Bets and Wagers

Sixteen

"I'm nervous."

I looked up to Loki then nodded, ducking under his arm as he held the gate open for me.

"You should be, she really doesn't like you."

He let out a loaded sigh, walking into the garden after me.

"I gathered as such, though that begs to question why I was invited."

"She's making an effort for me and I appreciate that, just show her that you aren't a complete ass and she'll come around."

"No promises."

Rolling my eyes, I walked down the short alley and into the hustle and bustle of the back garden that belonged to Jayce's sister, who was hosting a barbeque that we had graciously been invited to.

Well, more I had been invited to and had been told; "You can bring him too I suppose, if you want, just keep him out of trouble.".

We knew that Jayce wasn't a fan of Loki, which made her open invitation all the more touching.

She and Steven had proven to be great friends and it made my regret and embarrassment of her finding me crying outside my door only eight months ago just a little easier to handle.

Their support was something I could never repay, so I hoped that my offering of skewered kebabs ready for grilling would suffice for the time being.

I had spent the early afternoon prepping them with Loki, we'd made a selection of kebabs with a variety of meats, including beef, chicken and steak and vegetables such as bell peppers, aubergines and tomatoes.

Some were full meat, others full vegetable but most were a mixture and it had taken everything within us to not cook and eat them as we messed up my kitchen, something that I had tried to keep contained as we went but that didn't stop a stock pile of packets from building up.

"There they are!"

Steven emerged from the gathered crowd to greet us, smiling widely with his arms open wide.

"About time you showed up," he said, looking at the covered serving dishes in my hands and lowering his arms, settling instead for an over the shoulder half-hug with a back pat.

"Sorry, we got a little caught up," I laughed softly, "time lost us."

"Happen to the best of us," he shrugged, turning his attention to Loki. "And you must be the troublemaker."

He held a hand out to Loki, who gave him his signature smirk and took it, giving the man a firm handshake.

"The one and only."

Although Jayce had undoubtedly told Steven about Loki, they had never met face to face or at least Loki never mentioned having met Steven in person, and it was a minor surprise to be him so welcoming as opposed to the uncertainty I had been expecting.

Though perhaps it shouldn't have been a shock, it didn't seem to be in Steven's nature to be judgmental and cast people aside, he was the type who would rather witness things first-hand and make his own decisions from there.

"Welcome, hope you have a good time," Steven said, looking back at the dish in my hand. "Want me to take that?"

"Oh, sure," I smiled, sparing a glance at the tin foil of the top dish before passing them over. "The top one is vegetables only, I thought it'd be best to keep them separated."

"Wise choice from a wise woman," Steven chuckled, "well, make yourselves at home."

He gave us a smile then turned away and made his way to the grills.