“Yep. That’s why now—this is their excuse, anyway”—she rolls her eyes—“now they wear those pants so tight, they might as well be naked.”
I point at her. “Right?”
Talina covers her mouth, hiding her laugh as the line we’re in moves forward. The place is packed full and I’m starting to wonder how long it will take to get a table when someone calls Talina’s name.
We both look over to a corner near the front window where a group of smartly-dressed nymphs are waving. “Oooo!” Talina exclaims, waving back. “My friends are here.” She hooks her arm in mine and starts tugging me in that direction. “They’re gonna love you.”
My heart flutters as we weave our way through tables and people. I’m going to meet her friends. And now I feel like this is a first date that suddenly turned into a meet-the-parents kind of moment and my stomach fills up with butterflies.
Or… moths, maybe.
Gross.
There is a lot of squealing as we approach and the entire table of females gets up and starts hugging Talina. She lets go of me to reciprocate, and now I feel like the wallflower at a junior-high dance. So I stand there awkwardly while they all say hello.
Talina notices and pulls me towards her. “Girls. This is Pie. She’s my new boss.”
“Oh—” I’m just about to correct her. I’m nobody’s boss. But I don’t get a chance. All the squealing begins anew, only this time, it’s directed at me.
“I love your outfit,” one says. Her horns are short and stubby, barely peeking up from her luxurious honey-brown waves of thick hair piled on top of her head.
“Your hair is so pretty!” another exclaims. She’s wearing a pale-blue bodice embroidered with silver threads that glimmer and glint in the warm light.
“Wow. I’d kill for those legs.” This one is wearing a cream-colored jacket with a lacy top underneath. She’s got a sweet, round face with pink cheeks.
“And your horns!” This one has the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. Almost chartreuse. And she’s wearing a black robe of sorts.
It’s like I was dropped in to a let’s-make-Pie-feel-special party. And I blush.
“You’re embarrassing her,” Talina says. “Stop it. We just came in for coffee. We’re super-busy working on secret projects, girls. We can’t be bothered with gossips such as yourselves.”
They all burst out laughing as Talina directs me to the side of the table with two empty chairs.
“Right,” Green Eyes says. Then she rolls those gorgeous green eyes and snorts. “Super-secret projects.”
“Talina has been telling us that for ages,” Sweet Face says. Her voice matches her looks. It’s very soft and feminine.
“And she has yet to provide even a single detail,” Blue Bodice exclaims.
“Don’t mind us, Pie.” Stubby Horns reaches across the table and taps my hand. “We’re incorrigible.”
“Always,” Talina sighs. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now let me do introductions.”
She goes around the table, introducing them one by one. Green Eyes is called Esmah. She’s a freaking judge in the law courts.
Mikayla is the one with stubby horns and pretty hair. She owns a bakery and proudly proclaims all those elaborately decorated pastries in the glass cases up front were made by her bakers.
Blue Bodice is a fashion designer and she is called Akkaline. She beams a wild, devious smile at me and announces she has an upcoming show, and would I like to be one of her models?
This offer must make me blush, or something, because Talina skillfully redirects my attention to Sweet Face, who is really called Zantha. She’s a healer.
I say hello to each of them and settle a little bit as Talina, once again, tells them I am her boss.
I want to interject, say that’s not really true. I’m not boss material. But they are chattering and happy and I don’t want to be the center of attention. So I let it go.
We order coffee, and a box of pastries at Mikayla’s insistence, and then we leave under the pretense that we have important work to do.
Once outside in the sunshine, I let out a long breath.