Crossover: Franchise Mtg. (4 page)

The two males didn’t wait. Each wrapped a fisted hand around the other and clasped each other in a fierce, strong hug. There was no holding or lingering like the first hug, but it was obvious the two were happy to see each other. As they separated, the grey eyed one held up a hand towards the chef. He said, “Sorry. Proceed. We’ll sit and be quiet.”

The girl snorted. “Speak for yourself, Lanser. I’m giddy as fuck. I want a drink.”

From the table, a guy whispered, “That girl’s my soul mate.”

“Shut up, Logan. She’s taken,” someone hissed from beside him, and Logan grunted a second later.

All three of them, Jace, the girl, and her boyfriend, shared a grin. Jace nodded again to the chef before they started towards their chairs. As they did, a staff member, also wearing a red apron with no shirt underneath, appeared where they’d been sitting with another chair. Another staff member brought over a new table setting and piece of cake.

The chef cleared her throat again. “Okay.” She sighed, pressing a hand to her stomach before wiping at one of her own tears. “I’m still weepy from the toast. Thank you, Carter.” She smiled at the far end of the table. The guy lifted his glass again before taking a sip. The chef laughed and wiped at more of her tears. “Okay. I need to remember what I’d been about to say. Oh!” Her head lifted. Her shoulders rolled back, and she clasped her hands together. “That’s right. Cake. You all have cake, right?”

Someone asked, “I already ate mine. Can I get a second piece?”

A staff member hurriedly brought another plate for the person.

The chef let out a breath. “Okay. I asked all of you guys here because you’re all a member of a franchise.”

“Yeah,” Logan added. “This Tij-person we keep hearing about in those damn interviews. Can we not do so many interviews?”

“Logan!”

“What? I get hit on all the time, and those interviews make me horny as fuck.” As he said, “fuck,” he sent a wink to the girl who had announced she was giddy as fuck.

“Oh god,” the girl muttered.

“Okay.” The chef lifted a hand, calling for attention again. She shook her head and grinned. When people quieted down again, the chef rolled her eyes and pressed a hand to her eyebrow. “Yes. The franchise. You guys are all a part of it, and I wanted to bring everyone together to announce that we have new members joining the family.”

“Hell yeah.” A fist was pumped into the air.

The chef continued, “So, here’s the cake. Here’s your wine.” She held her glass back up. “And here’s to new family members.”

“Wait. Who are they?”

“What?”

“Who are they?” Logan asked.

The giddy as fuck girl asked, “What? Have you deemed yourself the spokesperson for everyone? I doubt she’s done talking. Let her finish.”

Logan flashed her a cocky grin. “Simmer down, giddy-as-fuck girl. I want to know who everyone is.”

“No, no.” The chef raised her hand again. “He’s right. We should do introductions. Maybe everyone can go around the table. Introduce yourself and what franchise you’re from.” She looked to the couple right beside her and said, “Jonah, you start?”

“Oh sure.” A guy with a twinkle in his eyes and a strong jaw lifted a hand. “Jonah Barron, me and Dani here are from the Home Torn franchise.” The girl next to him, who he had his arm around, lifted her hand. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled around the table. Then she reached for his hand, interlaced their fingers, and pulled it down, anchoring it around herself as she burrowed closer against his side.

The introductions went from there. Mason, Logan, and Sam from Fallen Crest. Logan interjected that they had another friend coming, but she was late. Samantha explained that their friend had to finish a shift at her father’s bar. The group beside them seemed to know them. A relaxed sense of familiarity resonated from the two groups. They were Jesse Hunt and Alexandra from the Broken and Screwed franchise. Another guy was with them, Cord, and he wouldn’t let the guy beside him talk. Cord explained the guy’s name was Jamie and he’d be an ass so he purposely leaned around him and addressed the next group, saying, “Please go on and skip this guy.

They did. It was Sheldon, Bryce, and Corrigan from the Jaded franchise. Corrigan pointed to the guy beside him and announced, “He’s famous. Denton Steele. I’m sure you all know his movies.”

“Ooh.”

A guy frowned and said, “Isn’t he the next Batman?”

“No, Spiderman.”

“Oh, but I like the guy they had playing him for the last one.”

Denton winked at who had said that. “I’ll do my best, but the contract isn’t signed. There’s a new blockbuster on the table. My agent is hoping to sign me with them.”

“Okay.” The chef pointed to the next group. “Keep going with the introductions.”

“Yo. Hi.” A hand shot up. “I’m Brady and this is my girlfriend, Rayna.”

Logan whispered, “She’s adorable. I’d like to eat her up.”

The Brady guy scowled at him. “Try it and you’ll get a fist in your face, buddy.”

Logan laughed. “I like him.”

Rayna blinked rapidly, confused, but shook her head. “I’m Rayna. My grandma might be coming later. She said something about—”

The chef cleared her throat, drawing attention back to her end of the table. “Actually, your grandma is here.”

“She is?”

The chef nodded and gestured over her shoulder. “She’s in the kitchen. She refuses to leave and insists on making her own special brand of brownies.”

One of the staff piped in, readjusting his apron to cover his pectoral, “She got into the rum.”

Rayna groaned. “That sounds like my grandma. She’s going to be singing ‘Put The Lime In The Coconut’ pretty soon.”

Someone murmured, “That’s awesome. I want to meet that grandma.”

Rayna said to them, “You will. I’m sure she’ll try and have everyone do karaoke later on, but anyways.” She turned to her left. “You’re next.”

The woman gave her a tender smile. “I’m Emma. This is Carter. We’re from the Carter Reed franchise.”

“That’s the mafia franchise,” someone whispered.

Carter laughed, but said, “Former mafia. We’ve gone our separate ways. Emma’s safety is my only priority.”

A snicker came next. “That’s not what I’ve read from Carter Reed Two.”

“What’d you hear?” An excited gasp.

“Shit goes down. That’s what I’ve heard.”

Carter cleared his throat. It was quiet, but it struck a chord through the table. Everyone quieted and looked back to him. He narrowed his eyes, a lethal aura emanating from him, sending small shockwaves over the group.

Someone whispered, “He won’t kill any of us. Hello. We’re in the same franchise.”

“Still,” their companion murmured, “I’m kinda turned on and scared at the same time.”

“He’s hot. That’s for sure.”

Carter shook his head, an amused grin lingering over his features. He looked to his left and inclined his head. “I believe you’re on the other side of the law.”

Jace laughed. “Yep, but don’t worry. I’ve had a past with organized crime.”

Taryn said next to Jace, “Yeah, he killed that motherfucker. He had it coming.”

Jace gave her a pointed look and her eyes widened immediately. As her cheeks flushed, she said to Carter, “Not that he’d do that to you. I mean, not that I’m calling all crime lords motherfuckers. I mean, you seem like a nice guy.” She cocked her head to the side, frowning slightly. “Well, you’re not. I mean, it’s obvious you know how to use a gun, but okay.” She ducked her head down. “I’m shutting up. Just saying that I think you seem like the type who’d be friends with Jace, you know, if you weren’t on opposite sides of the law.” A nervous laugh came from her. “Shutting up, for real now.”

Jace shook his head and met the gaze of the guy who sat on Taryn’s other side. Jace said, “Tray, will you save all of us and continue the introductions.”

“Yes, please. Do that.” Taryn let out another embarrassed laugh.

Tray shook his head but grinned at Taryn, whose head was still down looking at her lap. He rested his arm on the back of her chair and addressed the group, “I’m Tray Evans. This here,” he patted Taryn’s head, “is Taryn, my girlfriend. The three of us, Taryn, Jace, and I, are all from the A Whole New Crowd franchise.”

He turned to the next group.

Everyone quieted. It was the paranormal group.

The giant remained quiet, turning to their leader. The woman with red hair beside him sneered at everyone around the table. The male warrior beside her leaned forward, ready to speak, but frowned at the last minute and glanced to the girl on his left side. It was the college student that everyone knew wasn’t merely a college student. He asked, quietly, “Do you want to do the introductions?”

She started to shrug, but her shoulder dropped, and she murmured, “Sure. I guess?”

The two had an equal camaraderie. They were both the leaders. This was pronounced to the group from their small exchange. As the college student leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, the male warrior sat back. He rested his hand on the back of her chair, providing a silent display of support. He continued to watch her with a possessiveness in his gaze. He was claiming her, letting everyone know she was his. Her hand fell to his leg under the table, communicating that he was hers too.

Then she said, “Uh, I’m Davy. We’re, I guess, we’re the Davy Harwood franchise. We’re not finished, though. There’s another installment to our team. It’s coming next year, but I guess a lot of you have the same thing, huh?” Her gaze trailed around the table. She laughed to herself. “Yeah. I’m babbling. Okay. Yes. Um, someone said we’re the paranormal franchise, and yes, we are. Vampire, vampire, vampire.” She pointed to herself. “Not vampire, but not just a human, obviously.” Then she pointed to the guy wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. “He’s a vampire too. His name is Gavin.” She gestured to her right. “This is Roane. Wren is on his other side, and Gregory is the big guy. He’s ferocious but gentle, just don’t piss any of them off. Especially her,” she said, pointing to the red-haired woman. “Wren enjoys killing people, so if you see her, just go the other way.”

Wren hissed at her. “Roane is my leader. Not you. You don’t speak for me, human.”

Davy laughed at her, unfazed by the threat. “Oh, Wren, you’re so annoying. Yeah.” Davy pointed at her own head. “Do you really want to speak to the part of me that’s not human, because trust me, she really doesn’t like you, and she’s been snappy lately.”

“Wren.” Roane shook his head. “Stop.”

The female vampire glowered, but jerked back in her seat. Her gaze turned straight ahead.

Davy said, “Like I was saying before, we’re the paranormal section. Hello. Nice meeting everyone.” She leaned around the vampire to her left and said to the person on his other side, “You can go, if you’d like.” She pointed to her face. “Insert smiley face here.”

“Uh, okay.” The guy flashed her a grin. He wore a ripped tee shirt, but it worked for him. His black hair was spiked up and his grey eyes twinkled back at her. He raised his hand from the table. “Hello, everyone. I guess we’re kinda new.” He gestured to himself, the guy next to him, the girl that was next, and another two who were talking to each other. “We’re the Sustain franchise. We’re a band. Well.” The guy at the end with green eyes straightened and the corner of his mouth lifted in a rueful grin. Luke amended, “Most of us are. That’s Elijah. He’s not.”

The green-eyed guy pulled his sweatshirt up and leaned back. He seemed cocky, laid back, and dangerous all rolled into one package. He held a hand up. “Hey all. Yeah. No band for me. I’m a drug dealer, but I dated that chick on Emerson’s other side.”

The girl sitting in the middle of the group frowned at him, biting down on her lip.

Elijah said further, “That’s Bri.” He pointed to the bald-headed guy between them. “This is Emerson, my best friend.”

Bri said, “My cousin who hates me.”

“Yeah. He’s her cousin, and he hates her.”

“My cousin too, Eli.” The guy who sat between Luke and Bri chuckled. “But he loves me.”

The bald-headed guy, who had been scowling at Bri, chuckled. He nodded. “Yep. It’s true. I love Braden.” He told the rest of the table, “Bri and Braden are twins. And even though she was screwing my best friend for three years, she’s head over heels for Luke. They’re both nuts. All of them are wacko.”

“Shut up, Emerson,” Bri snapped. Her head jerked back up, and she glared at her cousin. As she spoke, her hand reached for her fork. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped it hard. “I swear, if you don’t stop spewing your hatred, I’m going to stop you myself.”

“Oh yeah?” he taunted her. “How are you going to do that?”

It happened in a flash. Her eyes went flat. A deadly calm settled over her, and her hand bent, moving in a blink of an eye.

Her fork went straight for his face.

Her hand was caught.

Luke had lunged over Braden, and grabbed Bri’s hand, right before the fork would’ve stabbed her cousin.

For a moment, everyone was silent as they realized what almost happened. Emerson blinked a few times, seeing the fork right in front of him, then he stumbled backwards and exclaimed, “Holy shit, Brielle!”