Chapter 8 - Coffee

Iris POV

The whole week I have been busy catching up with things around the Penthouse, and around the University. Archer didn´t call me immediately, although he texted me a couple of days later.

Ha has been a sweetheart the whole time. Every morning he sends a good morning message, and he asks me out. I have been super busy with getting all the materials I will be needing for my classes, so I have been postponing going out with Archer. Art is a very expensive major, I must buy all kinds of paper, canvas, colors, paint, brushes, and so on and so forth… There are a lot of techniques I don´t know about and I am super excited to learn.

Next Monday classes start, and I want to be ready. I had to rearrange the office in the Penthouse and turn it into a studio. Thankfully, it has a great view and great light, so it was the ideal place to have my small workshop.

I was finishing with the place when my phone vibrated inside the back pocket of my jeans.

Archer: Hey gorgeous, I hope that today you find some time for your Fae fan…

Can he be cuter? He is such a charmer. I guess when I met him the off vibes he gave me were more due to my nerves than to his own personality.

Me: I am done getting everything ready for Monday,

Archer: Good, would you want to join me for a cup of coffee and dessert?

He was asking me out, again. He has asked me to the movies, dinner, and so many more romantic outings, but I have refused because, one, I have been very busy and two, I am just arriving, and I am not looking for anything romantic.

Me: That sounds awesome… Meet me in 20 minutes, at the coffee shop two blocks away from Central U… I will send you the location…

I pushed to send the message and then I sent him the location of the small coffee shop close to home. I made my way to my room and changed into something a bit dressier. I was wearing ripped jeans and an oversized t-shirt and changed my t-shirt to a ruffled loose blouse.

I made my way downstairs and Aisling; Darius and Vicky were talking in the kitchen. “Going out?” Aisling asked,

“Yeap, to the coffee shop…” I said vaguely.

“Alone?” Darius looked at his glass of coke.

“No, Archer invited me…” I said in a truthful voice.

“Iris, they are not good company, take my word for it…” Darius said in a concerned voice, but I was sick of them pretending to be the good ones here, when they didn´t falter when it came to hurt me all those years ago.

“I rather form my own opinion on people… thank you…” I said in an annoyed voice.

“Iris, Darius has told me the kind of things they have done, and I am on this with him… You should stay away from him…” Vicky said,

“Look Darius, I respect and tolerate you, because Vicky is my best friend… but if it was not for her, I would never have thought about forgiving what you did to me. You will be on the same boat as the other four fools… so don´t stretch my patience…” I said and took my keys in my hand.

“I will be back to go out…” I said to Aisling and Vicky. Tonight is the party that Tomas invited me to, and I intend on showing up to my first-ever college party.

“Sure, babe… just keep your location shared…” Aisling pressed, and I knew that she was a shy creature, and a super careful one, if I may say, she was always watching over everyone.

“There…” I said, sending her my live location.

“Enjoy your coffee…” She said to me, and I waved happily.

It was so annoying that Darius was in our place all the time. I get it he needs to be close to his mate, and I accepted that when we moved in together, but the fact that he is sticking his nose in my s**t, is annoying, and now he is filling Vicky´s head with his shitty rivalry.

Yes, Archer has told me that he, his brothers, and his friends don´t get along with Matei´s group. They have a deep-running rivalry. He told me about it because he wants to be friends with me despite that rivalry and Matei being part of my family.

Somehow, thinking about Matei hurts so much that I would rather bury that pain and all those feelings deep down. I haven´t seen him around, maybe our schedules are not compatible. And I am thankful for that because I don´t feel ready to deal with all these old feelings, with the new ones and the ones in between.

I made my way to the coffee shop and inside the place was Archer and when I looked around at a table, there were two exact replicas of Archer. I guess his brothers decided to tag along.

“Iris, beautiful…” Archer greeted me and holding my hand he gave it a peck. What a gentleman.

“What do you want to order?” He asked me and I took a minute to look at the menu.

“Can I get a cookies and cream Frappuccino and a strawberry cheesecake?” I bit my lip and reached for my purse to give him money to pay for my order.

I took the money out and he gave me an offended look. “Beautiful, it´s on me…” He winked and then placed the order.

Aside from my request, he ordered one expresso, one latte and another Frappuccino… he also added a turkey ham baguette, a chocolate donut and a cranberry muffin.

The cashier handed him the ticket and a number. “Come, my brothers, wanted to meet you… I hope you don´t mind me bringing them here without prior notice…” He spoke.

How did I feel about it? I don’t know, they are complete strangers to me, and somehow, around them, I felt overwhelmed. I decided to shove those feelings down. After all, we were in a public place, and nothing would happen to me there.

“Iris, these are my brothers, Alvar and Aeon…” He pointed out two guys that looked exactly like Archer. All three were mesmerizing blondes with deep multicolored blue eyes. All three had pointy ears, and exuded power. The only apparent difference was that Archer had his hair long down his shoulders, Alvar had it razor short on one side, like a Mohican. And Aeon had his hair also long but shorter than Archer, just barely reaching his jawline. I noticed that Alvar also had several tattoos on his forearms.

“Nice to meet you guys…” I gave them my best smile, while Archer opened a chair for me to sit.

“So, Iris…What is it about you that has our brother smitten?” Alvar asked in a serious voice, making me panic… What do you truly answer to such a question?

Aeon laughed, “You should have seen your face, Iris… relax, this i***t likes to tease people like that…” He swatted his hand across Alvar´s shoulder, while Archer gave me a side smirk.

“Well, you should ask him that one… because I am nothing special… He has better options at Student Services…” I replied and they laughed,

“Burned brother… She saw right through you…” Aeon laughed, while I lifted my eyebrows in a teasing way.

“Oh, was that supposed to be a subtle strategy?” I asked and they all burst out laughing.

“You are funny…” Alvar said in a pleasant manner. I have no idea why Matei and the others hate them so much. They are funny, confident, smart, and such dorks, so much so that I find them almost endearing. I guess everything looks according to the crystal you look through… Matei and his friends are complete assholes, and certainly, they believe every other guy is the same.

“So, tell us, Iris… Why are you attending university now?” Alvar asked,

“Well, you know how parents can be… Dominic, my brother is training to take over the Demon realm in the future, and as usual, us poor girls get overlooked by the reduced vision of male authority…” I said and Alvar´s eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

“So, it took you two years to convince them to let you come?” Archer asked,

“No… of course not… at first, I was fine with just basic training, but then I got bored and applied to Central U… I felt caged at home, and when I got admitted to the Art courses, that´s when the real fun began…” I laughed at the memory of the endless tantrums and the endless discussions with my mother prior to coming here.

“Oh, so you are a rebel…” Aeon pointed out, making me laugh.

“Yes, I am the Tyen Rebel… for sure…” I took a sip of my Frappuccino.

“And your brother?” Alvar asked,

“Dom is training with Uncle Max… I talk to him regularly, he is my best friend, but he is rarely my partner in crime… He is too good for his own good…” I chuckled, remembering my dear brother. He is handsome as hell, he got buff with all the training. He knows laws, political strategy, war strategy, and diplomacy. He is a freaking war machine, and he is still perfecting ways to painfully kill enemies…

If he was not my brother, I would be completely terrified of him, but I know his heart, and he is a lovable guy, a soft teddy bear under that hard exterior. I would never admit that in public, though.

“I have heard that he is deadly…” Alvar said,

“Yeah, he is… if you step on his toes for sure…” I said and grabbed a fork full of pie.

What about you? What do you enjoy doing?” I asked them.

“We love to party and hang around. Our parents have several companies and each of us helps them… We work hard and party harder…” Aeon said, and I nodded.

“And what else can you tell me about you? Alvar?” I looked at him and he swallowed hard a lump in his throat.

“I like the same things as my brothers…” He said plainly, and I could tell he didn´t feel comfortable speaking about himself.

“I see… you are the shy one…” I said and he gave me a side smirk.

“What do you mean?” Aeon asked, curious about my comment.

“Well, multiples are like a boyband… for example, me and Dom… He is the good one and I am the rebel… you are triplets, so you must have a smart one… a heartthrob, and a shy one…” I said, pointing at Aeon, Archer, and finally at Alvar.

Aeon laughed, “You got that right…” and the other threw napkins at him.

I finished my coffee and checked the time. “Guys, this was nice, but I am afraid I have to go…” I said, standing up, and they all did a rundown through my body. I won´t deny it, it was uncomfortable as hell, especially when Alvar stopped a minute too long on my boobs.

“It was nice to meet you guys… see you around…” I said and turned around and left. I wanted to get back home to get ready, but Archer caught up to me.

“Iris, why the rush?” He said, almost panting,

“Oh, I have a thing with my friends later… don´t get me wrong… but it is a girl thing…” I said in a polite way, and he nodded.

“Well, beautiful…” He kissed my hand, “I had a great time…” He said and with that he turned around. I stood there frozen in place. Should I invite him to come to the party? Or should I go with the girls?

I was tempted to go for the first option, but in the end, I decided on the latter. After all, I was just starting to feel and taste my freedom, to tie myself to the first guy that looked my way…

I got back home, and Vicky was in the living room with Darius… “You have just one hour…” She said to me, and I nodded. One hour is plenty of time to get ready for the party…

“Vicky, one hour is enough… just remember… I was born ready!” I said to her and sprinted up to my room, hearing their laughter on the living room.