“Oh that’s not nessis–” Rowan began.
“What’s in the drink?” Halo asked, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on them.
“The Pack-a-punch is a jungle juice served in a fish bowl, with a straw for each pack member..”
“The drink,” Severen, Crux and I said all at the same time.
“Five straws?” asked the waitress. With a confirming nod she jotted down the order while speaking, “One pack-a-punch. I’ll come back with that then return to take your order.” Then she moved on.
“Well, now I guess we really do need food,” I said, skimming the menu.
“Hopefully we’ll remember tonight,” Rowan mused.
“Would it be so bad if we didn’t?” Crux asked with a wry smirk. “At least we’ll know it was a wild night.”
Rowan chuckled, which I found extremely endearing. I loved that he was comfortable with Crux and Halo, and even Severen.
The barista returned with a huge, deep round bowl of a glass and five twisted crazy straws. The juice was a pretty sun-set orange colour. Slices of fruit floated on the surface like colourful lilypads. We each selected a straw and began sipping. It was tart, cool and refreshing, with that little bite of liquor in the back of the throat.
“Oh, this is going to be trouble,” I giggled.
“Good thing home is a short walk,” Crux said, then resumed sipping.
We ordered platters of fries, both sweet potato and regular, a plate of fully loaded nachos, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks and crispy spring rolls. All food we could easily pick at and share. Conversation flowed around the table, mostly between Rowan and Crux, planning how they would move him out of his apartment and into our place.
“I can ask my brother and his pack to help us,” Crux said. “We can use the Wrangler and your car.”
“I don’t think I have much I want to bring,” Rowan admitted. “Just my clothes. A few photos, Tracker’s things.”
I realized Rowan’s furniture likely still smelled like Indigo, a ghostly, lingering presence clinging to the past. The urge to start fresh made sense to me.
Halo reached across the table and squeezed Rowan’s hand. “We’ll get you a new bed set.”
“We can go to Nesting Needs or Cuddle Puddle tomorrow,” I said. My inner omega just loved getting lost in the nesting stores. So much texture, and the environment was so mellow and calming.
“You have the money for it?” Severen asked.
“For a bed set? Yeah, I’m fine,” Rowan said. “I have to talk to my landlord and tell him I’m moving. I’m paid up until the end of next month.”
“Easy,” Halo said.
“Do you want your money to pool with the pack money?” Severen asked. “Or do you want your money to be your money?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Rowan answered.
“Let’s get him settled first, okay?” Crux said.
Conversation buzzed, broken up by drinking and munching and a brief by violent fry war where fries soared across the tableslike arrows and missiles. Midnight crept up on us and it was decided we should head home.
Home. Rowan would be coming home. I glanced at him shyly, the dusky wind gently tugging my hair. Now that he was bitten I could feel him in a way much brighter than before. While Severen was protection, Crux was all flavours of Touch Her And Die, and Halo was a guiding light into the big wide world, Rowan was almost like a grounding force, like no matter where I was, I always had a beacon to home in on.
Home.
But, home wasn’t the direction I began to walk. I wasn’t sure why, maybe I didn’t want the night to end quite yet.
“Where are you going?” Halo asked.
“Beach,” I said. The sound of the waves in the night air was calling to me, and there was no sun to burn me to death.
