"Yeah. " She heard the smile in his voice. "We're like that. "
w the muscles in his back tense up under the tight gray shirt he was wearing. "I need to get you out of here before you get hurt. "
Claire got up, walked to him, and put her arms around him from behind. She leaned against him, her head on his back, sighed. "I'm more worried about you, " she said. "You and trouble ... "
"Yeah. " She heard the smile in his voice. "We're like that. "
The spaghetti was good, and a little pleading got Shane to sit down and eat. He sat across from Michael, but they didn't talk, and they didn't make eye contact. All in all, pretty polite, and Claire was just starting to relax when Shane asked, blandly, "You put extra garlic in this, Eve? You know how I like the garlic. "
She shot him a dirty look. "Oh, the neighborhood knows. " And then an apologetic one toward Michael. "It's okay, right? Not too much?" Because garlic wasn't something vampires were especially fond of. That was why Shane tended to use it as garnish on everything he ate.
"It's fine, " Michael said, but he was picking at his food, and he looked a little pale. "Monica stopped by today. Looking for you, Claire. "
Both Shane and Eve groaned. For once, all three of her housemates were entirely in agreement. And they were all looking at her.
"What?" she asked. "I swear, it's not -- I'm not sucking up to her or anything! She's just -- crazy, okay? I'm not her friend. I don't know why she's coming around. "
"She's probably going to set you up again, " Eve said, and scooped more spaghetti into her bowl. "Like she did at the frat dance. Hey, she's throwing a party this Friday, did you hear? Super exclusive, flying in out of towners and everything. I guess it's her birthday, or Daddy-gave-me-money day, or whatever. We should crash. "
"I like the sound of that, " Shane said. "Crashing Monica's party. " He glanced at Michael, then quickly away. "What about you? That break some kind of vampire rules of conduct or something?"
"Blow me, Shane. "
"Boys, " Eve said primly. "Language. Minor at the table. "
"Well, " Shane said, "I wasn't actually planning to do it. "
Claire rolled her eyes. "Not like it's the first time I've heard it. Or said it. "
"You shouldn't say it, " Michael said, all seriousness. "No, I mean it. Girls should say 'eat me, ' not 'blow me. ' Wouldn't recommend 'bite me, ' though. Not around here. "
Eve choked on her spaghetti. Shane pounded her on the back, but he was laughing too, and so was Michael, and Claire glared at them for a little bit before giving in and admitting it was funny, after all.
Everything was all right.
"So. Friday night?" Eve asked, wiping her eyes and gasping through her giggles. "Par-tay? Because I could so use a good blowout. "