Hex

Chapter 11

     "So, you're living with three guys?" My Aunt Talia asked me the next morning at brunch.

     "Yes ma'am, I am," I said, sipping my mimosa. Was I hungover? Yes, but Aunt Talia insists on a good hair of the dog.

     "And you're dating which one of them?" She raised her eyebrows at me, daring me to deny it.

     "I'm not dating any of them, Aunt Talia." I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my pancakes.

     "It's Zane, right? Damn, that's a good-looking bastard!" She slammed her fork down onto the table. "He's just got a way about him, Mick Jagger had that same thing about him, you know-"

     "I'm not dating Zane!" I exclaimed, cutting her off.

     "Finn? No, he's too grumpy for you, but you know they do say, opposites attract."

     I shook my head and chugged the rest of my mimosa, hoping it would silence her. It didn't.

     "Oh my god, it's Bishop. Of course, it's Bishop! I knew it was him, I just had a feeling."

     I fought my blush. "We're all just friends," I insisted, wiping my mouth off with my napkin to hide a smile. "And roommates, mind you."

     "Whatever you say, I know you can't keep a secret from me," she teased, wiggling her fingers in my face.

     I held it in. Well, at least I tried to. And it worked, for about thirty seconds. "We kissed," I blurted out.

     "I fucking knew it!"

     "It was just once, and we were drunk, and we both said it meant nothing, and it's not going to happen again. We're just friends. And roommates," I emphasized, raising my eyebrows pointedly at her.

     "Whatever you say, girly. But he's cute, very. And sweet. And you guys on stage, oh man, it was electric!"

     "You don't know what you're talking about! We were performing. We were just having fun. We're in a band together, that's it."

     She stared at me for a few seconds, chewing her food slowly. She tilted her head.

     The silence was deafening. "Okay, fine, so what if I have a tiny, itty, bitty crush on him? So what?"

     She stabbed a piece of her omelet and then pointed it at me. "Fucking knew it," she said finally and popped the bite into her mouth.

     After brunch, Aunt Talia took the train back home, and I headed straight to work. The money from the gig was nice, but it didn't get us very far. I still had to work a shit ton in order to be able to pay my rent, but it was better than the prison that they call an Ivy League. It was 8 hours of pouring coffee later that I was finally able to go home, and I was absolutely exhausted from the late night before.

     I crashed through our front door and collapsed on the couch, where the three guys and Valeria were drinking beer and playing cards on the coffee table. "I can deal you in, if you want, Vienna," Finn said, without looking up from the table.

     "Too tired," I whined, pressing my face into the couch. Zane grabbed my pointy tail and pulled it up, forcing me to look up.

     "It's Saturday night, and we're playing a drinking game. He's dealing you in," Zane commanded, before letting my face plop back onto the leather.

     "Ugh bossy," I said, rolling my eyes, but obediently rolling off of the couch and plopping down cross-legged on the floor. "FIne, deal me in." I ruffled my hair and rubbed my eyes, trying to force myself to wake up.