"What do you mean by that?" What did she know?
Emily shrugged. "That's the fourth time he's ever talked to me, but he never once flirted with me. He's always been nice, polite, and stand-offish. Trust me; he's one of the good ones."
"Right." I breathed easier. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but our food came at that moment. Roane had been there when our orders were taken so the server was the epitome of professional now. I caught him glancing over his shoulder at Gregory too.
I ordered a salad. Emily ordered chicken. Then our drinks started coming.
Emily's face lit up again. "What is this?"
"They're on the house." And he placed two fruity cocktails in front of us, followed by our own pitchers of the same liquid.
Roane had done this. He sat us where we were and he was paying for everything.
Then the server slipped me a note. I slid it on my lap and opened it to read. 'If you're going out, stay here where I can protect you. Enjoy. Don't come back here again. Why are you keeping company with a werewolf?'
Talk about being blunt and hurtful at the same time. I ripped it to shreds and dropped the pieces in our ca
ndle through the rest of the evening. Anybody with magic could've put them back together,
but I made sure each piece was destroyed when Emily went into dreamland or to the bathroom.
A few hours later, I learned that alcohol had no effect on me and that Emily was the same giggling drunk as before.
Still giggling, she slapped a hand on the table. "Thank you for this. It means a lot. I don't have a lot of friends. My close friends are all home but then I met you. You're a close friend now too, Davy. You were right. I needed to get out. I needed to this."
"I did."
"You're right. I feel like a new woman. I feel like I can go to all my classes alone now. Maybe I'll even tackle this feeling of grief I have. I know—" She snapped her fingers. "I'll go to a grief counseling group. That's what I'll do. It'll help me get Bennett out of my system."
I froze with my straw in my mouth.
"What do you think?"
What did I think? She'd have a place to talk and an outlet for her emotions. A smile spread on my face. "I think that's a great idea."
"It's decided. Tomorrow I'm looking for one on campus." She bent over, giggling. "How in the world are we going to get home? I can barely sit up."
"Ladies." Gregory materialized at our table. "There is a car ready for you downstairs. We will give you a ride home."
"Oh!" Emily was taken aback. "That's so nice of you. Is there money you need? I mean, do we pay? How much is it? I'm sorry. I'm a little drunk." Then she giggled a bit more, blushing behind a hand over her mouth.
Gregory swept his detached eyes over us both. "It's free of charge. It's a part of the service."
"That's wonderful." She clapped and then frowned. "This isn't normal? We're getting such great service. Why? Davy, do you know?"
I smiled and patted her hand. "The owner is a friend of Kates. I dropped her name before."
"Oh!" Then her eyes narrowed and disgust flared over her face. "I think I'm going to throw up." And then she scrambled out of the booth and to the bathroom.
Gregory's face twitched and then cleared again. He sat in her seat. "I don't think she'll be coming back soon. Her levels of intoxication are massive for a human."
I sighed and threw the last piece of Roane's note in the candle. Gregory studied me as I watched it go up in smoke and a small smile appeared on his face. He looked softer for a second. "You came to see him."
My heart sank and I shook my head. "Emily suggested this place. I couldn't say no. This night was about her."
"His office overlooks this table."
My head shot up. "What?"