Two hours later, Ris was snuggled up next to Corbin in the backseat of Kellen’s car. “Don’t know why I’m so tired,” she muttered almost incoherently, her eyes closing.
Corbin put an arm around her, smiling.
Morgan exchanged glances with Lucas, who sat on Corbin’s other side, and rolled her eyes as she turned forward in the passenger seat.
“So, how’d you all enjoy the party?” Kellen asked as he merged onto the freeway.
“It was… something else,” Lucas offered.
Kellen gave a short laugh. “It’s a little overwhelming, I imagine. I mean, we’re all so used to it—and we’re so not used to Naturals. It’s hard to know exactly how to interact with you.”
Corbin sighed. “I’m pretty beat. I mean, it’s a lot of work, tuning out all the noise, you know? All those people just… pressing at your mind. Tiring.”
“I wonder if that’s why Ris is so beat,” Lucas said.
“Maybe,” Corbin agreed. “I mean, maybe she was subconsciously aware of all that stuff and it wore her out? You think so, Kellen?”
Kellen shrugged. “Not sure. Can’t say I really know how the common deal with high-ability situations. I mean, they don’t usually come to our parties.”
Morgan didn’t feel the need to point out that the servers were all common. Nor did she think it important to mention what had happened between Kellen and Ris. Instead, she stared off into the sky, attention fixed on a particularly bright star.
Morgan and Ris were the first to be dropped off. Corbin got out of the car to help walk Ris to the door. Ris seemed awake enough to stay unsteadily upright, but Morgan was unsure whether her friend could have found her way to the front door unassisted.
Kellen called his goodbye from the car, but Lucas got out to walk with Morgan to the door. They followed a few steps behind Corbin and Ris.
“You okay?” Lucas asked.
Morgan glanced at him. “What d’you mean?”
Lucas shrugged. “Dunno. You just seem… distant, maybe?”
“Maybe I’m still all walled up from the party.”
Lucas didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. By that time, Corbin and Ris had made it to the front door. Corbin stood unsurely on the porch, waiting, presumably, for Morgan to take possession of Ris, to open the door, something.
Morgan obliged and went to the front door to unlock it. When she turned to relieve Corbin of Ris, she saw that he was holding her so that she faced him, looking down at her. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, but Ris twisted her face toward him just before his lips made contact and Morgan felt her stomach drop as she watched her best friend locked in a kiss with Corbin Starling.
Instinctively, Morgan looked over at Lucas. Lucas looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. He shifted awkwardly beside her.
When Corbin and Ris separated, Morgan swooped in to usher Ris toward the door. Ris smiled benignly over her shoulder at Corbin and even aimed a lazy wave in Lucas’s direction. Morgan helped Ris into the house and leaned her up against the wall before turning back to the guys.
Corbin looked a bit dazed, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Morgan turned to Lucas who took a step forward and put his arms around her in a clumsy hug. Morgan returned it unsurely. When the two parted, Lucas shrugged as if to say, Seemed like the thing to do.
Following suit, Corbin stepped into the spot Lucas had vacated and hugged Morgan, too. She had to admit, it was a good hug, and she felt herself conforming to the shape of his body before she caught herself. He’d just been kissing her best friend, after all.
Guiding Corbin away from her by his shoulders, Morgan offered a smile. “Goodnight, Corbin,” she said.
“’Night, Morgan,” he said absently.
Morgan nodded toward Lucas, who nodded back and offered a small half-wave as he turned toward Kellen’s car. Morgan turned and walked into her house, closing and locking the door behind her and draping Ris’s arm around her own shoulder as she led the way toward her bedroom.
“That was a good party,” Ris said dreamily.
Morgan jostled them into her room. “Yeah, the best,” she agreed flatly.