Page 35 of As The Shifter World Turns

35

MOVIE NIGHT

Archer

“It’s time.”

“You ordered pizza, right? “ I said into my phone as I struggled to put on my shoes. “I’ve got Indian food on the way.”

“No, Ivor was doing that.” Neil was taking off his makeup as I chatted to him and Ivor.

“I thought I was getting dessert and I’ve got a cheesecake here with your name on it, Archer.”

“Hope you bought two,” I grumbled. “At this stage in my pregnancy, I need all the cheesecake.”

“Aren’t the three of you meeting for dinner in five minutes?” Micah asked.

“Yes,” we said in unison.

“Is there a problem?” Neil asked.

My mate held up his hands in surrender. “Nope.” He popped that p so hard, Patch jumped up and ran around in circles.

“Well, someone better order Thai food instead of pizza because that’s Neil’s favorite.” I stared at my friend on the phone as he poked out his tongue.

“I’ll do it,” Micah said, apparently fed up with our back and forth.

Neil reeled off the dishes he wanted. “Mussuman curry, pad Thai, som tum and rice.”

“Done,” Micah announced.

“Thank you. I’ll love you forever,” Neil told him. “And I’ll pay you.’

“I’m taking Patch for a walk so I can take you down the stairs,” my mate said as I ended the video call .

“Can you help me with my shoes?”

“Okay, but do you need them? You’re going down one floor to Neil’s.”

‘You’re right. Who needs shoes?”

“Come on, Patch. We’re going.”

We met Ivor at Neil’s door, and my mate continued downstairs with the dog but he returned almost immediately with my Indian food. Once in Neil’s place, I got on the sofa and put my feet up while my friends sat on cushions on the floor with the coffee table between us.

My phone beeped. It was Micah saying he was coming back as the delivery guy had just brought the Thai food. “Are there any other deliveries?” he asked at the door when he handed the bag to Neil.

“No. Should we tip you?” Neil grinned. “You’re doing a great job.”

My mate harrumphed as he thundered down the stairs.

“Let’s eat.”

We oohed and aahed as we ate but once the craving for food had been satisfied, I wiped my mouth and patted my bump. “Baby’s happy and awake.”

“Can I feel?” Ivor asked.

“Sure.” He placed a hand on my belly, which was still small. Neil joined him.

“Is that it?” Ivor asked, a big grin on his face.

“Yes.”

Of course, Neil’s eyes swam with tears. Neil wouldn’t be Neil if he didn’t cry. “I felt it too. A little unicorn.”

It had taken a while to sink in that I was carrying a unicorn. “We didn’t know if the little one would be a wolf or unicorn until we went for the ultrasound.” It’d been amazing news as I thought back to that day.

Now when Micah put his hand on the bump, he told me how excited his beast was. There’d be another unicorn in his life. Like Micah, his beast never expected that to happen.

I did worry that other than Micah’s unicorn, our child wouldn’t have unicorn friends. But Micah said his kind were used to adapting, and he’d be content with being around our Sunshine Manor shifter family. I hoped that was the case. I guessed every parent worried about their children and we were in for a lifetime of exactly that.

“I can’t wait until you have the baby. I’ll babysit,” Neil added.

“But if you’re not living in the building, when will we see you?” Ivor whined.

I’d mentioned us possibly buying the house in the next street but now the elderly owner was having second thoughts about selling. Both Ivor and Neil had been upset at the news that we might leave Sunshine Manor. Happy for me and Micah but sad we wouldn’t be one or two floors away from each other.

“Look, if it happens, we’ll be here every Friday night, you can walk Patch and babysit our little one, and we’ll have movie night once a week. If we buy that house, you can stand on the roof and wave. And we can alternate. Some Friday nights you can all come to our place.”

Both my friends shook their heads. Friday nights on the roof were a ritual and after those weeks I’d been working elsewhere, when they didn’t meet up there once a week, everyone agreed never to let that happen again.

“We can come to your place,” Ivor agreed. “But not on a Friday night.”

My fellow wolf shifter had been going through a lot with the whole Kellan issue and I hated seeing him taking furtive glances at the stag shifter when we were all together. “I hate to bring it up but has anything changed with Ryder?”

He shrugged. “Things are going okay. I mean we’re not sleeping together or really dating. He’s trying so hard to be a better man, and I don’t know. Maybe it won’t work out and I’ll have to find another job.”

“Don’t hate me for saying this but there’s a chance that Kellan will always come between you,” Neil told him. “Not even the real Kellan, just his ghost. You might never be able to look at Ryder and not think of that asshat.”

Wow! Neil was really hitting Ivor with some home truths. Time to lighten things up a little. “Ivor, I’ve been thinking about my replacement when I take paternity leave.”

He furrowed his brow. “I can’t think of anyone.”

Neil didn’t wait for me to reply. “You, Ivor.”

‘“Me? What do I know about being a personal assistant?”

“A lot. And it’s not rocket science but there’s plenty of juggling,” I explained.

“But I’m not dropping out of college,” Ivor insisted.

I patted his hand. He didn’t have much experience with babies and pregnancy. “It’s not for a few months, right after you graduate.”

“Oh.” I gave him a ball-park salary as I had no control over what my boss would offer. “But I’d have to attend an interview or interviews and I’m crap at those. I always say the wrong thing.”

Neil gave him a hug. “We can help you. We’ll do mock interviews.”

“And I can put a good word in with my boss.”

Ivor tugged his ear. “Maybe.”

While I wasn’t going to be as up front as Neil, taking over my job would get Ivor out of Ryder’s office. That had to be a positive, whether they worked out or they didn’t.

“Maybe you could get your own place,” I suggested.

But that was met by a resounding, “No,” from Neil. “I c-can’t lose b-both of you,” he stammered. And that resulted in more tears.

Now it was Ivor’s turn to comfort our human friend. “Even if I have a well-paying job, I’m happy living with Daire. I’m not going anywhere.”

Actually, I’d been thinking of Micah’s place if we moved but kept my mouth shut not wanting to upset Neil further. “Who wants cheesecake?” I asked.

Neil grinned through his tears. “I wonder who? ”

I raised my hand. “Me. Me. Me.”

Ivor got the dessert and gave me the first slice. I dug in, not waiting for the other two. “What movie are we watching tonight?”

“Zombies,” Neil told us.

“But we haven’t asked you about soccer dad,” Ivor protested. That was how we often thought of Martin though we never called him that to his face.

Neil shrugged and a cute blush pinkened his cheeks. “Neil? Is there something you want to tell us?” I teased.

He kept his head down, concentrating on his piece of cheesecake. And it was so good it almost distracted me from pushing for more deets. Almost.

But Ivor beat me to it. “I see you blushing.”

“Did you have sex?” I blurted out. I’d always had a tendency to say things at the worst time, but pregnancy exacerbated it.

“Not yet.”

That had me heaving myself off the sofa and leaning toward our human friend. “Not yet? Tell us more.”

“Wait.” Ivor held up his hand. “This needs another slice of cheesecake.”

“I like the way you think, wolf!” I agreed. After shoving the first bite of my second slice in my mouth, I said, “Have you been hiding something from us, Neil?”

“He has an enormous cock,” Ivor giggled. “Knew it the first time I saw him.”

Neil elbowed him. “Stop that.” His face was now bright red. “I haven’t seen it.” He lowered his voice. “Do you think it’s big?”

Ivor and I shared a glance. “Yes.”

Neil wriggled his ass. “Gods, I hope so. It’s been a while.”

Ivor got a faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah.”

I steered the conversation back to soccer dad. “So, no sex, and no nakedness. Has there been phone sex?”

“Whoa,” Neil said. “We haven’t been on a date yet.”

“What’s stopping you?” I asked and then thought of Neil out in public. He’d made enormous strides going out with us and the Sunshine Manor family as well as being a volunteer soccer coach. But a date? There were a lot of expectations and pressure going on a first date and for Neil that was magnified by his anxiety of being in public. It was a stupid question that I knew the answer to. “Oh, right.” I patted his shoulder. “I get it.”

“I’m going to cook for him instead.”

“Cook what, I wonder,” Ivor mused. My fellow wolf shifter had sex on his mind today.”

“But.” And here was the big question. “How do you feel about dating a shifter?”

My wolf took notice of that. Martin was a fox. Literally a fox shifter. My beast turned his nose up at that, not being a fan of foxes but I told him to give the guy a chance. When Martin and Toby joined us on the roof Friday nights, my beast wasn’t impressed. I told him to concentrate on the baby and that got him out of his bad mood.

“What’s to think about? I’ve been around shifters a good part of my life, since that night Daire had too much to drink and spilled the details.” Neil leaned forward and whispered, “Is there something I should know about sex with a shifter?”

“Other than it will blow your mind? Nope,” Ivor grinned.

“Have you ever had sex with a human, Ivor?” Neil asked. “You’ve got nothing to compare it to.”

“Well, no. But I’ve heard stories.”

“I’ll report back. All the hot details, inch by long inch.”

That shut Ivor up, and he gulped. Neil and I laughed. “I’m kidding. No way am I measuring him or giving you a minute by minute recap.”

“Fine,” Ivor harrumphed.

“I’ve eaten too much cheesecake.” I rubbed my belly. My unicorn shifter was awake and wriggling.

“Time for a movie,” Neil announced. “Unless you think the zombies will scare the baby.”

“Pretty sure a unicorn could take on a bunch of zombies,” Ivor told us.

“Good to know. I’ll remember that next time I meet one in a dark alley,” I said. Neil shivered and peered over his shoulder. “But we can watch something else if you want.” I didn’t want Neil sleeping with the lights on or needing Ivor to stay on his couch for the night.

“Can we?” he asked as he moved closer to Ivor.

“Like what?” Ivor scrolled through a list.

“A comedy. Or a musical. Nothing with zombies or anything scary.”