Chapter 16

Sixteen

I was nervous.I could admit that to myself, but I couldn't figure out why I was having so much anxiety over this sleepover thing Remi was havin'. Why had I agreed to stay? And why in the hell had I agreed to participate?

I'd seen Remi's friends in passing, but I hadn't really talked to any of them since the day I'd come to the office and that guy with the cat-hat had answered the door.

Maybe if everything felt weird, that guy would let me hang out with his cat. I loved cats. I could just… steal her and act like I was stuck on the couch, unable to move because there was a cat on my lap.

I mean, assuming she'd even be willin' to sit with me since that witch guy was her Bonded. Maybe I could go find a regular old cat—not a magical one—and steal it for the night.

Mother of All, I was spiraling.

I sighed and rubbed a hand down my face. What was I even thinking? This was ridiculous. There was no reason at all to be nervous.

I played for groups of people all the time, but I didn't just sit around and talk to them. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd talked to a group with anyone other than my cousins.

But I could do this. I would do this.

Because Remi was… he was a friend? Or maybe… maybe he was somethin' more than that.

Before I could spiral even more, I heard the sound of a key in the lock, so I took a breath and stood up. In the middle of the living room. Because I had no idea where else to go. Mother of All, I felt like an idiot.

Remi walked in first, and when he saw me, his smile brightened. Seeing that happiness on his face helped settle some of my nerves. That was exactly why I'd agreed to this. At this point, I was pretty sure he could get me to do anything if he just flashed me that grin of his.

He surprised me by walkin' straight over to me and pressing his lips to my cheek. I hadn't been sure how he was gonna play this… whatever it was between us. I thought he'd treat me like any other friend while they were here. Seemed I was wrong.

"Hey, may'ezza. How was your day?" he asked quietly as he grabbed hold of my hand, pulling my attention to him and making a quiet moment for us.

I appreciated it.

So I sent him a small smile. "It was good." Which was true. I'd made a decent haul busking today, especially considering how cold it was out. My poor fingers weren't very happy about that, but I'd deal.

"Good." He kissed my cheek again, gave my hand a squeeze, then released me to turn and face his guest. "I know you two sort of met, but officially, this is Tan. Tan this is Belryn."

"Just Bel is fine," I said, giving him an awkward smile and a nod.

The Tan guy grinned widely at me. "Nice to see you again, Bel. This is Orangelica." He waved at the cat on top of his head. "She's friendly, so if she comes over to you, don't be afraid to pet her. You're not allergic or afraid of cats, are you?"

"Nope. I love cats." There were enough of them roaming the streets the same way I did, so I felt a certain kinship to them.

"Great." He gave me a wink. "She'll come investigate you soon enough." He tilted his head and forced the cat to jump down onto the dining table. When he straightened, he offered a small shrug. "Anyway, thanks for letting me stay tonight. It's been a weird day."

"Oh, it's not… this is… I mean, Remi is?—"

"It's fine, Tan," Remi said, cutting me off, thank the Mother. He put his hand on my back. "Let's figure out what to order for dinner while we wait for the others."

I let him guide me over to the table, and I sat in the seat to his right. Tan took the seat across from me. Luckily for me, the cat seemed to understand my awkwardness because she came over and started sniffing my hand. After a moment, she rubbed her cute cheeks against me. And before I knew it, she was curled up against my chest, rubbing her cheek on any part of me she could reach while purring loudly.

"Wow. She warmed up to you quickly," Tan said. "She doesn't usually take to people like that. But they say animals are a good judge of character, so that's a point in your favor."

I lifted a brow at that because that was… a weird combination of nice and possibly rude. Point in my favor, huh? But also, this cat's judgment was obviously screwed up if she thought I was a good person. Unless she liked me because I was sneaky and sly the way cats were. Maybe she felt the kinship too.

"Let's just do pizza and call it a day," Remi said, reaching over to give Orangelica a few pets.

"Works for me." Tan gave a nod. "What about you, Bel?"

"Oh, I don't need anythin'." I certainly didn't want to spend my money on some fancy pizza that I was sure these rich guys would be buyin'.

Tan and Remi exchanged a look, and I knew they were having a silent conversation between themselves. It made my shoulders tense up because they were clearly communicating about me.

Remi cleared his throat and leaned in close to me. "I'm paying?—"

"I don't need you to buy me food."

He put his hand on my arm. "Let me finish. I'm paying for everybody, not just you, okay? This is basically a party, and I'm the host, so I've got it covered."

"I don't need to eat?—"

"You do, Bel. You need to eat because I know you've only had one meal today before you left the house."

"You don't know that."

"I do too." He let out a frustrated breath, then leaned over so his forehead was resting against my temple.

I glanced up at Tan to see his expression, but he was looking at his phone, giving us a semblance of privacy.

Remi whispered, his breath ghostin' across my skin. "Why do you have to fight me on every little thing, my may'ezza? Please let me feed you, okay? I can't stand the thought of you being hungry, especially not when I have food readily available. Please, baby?"

That sort of melted me, which made me a tad grumpy, but I still breathed out, "Fine."

He took a deep breath, apparently sniffin' me, and mumbled, "Thank you."

I shrugged, and then, since Tan was doing an admirable job of ignoring us, I turned my head and gave Remi's lips a quick kiss. He hummed against me and made the kiss last longer than I'd planned. But I didn't mind because the touch shot right to my heart… and my dick.

Okay, so maybe I should've minded when there was someone else in the room, but all logic went out the window where Remi was concerned.

"Soooooo." Tan's voice interrupted us. "As nice as this is, I really don't want to sit here and watch you suck face all night."

Remi's lips curled up into a smile, but he didn't pull away right away. He slowed our kiss, then gave me another peck, then kissed the tip of my nose before offering me a smile and turning to his friend.

The cat nudged my hand, obviously annoyed that I'd ignored her for those few minutes that Remi had distracted me.

"Don't be jealous," Remi said.

"I can, and I will." Tan let out a laugh. "Ugh. I shouldn't even be surprised that you found someone here. People have always flocked to you."

Remi shrugged. "You know I haven't dated a ton of people. Or, well, I've gone on a lot of first dates, but not a lot of seconds."

I faced my… whatever he was to me. "Why not?"

He eyed me for a moment before clearing his throat. "Well, if I can tell someone isn't the one for me, then what's the point in continuing to date them?"

I blinked. "You can tell that from one date?"

"Usually, yes."

"And so you think I'm…"

He sent me an unsure smile but still nodded.

I opened my mouth, slammed it shut, and looked away.

How in the world could he possibly think I was his one and only?

"Did I just make this weird?" Tan asked after a moment. "I'm sorry. I was only joking." He cleared his throat. "So, um, Bel, I heard you play guitar?"

Taking a breath, I let all the questions go for the moment—now was not the time for a mental crisis—and focused on the man across from me, grateful for the out he was throwing me. "I do. I've been playing basically my whole life. I can't remember a time when I wasn't."

"Wow, so you played as a kid?"

I smiled at the memory. "My parents played instruments too, so when I was probably around three, they gave me a guitar, taught me, and the three of us went out to busk together. My dad drummed, and my mom sang and played bass. We got a lot of attention because I was so tiny."

Remi said, "I didn't know you played with your parents."

I chanced a glance at him and breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't mad over my earlier reaction. "That's how we made money, but it was also something all three of us loved." I glanced down at the cat, who was still demanding pets from me. "I had to sell off Dad's drum kit and Mom's bass because I couldn't carry them around by myself, but I kept… well, they gave me that guitar when I turned eight and they decided I was big enough for a regular sized one instead of a kid one."

I left out the part where we'd lived in our car my whole life, and when I was at school one day—we used my aunt's address so I could go—they'd gotten into an accident, and my whole world was ripped away.

"That's awesome that you still have it." He sent me a gentle smile.

"Thanks." I didn't know what else to say, so I turned back to Tan. "Anyway, yes, I play guitar. I play a bunch of other instruments too, but guitar is my favorite."

"I've always wanted to learn how to play an instrument."

"I could teach you."

Tan's eyes went wide. "Really?"

I nodded.

"That would be awesome! Oh my Mother, can we start now?"

I let out a small laugh, happy about his enthusiasm. "Sure."

He pumped his fist in the air, stood, and headed to the living room. I gave the cat one last pet and followed her Bonded. Remi came with us and sat on an armchair while Tan and I settled on the couch after I retrieved my guitar from the guest room.

I showed him how to hold it properly and started teaching him some chords. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't that great of a listener either. But… I kind of liked teaching him. It made me feel less nervous, less on display.

Remi's other friends came in while Tan and I were laughing, so I tapped his shoulder, stood, and said, "I'll be back. Keep practicing."

"Will do, Mr. Professor."

I snorted. "That doesn't even make sense."

He shrugged, and I chuckled as Remi grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. He sent me a smile and tugged me over to his friends, saying, "Meet Isa and Savelle. Is, Sav, this is Belryn."

"Bel is fine." I offered a small smile while clinging to Remi's hand for dear life. I had no idea what to do, so I'd be damned if I let Remi run away from me.

He gave my hand a squeeze and muttered under his breath, "I'm not going to run away from you." He leaned in closer. "Haven't you figured out by now that standing beside you is right where I want to be?"

With my heart in my throat, I took a breath and gave him a nod because I couldn't speak, and even if I could, I had no clue what to say to that.

"It's lovely to meet you," Savelle said, and I took a moment to admire their beauty. I'd heard how utterly gorgeous kelpies were, but I'd never met one in person. If this was the standard for kelpies, I was surprised every kelpie in existence wasn't constantly fighting off hordes of admirers.

"You too," I managed to squeak out.

"Sav, I have a question about today's?—"

"I swear to the Mother, Remi, I'm not working tonight. We left work at the office, remember? Balance?"

"But—"

The two of them started bickering, and Isa faced me and said something in a language I didn't know. Being fae herself, I assumed it was Fae'lee, and I hated that I couldn't understand her.

I shook my head and admitted, "I'm sorry, I don't know what you said."

She stared for a beat, then said, "No problem. I was just saying that it's nice to meet another fae. I haven't had the chance to meet many of our people since coming to Gauhala."

I nodded. "A lot of them like to stay out of the public eye during the day."

Or, seeing as they're mostly all unhoused, they're basically invisible to everyone else. I wasn't surprised she hadn't run into anyone. Most fae couldn't find work here, so unless Isa had gone into one of the very few businesses where fae worked, there was no reason for her to have.

She nodded. "We were warned what it was like for the fae here before we came, but I have to admit that seeing it in person is very different. I've never been denied service for being fae until I came here."

My eyebrows shot up. "It's that different in Brinnswick?"

"Yep. No one's allowed to discriminate, no matter your species, gender, orientation, or anything. I mean, I'm sure it happens, but it's never happened to me. I thought I was prepared, but it's really frustrating that I can't even run out to grab coffees or lunch for everyone because I haven't found a place that'll serve me if I'm not with one of them." She gestured to the others. "Savelle thought they might not be served either since they're from Faela too, but I don't think anyone even realizes what they are when they meet them."

That made sense. "I could give you a list of places I know that'll serve you."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? That would be great."

"I can write the worst places to avoid too, just so you have it."

"Oh my Mother, Bel. That would be wonderful. Thank you."

I felt my cheeks heating under her appreciation. "No problem."

After a moment, she asked, "You were born here, right?"

"Yep. What about you?"

"I was born on the Pink Isle in Faela." Wow, she was born in the land of the fae. Holy crap. But that did explain her pink hair. "I actually befriended Remi over there because he used to come stay on the Pink Isle every summer for a few weeks at a time."

"He did?"

She nodded. "His family has a home there, and they're friends with our queen." She waved that way, as if somethin' as amazing as that wasn't monumental. "Anyway, he and I are close in age, so we used to play together. When I wanted to explore the human realm, Remi invited me to stay with him. He showed me around, introduced me to his friends, showed me all the new and exciting things there are here. And I ended up falling in love with it. Never went back."

"Wow. That's kinda amazing."

She grinned. "It's been great. I still visit often. I usually go back with Remi whenever he visits Faela with his family. The Ellwoods are great people, Bel. You'll love them once you meet them all."

"I think I'm good with just the one for now."

She giggled. "I get it. There's so many of them. I'm sure it's intimidating. I grew up around them, so it's not the same for me. Oh! When we go to Faela next year, you'll have to come with us. You've never been?"

My eyes widened. Did she just ask me to go to Faela with her? "No. Never."

"It's settled then. You have to come with us. Every fae deserves to see Faela at least once in their lifetime."

I opened my mouth, unable to form words.

"Bel," Tan called from the couch, almost sounding like he was whining. "Are you coming back to teach me?"

I sent Isa a strained smile and nodded toward Tan, grateful for the distraction. "I better go help him."

"No problem. I'm going to go make some kind of delicious fruity drink." She winked, turned on her heel, and headed for the kitchen.

"Need some help?" Remi asked her, interrupting his own conversation with Savelle.

Isa waved him off over her shoulder. "Nope. I'm good. Go hang out with your man."

Remi threw an arm over my shoulders and pecked my temple. "Definitely okay with that suggestion."

I snorted even though I was okay with it too.

We went over to help Tan, and after a while, he, Isa, and Savelle begged me to play for them. Remi wasn't begging, but I could see the want in his gaze, and I swore it was almost like I could feel it in my chest, even though I knew that was silly.

In no time, I gave in, strapped on my guitar, and started to play. I didn't know what I was going to play until I was already playin' it. Closing my eyes, I let myself get lost in the music as I started singing the lyrics.

It was one of my favorite songs, about a guy who'd lost the love of his life. He lost his way for a long time until someone new came around, picked up the pieces, and helped him put them back together.

I loved this song because I could put so much feelin' into the lyrics. There was so much sadness at the beginning of the song, but it ended so hopeful that sometimes, when I really got into it, it made my eyes water.

Like right now.

Which was embarrassing. So when I finished singing, I looked down and wiped my face to make sure I wasn't crying before glancing up at the now-silent room. Four pairs of eyes were staring at me in shock.

"What?" I finally asked.

"Holy fucking shit, Bel," Tan said. "That was fucking beautiful."

My blush was intense. "Thank you."

"He's not kidding," Savelle added. "That was amazing, Bel."

That was a little much, but I still smiled. "Thank you."

Isa came over and gave me an awkward hug and cheek kiss. She whispered something in her native language, then interpreted it for me. "Beautiful, Bel. You have a real talent, my friend."

My throat tightened, and I patted her on the back a few times. "Thank you."

As soon as she moved away, Remi was there, standing in front of me with wide eyes. He plucked the guitar from my hands, pulled the strap over my head, and set it on the coffee table. Then he climbed onto the couch on his knees, cupped my cheeks with both hands, and captured my lips with his.

A whimper came out of me before I could stop it, and I grabbed onto Remi's arms as he deepened the kiss, prying my mouth open with his tongue. I didn't hesitate to brush my own tongue against his, my heart soaring from the affection from this man.

He groaned, deep and low enough to feel in my chest, and my dick took notice too.

We kissed for a full minute before he slowed us down the same way he had the other night, but he kept my face in his palms and rested our foreheads together.

When I opened my eyes, I found his kind brown ones already staring back at me. He smiled—I could see it in his eyes—and whispered, "That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, my little may'ezza. You are phenomenal."

My cheeks, which were already flushed, felt hotter. "Th-thanks."

"I mean it, Bel. You have the most beautiful voice." He pecked my lips. "Thank you for playing for us." Another kiss. "I swear I could listen to you play and sing all day long." Another kiss. "Now I really do need to find your busking corner so I can come watch you all day." Kiss. "I'm absolutely going to ask for a private concert." Kiss. "And?—"

I let out a laugh, cutting him off. "Okay, okay. Thank you. I… I'm glad you liked the song. You don't have to keep…" I trailed off with a wave of my hand.

He smiled. "Yes, I do because I don't think you actually realize how talented you are."

So damn sweet. I pulled him into a lingering kiss, then wrapped my arms around him. Remi immediately folded himself down, going to his butt on the cushion so he could hug me tightly and bury his face in the crook of my neck. His deep inhale made me smile since I was starting to get used to his shifter nose and how he liked to smell me all the time.

When I glanced over Remi's shoulder, I remembered that we weren't actually alone here. There was a moment of panic before I saw that the other three had moved to the dining room table, giving us some space. That was kind of them.

Eventually, we parted, and Remi had to get in a nose kiss before we got up and joined his friends. None of them teased us or anything, for which I was grateful.

We ended up eating a ton of pizza, playing cards and other board games, and staying up until the early morning hours.

Then they all made me sleep in the living room with them, each of us with our own sleeping bag. Remi slept beside me, and I didn't think I'd ever been so aware of another person.

Against all odds, I actually had a wonderful time with them. Turned out that Remi's friends were just as kind-hearted as he was.