Their wicked smiles informed me that they most certainly could.
The next morning, Saturday, I woke to a soft knock at my door. Although I had only been asleep for a few hours, I still felt refreshed, smiling from my previous evening and rolling out of bed with pep. All four Prodigies had insisted—politely—after a covert glance at my car, that their limo follow me home to make sure I arrived safely. It had been unnerving having the limo follow me. It was like a cop was tailing me and almost as if I needed to follow each driving rule. My trusty car made it fine. The Prodigies had been in superb spirits from their ride, half lit after raiding the limo’s minibar, so I had asked them if they wanted to come inside and watch television. They had stayed and sobered up before being dropped at each of the Kings’ homes. They were much more intriguing and complex than they had let on in 2035.
And with them, I didn’t feel so lonely.
As I peered through the peephole, my grin only grew. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to fix my bed hair. I unlocked and opened the door. “Don’t you four sleep?”
All four Prodigies grinned then stormed inside, practically running me over. They were dressed casually in athletic pants and t-shirts and held brown grocery sacks.
Venclaire mumbled, “Good morning to you, too.”
Kincaid stated, “We know we’re risking overdoing a good thing too soon, but the Kings and Elders make us spend the weekends together.”
Nelson smiled, a little nervous. “And…it was better with you around, so…”
Fergus bounced the bag in his arms. “We brought breakfast to bribe you to spend the day with us.”
I eyed the bags. “Do I have to cook it?” We might all be ill if I did.
Fergus smirked. “We didn’t bring food over for you to cook it for us. I’m going to cook.”
“Oh, by all means.” I gestured grandly to my small kitchen, shutting the apartment door and locking it. “Consider me bribed for a day of fun. But I need to brush my teeth first.” I waggled a finger at the kitchen again. “You can start unloading in there.”
“Will do,” Venclaire murmured, his and Fergus’s backs to me, both already walking into kitchen. “You might want to put some pants on, too.”
I blinked, jerking my head down to my attire. “Shit.” I hadn’t even seen him check me out, but he sure as hell noticed more than I had. I was wearing only a tank top and a pair of panties. I was thrilled I had taken off the Prodigy Elemental ring from my toe last night while putting lotion on my feet. “Pants coming right up.” I hurried into the bathroom, taking care of business there before finding a pair of cotton shorts and a bra. I walked into the kitchen, eyeing the goods they had spread out on the short countertop. “You got a lot.”
Fergus nodded once, also eyeing the choices. “We didn’t know what you liked, so we got a bit of everything.” A point at a tub. “Including oatmeal.”
I stared at the eggs, ham, and cheese. “At the risk of sounding greedy…do you know how to make an omelet?”
“I can do that.”
I clasped my hands in front of me, trying to keep from waving them everywhere in giddy delight. “I also want you to show me how to do it, so I can do it on my own.”
“I can do that, too.” He rummaged through the pots and pans I had bought not too long ago in my attempt to learn to cook better. “You’ve got a decent selection here.”
“Thanks.” I carefully watched which skillet he pulled out. “The salesperson was very helpful.”
My phone rang, startling me. I had forgotten I had the dang thing since I never used the bulky contraption. No one ever called me. I instantly grabbed it, continuing to watch what bowl Fergus was pulling down from a cupboard. “Hello?”
All I heard was static.
“Hello?”
More static.
I hung up. “Someone’s connection sucks.” Then I snapped my fingers and pointed at Fergus when he glanced at me. He was cracking an egg. “Give me a second. I want to get a pad of paper and pen to write what you’re doing.”
His lips quirked. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, quickly turning and racing back to my bedroom. Digging through my dresser, I heard the phone ring again. I called loudly, “Can you get that?”
The phone quit ringing, and I heard Fergus’s soft tone as he answered, the sound muffled. I grabbed a pad of paper and dug through another drawer for a pen, finding one relatively quickly. I made my way back to the kitchen. Fergus was resting with his back against the wall, giving me wide, crazy eyes, pointing at the phone. But he continued speaking calmly. “No, sir, I did not spend the night.” A pause, his eyes glancing toward me. He appeared put out, even if his words were exceptionally collected. “Yes, sir, I just came over a few minutes ago to make breakfast for her.” He fumbled over his words. “Yes, I was out with her last night. We went out to eat with the other Prodigies.”