Carbon: Devil's Rose #8

Chapter 16: Roman Grant

Gabby lets me guide her into the bar, a hand on her lower back. Some of the Old Ladies instantly pull her toward their group, and I know that they are trying to make her feel more comfortable. I stand behind her, following through with what I said before. I'm not leaving her side until she tells me that it's okay to. It's not like I mind. 

She's permitting me to cling to her all night, I can one hundred percent get on board with that. Poison, who's by Dakota, raises his eyebrows at me, flicking his eyes between Gabby and me. I wonder if it's difficult for him to stay in "gossip character" all the time. 

We all talk about him being the gossip king in Devil's Rose, he is, but he knows so much that he doesn't say. He could blackmail all of us instantly, but he doesn't. I don't think he tries to gossip, but he does answer questions, and he finds shit out. 

People talk to him about their personal information because he's good to talk to, and then the stuff that people don't mind being spread gets around. As someone who has talked with him about personal stuff, he hasn't told anyone a lot of it. 

But when it comes to romantic relationships, he can't get enough. I just wonder if he gets tired of the drama or if he loves it.

"What are you looking at me for, Carbon?"

"You like to spread romance gossip, that's a fact. Do you like how people see you? You have a reputation for gossip, does that annoy you?"

He glances out the front windows of the bar.

"That's a deep question."

"I'm only curious."

"Not really because I'm part of the problem. I could stop gossiping and then it would most likely go away, but I don't stop, so I can't mind. With more personal info, people know that they can talk to me, and I won't share. If you had a romance problem, I wouldn't tell anyone. 

"But about innocent shit, it's fun. I made a huge deal about Alpha being super protective over Persephone but no one gives a shit. I only gossip about things people don't care about."

"And no one gets annoyed?"

"Uh, annoyed, yes, but not like a bad annoyance. Everyone teases me about it. It's not like anyone's actually annoyed. If that makes any sense," he finishes, sipping at his beer as we move to sit in the booth.

"It makes sense. You know what's gossip material and what isn't."

"Exactly. You have to play it right, and I'm good at it. Why were you thinking about this?"

"I was a little worried for you. Because I didn't know if that hurt your feelings."

"Carbon, you don't worry alright? I'm very open about my feelings, so I'll say something if I need to."

"Sounds good."

I let the whiskey burn my throat while I take a slow drink.

"Can we talk about Gabby?"

"It's not gossip material."

"Everyone knows something's going on, so that is already, but I won't say anything about this convo."

"Are we talking about Gabby?" Whiskey says as he, Slasher, and Scout join the table.

I lean down to see where Gabby is at to one, check on her, but two, make sure that she's not hearing the conversation. She's chatting with Dakota, Piper, and Beatrice with Vegas and Rubble standing by, so she's wrapped up in whatever they are talking about.

"What do you want to know that you don't already know? There are no crazy developments in our romance or whatever," I speak harshly.

"Chill out, Carbon. We're not coming for you. We want to know about your life because you haven't talked to us and you've literally held yourself up in the bar office for like five months. And you want to do more until you leave for your brother's wedding in two months for a week. We care about you and we want to know about you," Whiskey fights back, sensing the tension within me rise.