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My siblinghatedemojis; they thought that they were the modern equivalent of hieroglyphs and that we as a society were backsliding by using them. Which of course meant I used as many as possible whenever I texted them.

Hey, what’re younger sisters for?

I tipped the rest of the salads into our bowls, taking care to arrange our toppings instead of letting them all land in the bottom.

“Looks delicious,” Dana said, leaning around me to take down a packet of animal crackers I’d always assumed were Elsie’s. She popped a giraffe-shaped cookie into her mouth with acrunch.

It made me grin; they just didn’t seem like the sort of snack someone as serious as Dana would be into. She really gave off more of a fancy seed cracker vibe.

“How’s our most popular bartender tonight?”

I laughed. “I’m not the most popular, I’ve hardly been here a week. Hey, toss me a lion, would you?”

She shrugged her lean shoulders, searching the zipper bag until she produced a little lion cookie, handing it to me. “Tell that to our numbers. Are you staying for staff night?”

I tucked my phone away and took the snack from her, fingers lingering where they brushed. “Wouldn’t miss it!” I popped the cracker in my mouth, talking with my mouth slightly full as the microwave went off. “Wanna eat with us? I’m headed for Elsie now.”

“Nah, you girls have fun,” Dana said with a smile, brushing one of her long braids off her shoulder. “I’m going to head back to my office and try to get a bit of work in before the festivities. Which reminds me—don’t fill up too much. I have a real treat planned for tonight.”

“You got it.” I paused for a second. “Hey, Dana?”

“Yeah?”

“Make time to rest, okay? Burnout is no joke.”

I’d never seen the vampire sit down. Or eat a real meal. She was dangerously close to becoming the bloodsucking, sleepless monster stereotype, and it made me seriously worried for her mental health.

Her lips quirked into a smile that showed her fangs. “I’ll think about it, Striker. Off you go.”

A part of me didn’t believe her. It wasn’t hard to spot a workaholic when you were recovering from the toxic behaviours yourself. But it wasespeciallyeasy with people like Dana who were always on the go, go,go.

I sighed, giving her hip a little nudge with my own as I made my way toward Elsie’s vanity.

The little blonde vampire was perched on her stool, removing her maroon lipstick with a makeup wipe. A smile bloomed across her delicate features as she spotted me in her mirror, the corners of her ruby eyes crinkling at the edges.

“Hello, you,” I said, returning her grin as she pushed her makeup away, leaving a narrow space for us to set our plates.

“I love you,” the vampire moaned at the sight of dinner, wasting no time stabbing herself a few forkfuls of salad to shove into her mouth the moment I’d set it down.

There wasn’t a ton of time to eat between sets, but since Elsie was kind enough to order for us, I didn’t mind. It was cool to get a few minutes to talk every day, at least.

I grabbed the stool from Kaylee’s station and dropped it beside hers. It’d become our routine—if you could call the fourth day in a row of doing somethinga routine.Nick would take up the role of courier and leave his post at the door temporarily to bring down whatever we’d picked out for lunch while Elsie sat and watched me do the opening checklist. She’d go on stage for her first solo of the night, and I'd take my break right after to set up our plates. Then we’d get between fifteen and twenty minutes to eat before rushing off in different directions to play our parts making sure the club had a successful night.

“I like this,” Elsie said between mouthfuls, tugging at the fabric of my dress as I settled beside her. Her lithe fingers grazed my bare back, casting a line of fire despite the chill of her skin.“How am I supposed to dance without falling off the stage with you looking likethatbehind the bar?”

“Want me to cover up?” I teased, butterflies throwing a rave in my stomach as she slid her hand further along my spine.

The caress of her teasing fingers stopped where the band of my bra should’ve been, Elsie’s pupils dilating until there was only a thin ring of ruby around the mass of black. Her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips.

My mind took a sharp detour from workplace respectability and into thoughts of what her tongue would feel like between my legs.

“Only an idiot would tell you to putmoreclothes on,” she said seriously, her voice a little breathless as she pulled away from me. I didn’t miss the way her eyes dipped to the mirror for a long look at my chest.

And Iabsolutelydidn’t arch my back a little to draw more attention to it.

“My eyes are up here,” I whispered suggestively, spearing up some salad and bringing it to my lips.

“Sue me,” she muttered, reaching to brush a stray hair away from my collarbone. “What am I supposed to do when you look like the most delicious snack I’ve ever?—”