Succubus Dreams Page 0,20

leave. I was too wrapped up. I thought if I, uh, gave you enough notice..."

"Notice? This was more like a belated birthday card. Six months after the fact."

Silence fell, and I felt some satisfaction in knowing he was quietly acknowledging his wrongdoing.

"I'm sorry, Thetis. It was...I shouldn't have done it, busy or not. I'm really sorry. You know how I get."

Now I sighed. He was so damned sincere and adorable that I had a hard time holding a grudge. This wasn't, however, the first time he'd stood me up or otherwise neglected our social life. Sometimes I wondered if I allowed him too much indulgence. I spent so much time worrying about my transgressions taking advantage of him; maybe I was the one being walked over without even realizing it.

"You want to meet up after the show?" I asked, trying not to sound mad. "Cody invited me out to the bar with them. We could hang out there for a while."

"Um...well, no."

"No?" The annoyance I'd tried to quell shot its head back up again. "I just forgave you for standing me up and wasting the money I paid on your ticket, and now you're turning down my conciliatory offer?"

"Look...I really am sorry, but watching you and your friends get drunk isn't exactly appealing."

I sat for a moment, too stunned to respond. He'd spoken in his typically mild way, but I'd heard the slightest bit of derision underscoring his words. Seth didn't drink. He always tolerated my excesses good-naturedly, but I suddenly wondered if they irritated him after all. His meaning came through as haughtiness to me.

"Sorry we're not up to your standards. God knows we can't expect you to do anything outside of your comfort zone."

"Please, stop. I don't want to fight with you," he said with exasperation. "I'm really, really, really sorry about all this. I didn't mean to stand you up. You know that."

The lights flashed, signaling the end of intermission. "I've got to go."

"Will you...will you please come over tonight? Go out with your friends, let me finish, and then I'll make things up to you. I promise. I...I have an early Christmas present for you."

The hesitancy in his voice softened my heart. A little. "Yeah. Okay. It might be really late when I get there."

"I'll wait up."

We said our good-byes and disconnected. I watched the rest of the show in a grumpy mood and decided drinking and bitching with the gang couldn't come a moment too soon.

CHAPTER 5

Peter, Cody, and Hugh already had a table when I arrived at the Cellar. Tawny sat with them, much to my dismay. I'd completely forgotten about my apprentice. At least she didn't have Niphon in tow. I hoped that meant she'd finally bagged a guy, though her lack of a post-sex succubus glow suggested otherwise. Neither Carter nor Jerome had deigned to show. I recalled that Jerome was out of town and figured the angel was out with his colleagues. They could all still be at my apartment for all I knew.

"Hey," Cody called in greeting, making room for me beside him. "I thought you said you were busy."

"Yeah, well, plans change," I grumbled. I gestured to Hugh. "Got a cigarette?"

He tsked me. "No smoking in public places anymore, sweetie."

Groaning, I flagged down a waitress. Smoking was an ugly habit I'd given up for the sake of the mortals around me. Still, after smoking for over a century, I found I craved the occasional hit during stressful times. The city smoking ban was good for Seattle but damned inconvenient for me and my bad mood.

Cody couldn't let my vague answer go. "How'd your plans change? Weren't you and Seth going out?"

Hugh laughed when I didn't answer. "Uh-oh, trouble in paradise."

"He had things to do," I replied stiffly.

"Things or people?" asked Peter. "Didn't you give him the go-ahead to sleep around if he wanted?"

"He's not doing that."

"Tell yourself that if it makes you feel better," teased Hugh. "No one can write as much as he claims to."

Since my friends apparently had no lives of their own, I had to endure a number of other pokes and jibes. They probably didn't mean to do any real damage, but their words hurt anyway. Seth had already upset me enough without their help. Anger simmered within me, and I tried to channel it into my rate of gimlet consumption rather than my friends.

The only person who looked more miserable than me was Tawny. She wore a strapless red dress, almost identical in