“What would it matter to you if they were?” Gibby asked, a strange glint in her eye.
Nick … didn’t know how to answer that, not really. If he was going to say exactly what he was feeling at that moment, it probably would have come out as a strangled snarl, so he kept his mouth shut.
Jazz sighed. “You can lead a blind man to water, but you can’t make him fish.”
“That’s not even remotely how the saying goes,” Gibby told her.
“It’s not?” Jazz frowned. “Then how does it go?”
“I have no idea, babe. But that’s definitely not it.”
“Huh,” Jazz said. She ate another piece of perfectly sliced tomato.
“I hate you,” Nick said, finally remembering how to form words. “You are the absolute worst thing in the entire world.”
“Careful there, Nicky,” Owen said, leaning forward on his elbows. “I might get the idea you still have feelings for me.”
“He doesn’t,” Seth said.
Owen took another one of his carrots and bit into it with his perfect teeth, grinning at Seth. “That right?”
“I’ve decided we’re going to talk about something else,” Nick said, because he didn’t like the way Seth and Owen were staring at each other. If this wasn’t flirting (and Nick was pretty sure about that now—mostly), then it was something else, and he did not want this to turn into a repeat of last spring when things were awkward for everyone involved. The Great Romance of Nick and Owen hadn’t been the best of days. Sure, Owen could do this weird little twisty thing with his tongue, but Nick didn’t think that was the foundation for a long-lasting relationship. “I assume you’re all aware of the latest Shadow Star news.”
Everyone groaned.
Nick ignored them. He was used to it by now. “Once again, he defeated villains who attempted to commit crime in our fair city. I think we need to start another online petition for a solid gold statue to be erected in his honor.”
Gibby snorted. “Speaking of being erected in his honor—”
“Didn’t the last one only get seventeen signatures?” Jazz asked. “And yours were twelve of them, signing it with different names.”
“Right,” Nick said. “But that was before I ascended in popularity with Scorch the Earth. As of this morning, I have the most viewed story in the fandom. And since I’ll probably let the power of being popular in a fandom go to my head, that means I should be able to get what I want.”
“And you want to start another petition,” Owen said, sounding bored.
“Yes. And we could—wait a minute.” Hold the motherfreaking phone.
“Oh no,” Seth moaned. “That’s his realization face.”
“We should probably have more boundaries than we do,” Jazz said as she squinted at Nick.
What had Rebecca Firestone said this morning? Something about— “Burke Tower.”
That got their attention. “What about Burke Tower?” Gibby asked, glancing between Nick and Owen.
“It’s where the gunmen were going,” Nick said excitedly. “They were trying to break into Burke Tower. It was on the news this morning!”
“No, Nick,” Owen said. “It’s—”
Nick stared at Owen with wide eyes. “Owen Burke. Burke Tower. They were trying to break into your father’s building. And Shadow Star was there.”
“Absolutely not,” Owen said, shaking his head. “You leave me out of this. I have nothing to—”
“You have to get me the security tapes! So I can watch them over and over again for my own personal reasons that don’t involve anything weird.”
Seth put his face in his hands.
“You are weird,” Owen said. “And why do you think I would have access to the tapes?”
“Uh, because it’s your father.” What about this did he not understand? It seemed easy enough to Nick.
Owen snorted. “Right, because he listens to anything I say. I don’t even remember the last time I saw him.”
That caught Nick off guard. Owen Burke rarely let anything slip through the facade of douchedom that he’d perfected.
“Oh,” Nick said, suddenly uncomfortable with this tiny sign that Owen might be human after all. “That’s … too bad.” He wasn’t very adept when it came to comforting people he’d made out with. Or, at least, that appeared to be the case. He’d never made out with anyone else. He wondered if he needed to find someone else to make out with and then have them talk about their damaged relationship with their family to make sure.
“Gosh. Thanks, Nicky. Really.”
Nick tried to recover. “Didn’t you go yachting with him in Greece or Daytona?”
“Isn’t Daytona in Florida?” Jazz asked. “How exotic.”