1.6: Let the Games Begin
Now that Goliath was out of the running, so to speak, the unmated females decided to concentrate on the younger males of his clan… and not to waste any time at it, either; it began while they were still all seated together.
Brooklyn had placed himself out of physical reach of the ladies by taking Elisa's former seat, but Broadway was seated directly across from Isabel, and cattycorner from Yvette and Martha. Angela had pointedly swapped seats with Lexington son after they all sat down, so she was seated next to Broadway on his right side and directly across from Martha. For the first time in his entire life, Broadway was surrounded on nearly all sides by females… and so he had no clue of what to do when, after about five minutes of pleasant but idle conversation, he felt someone's tail entwine around his leg. He froze for a moment, eyes wide, and the tail slowly slithered up his leg a little further. He swallowed hard, then whispered hopefully to Angela, "Honey, is that you?"
Angela looked at him in surprise, then figured out what must be going on and glared across the table. Isabel was talking with her sister Martha about something she'd seen while on patrol two nights ago, Rebecca was trying to talk across the table to Brooklyn, and Yvette and Marie were apparently occupied with their dinners; none of them were meeting her eyes with guilty, mischievous or defiant expressions. But she could play tail games too… Moments later there was a sound like a whip-crack, and Yvette couldn't help giving a little yelp and jump in her seat. That drew all the attention to her, and just as with Marie a little earlier, she could only blush and say nothing.
Elizabeth quietly sighed before saying just loudly enough for the next table over to hear, "Yvette, would you be a dear and bring me a refill?" as she held up her empty wineglass. When Yvette got up to take her glass, her expression just a touch sullen at the transparent excuse to get her out of the room for a few minutes, Elizabeth beckoned her closer and whispered just loud enough for those closest to hear, "Slow down, dear! We're not breeding tomorrow, for pity's sake!" Yvette blushed even harder as she slunk out of the room.
When she came back a few minutes later, she and Angela glared daggers at each other while she sat back down. Broadway decided he'd better do something before a fight broke out. He cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Ladies? A moment of your time, please?" when all their eyes were focused on him, he continued with a blush, "Look, it's not that I don't think you're all very attractive, but just consider me 'off the market', same as Goliath, okay? My heart's already taken," as he held Angela's hand and smiled into her eyes. Angela smiled back as she caressed his hand. Then Broadway continued, "But, hey, that still leaves three of us guys available," as he pointed in turn to Lexington, Hudson and Brooklyn.
"Oh, yes!" Angela said enthusiastically, taking the conversational ball and running with it. "Lexington, here, is an utter marvel with technology, while still an excellent warrior! And Hudson, why, he's one of our canniest warriors, the absolute best at swordplay, and our best tracker as well! And Brooklyn's so good at just about everything that Goliath chose him for second-in-command!"
The three males just named and praised by Angela all traded wry looks between themselves even as they unconsciously sat up straighter, knowing full well why she was lavishing such compliments on them; anything to get the other females' minds off of her choice. Hudson snorted under his breath, already sure that he'd be automatically discounted as a potential mate; he knew full well that he was over twice the age of all the ladies present at the table, not even counting the thousand years of enchanted sleep. But it would be somewhat amusing to watch what happened with the other lads, he thought to himself with another wry smile, so let the games begin…
To Be Continued…