of the crazy was too much, but it was nice to have people around and not be stuffed in a small studio apartment on my setup all day. See real people instead of code and everything virtual.”
“Yeah, that was a bit too much traffic and crazy and we own a nightclub,” Evan said with an awkward chuckle.
“So what show did you decide on?” Aidan asked as we dug in. “This bread is fun. It’s not focaccia, but it’s not boring garlic cheese bread. It’s—is the cheese braided in? Lovely.”
It was really good. Then I remembered his question. “I didn’t get a chance to think about it yet.” I cleared my throat and admitted that I ended things with Dylan.
“How was the conversation?” Owen worried.
I snorted. “I texted him.” I got angry when they all gave me disappointed looks. I unlocked my phone and tossed it to Evan since he was next to me. “I haven’t deleted anything. Look at the log.”
He frowned but wiped his hands before picking it up. His eyes filled with anger after he tapped it a few times. “Yeah, I’m not sure he deserved the fucking text.” He waved my phone and glanced at the others. “There aren’t any fucking calls. No texts. For weeks. Not since before the attack and she killed Lucifer.”
Owen snagged the phone and quickly tapped it, scrolling through what was probably my call history. “That fucker. He told me…” He shook his head and leaned over his twin and set my phone next to me. “Sorry, love. A text seemed colder than I would have thought you, but it was kinder than he deserved. He told us he’d been trying and trying to talk to you, but you were blocking him.”
I snorted. “And I’m the liar?” I shook my head when they asked me what I meant, wanting to change the topic. “What shows do you like?”
“Nope, we want to know what you want,” Mason said firmly, getting where my head was. “Cartoons or naughty anime. We’ll watch any of it.”
“I don’t care if it’s cartoons, but what is naughty anime?” Aidan asked, glancing between us.
