Chapter 11

11

The restaurant they took me to was swanky with low lighting, velvet curtains along the walls, deep, recessed booths with high walls so you didn’t have to see other patrons, and soft instrumental music playing to keep noise down so you didn’t overhear others.

They had insisted I sit in the center of the u-shaped booth, Jong-min and Jong-hyun taking the spots on either side of me and Reed and Grant taking the end seats.

I nearly choked on my own spit when I read the prices of just the appetizers.

Setting the menu down, I smiled at Reed and said, “I’ll just let you order for me since everything on the menu looks good.”

He returned my smile and set his menu down as well. “I can do that.”

Grant waved down our waiter and ordered our drinks, getting me a margarita.

“So, tomorrow is the start of the tournament?” I asked.

They all nodded.

“We’ll check in around noon and the first game is set to start around two o’clock,” Reed answered.

Our drinks came, interrupting him, and I was surprised by the quickness. Was that common at high-end restaurants?

We clinked our glasses together and sat in silence for a little bit as we enjoyed the drinks. It was nice just to be together and relaxed like this. It had been far too long.

The waiter returned just long enough to set down bread and butter.

Jong-hyun quickly buttered a piece for me, then Jong-min, and then himself.

“This bread is really good,” I commented as I ate it.

“Everything here is good,” Grant said. “It’s our favorite place when we’re in town.”

“Are you guys nervous about tomorrow?” I asked as I ate another piece of bread that Jong-hyun had buttered for me.

“Not really,” Reed answered. “We’ve been practicing and helping each other to ensure we don’t have any tells or anything.”

“Do they have telepaths monitor the event to make sure no one is cheating?” When I’d found out that they were playing in the tournament I had done a little bit of research and learned that some competitions hired telepaths to listen in on people’s thoughts to make sure no one was using their powers to cheat. It made sense in our world of supernatural life.

Reed tilted his head to the side a bit as he looked at me. “They do. How did you know about it?”

I leaned back with my drink in my hand and smiled. “I did some research.”

“You researched poker?” Jong-min asked.

“When I realized my boyfriends had it as a hobby; yes, I did. You know, you guys don’t really share your hobbies with me.” It was a realization I’d come to when listening in on another couple’s conversation at Silver’s one night. Most people had hobbies and even if their significant other didn’t participate in them, they knew about it.

The guys knew about my pool shark hobby and often participated. I knew they all liked videogames and we played together, but I didn’t know about any other true hobbies. Their penchant for outdoor games like volleyball didn’t really count.

Part of the problem was how busy we had all been and there hadn’t been time for hobbies, not even pool sharking.

“I like to paint,” Jong-hyun answered while the others just stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

“Really?” I asked and turned to face him. “How come I’ve never seen you paint?”

“Too busy lately,” he said and shrugged. “We could do a group painting where I teach you guys each step and we paint together.”

I nodded with a wide smile. “That sounds awesome!”

“Have you never painted before?” Jong-min asked.

Spinning on the seat, I turned to face him. “Um, no. Is that weird?”

“I think our scowling partner here just hadn’t thought about how many things we consider normal that you may not have experienced due to your life in the sea,” Grant said with a soft smile. “Perhaps we should make a list and we can start doing a weekly or bi-weekly date night to teach you?”

“Yes, please!” I shouted a bit too loudly. Putting my hand over my mouth, I laughed softly.

“What do you like to do?” I asked Jong-min.

“I still write songs and sing,” he said.

“Still?”

“Pop stars, remember?” Grant reminded me.

“Oh, that’s right. You guys still haven’t told me what you were called or let me listen.”

“I haven’t recorded any of my new songs,” Jong-min said like that explained it.

“Here,” Reed said and handed me his cell phone.

I took it and my mouth dropped as I looked at the picture of Jong-min and Jong-hyun on stage with what definitely looked like makeup on their faces, hair styled to perfection, and a huge crowd before them. “I’ve heard of you guys!” They were a hugely popular duo that had taken not just their country by storm, but the world. Women were so obsessed with them that they had followed them around the world on their tours, just trying to get a chance to talk to them. One day they’d just quit doing it and no one knew why.

I had a feeling that now was not the time to ask them about why they’d quit though. I didn’t want to bring up something that would dampen the mood.

“Wow, I bet a ton of girls would lose their minds if they found out I’m with you,” I said and chuckled softly.

“Yes, you are very lucky,” Jong-min said with absolutely no shame.

“What about you?” I asked Grant. “What hobby do you have?”

“I don’t really have one right now,” he said and shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve done a lot of things over the years, but haven’t had a single hobby stick that I liked so much.”

“Maybe we could try new ones together,” I offered. “Since I don’t have a hobby either.”

“Pool sharking isn’t a hobby?” Reed teased.

“No, that’s a business,” I said and smiled.

He returned my smile and laughed while shaking his head. “Incorrigible.”

“You could start a jewelry business that involves shark teeth, since yours grow back indefinitely,” Jong-min suggested. “Lots of humans like shark teeth and shark teeth jewelry.”

“You could even have Theo enchant them to sell for more as an enchanted protection charm. I bet they’d sell well,” Jong-hyun added.

That was … a good idea.

“Maybe,” I said, “but I don’t know if I can create jewelry well. I’ll have to try it.”

“We can help,” Jong-hyun offered immediately. “I made jewelry with my mother a lot when I was young.”

“Your jewelry was always wonky,” Jong-min said with a scoff. “I will teach you.”

“It’s a date!” I said excitedly. “We can do that when we return from our trip.”

“Reed hasn’t told you his hobby yet,” Grant commented.

All of us turned to look at Reed who was staring deeply into his glass of whiskey. Was it my imagination or were his cheeks flushed? Was he embarrassed?

“I haven’t done it in a long time,” he said softly. “But I like to create furniture.”

“Like modeling it or building it?” I asked.

“Building it,” he answered. “I like to take driftwood or wood that’s been tossed to the side and repurpose it into something beautiful.”

Why on earth would he be embarrassed about that?

“That sounds awesome,” I said.

“He’s really good, too,” Jong-hyun praised. “He took some driftwood and colored epoxy and some enchantments and made a gorgeous coffee table.”

Jong-min tsked, which made Jong-hyun flinch.

Grant’s face fell and Reed suddenly shot to his feet.

“I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be back,” Reed said as he hurried away from the table.

“What was that about?” I asked our silent group.

“He’d made that coffee table for his mother. He finished it and the next day was when she stood by the alpha and they banished him,” Grant explained. “He put the table in their courtyard, set it on fire, and walked away while she’d cried.”

Oh.