CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Harlow
Fleur joins me in the afternoon, taking over from Celeste. Nico isn’t at work today, and I feel kind of odd about how we left off yesterday. I don’t know if he was just tired after sleeping on the sofa, or if we were out longer than he expected to be, but he definitely seemed off.
“Since when does Nico get your shifts covered?” Fleur asks as soon as my customer leaves the counter.
“Since he got stuck at mine overnight when the Guards were out in his area.”
“Oh my god, I didn’t realize he lived that far out.”
“Yeah, pretty much right in the worst of it,” I say, trying to hide my wince. I hate that he’s so close to all of the shit that goes down. We were lucky he was at mine when Ezra came in.
“Oh, shit. But he’s fine?”
“Yeah, absolutely fine.”
“Good. So let’s circle back to the fact that you had a sleepover with him,” she says, shaking my arm in excitement. Fleur is well aware of my crush on Nico.
“I didn’t have asleepoverwith him. He stayed on the sofa.”
“And nothing happened?” she asks disappointedly.
“No. He has a girlfriend, remember? We saw her with him.”
“I notice that you’re not saying anything aboutyoubeing taken. Things not going well with Ezra?”
“Things are going great. It’s still early days, though.”
Fleur sighs. “And you’re allergic to commitment. You know, I could see you seeing more than one person, rocking the casual life,” she muses, and I shrug as I sip on my drink. I’m not adverse to seeing Ezra and Nico at the same time, but not because I think it’ll be casual. Ezra’s comments at the party really got me thinking. I’ve never wanted more than one partner before, but I’ve never had this crazy attraction to anyone before either. Even though Sawyer and Nico are both unavailable, they still feel like they should be mine.
“Do you want to do something tonight?” Fleur asks. “I could do with some girl time.”
“Of course. You can let me know how Lee has been.”
“He’s been the same. I don’t think he’s cheating on me, but he’s definitely hiding something. Maybe I’m just being naive.” Fleur was sickeningly happy with Lee before all this happened, so it’s a shame he’s making her question their relationship right now. I want to shake him and remind him how amazing his girlfriend is.
“I’d trust your instincts,” I say. “They’re usually spot on.”
“Like how I knew you liked Ezra?” she asks with a wiggle of her brows, and I smile.
“Aren’t we talking about you?”
“Nah,” she says with a smile, and I let her drop it. Until later, anyway. “Yours tonight, then?”
“How about dinner?” I suggest. “We can go to that outdoor Mexican place.”
She agrees, and we head there straight from work since the restaurant has such a casual vibe. We order sharing platters and a margarita each and indulge in some good old girl time. When she pops to the toilet, I check my phone and reply to some messages, leaving the two from Ezra for last.
Ezra:Hey gorgeous, are you free tonight?
Ezra:I’m assuming this means no, but maybe you’ll have read my mind and be waiting in my bed when I get home.
“What are you grinning at?”
“Sorry,” I say as Fleur makes me jump. “It’s Ezra.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s great to see you excited over a guy.”