IRONICALLY

All his friends were already gathered together, and he was the last one to arrive. They sat at a table beside a window, chatting softly, all turning when he entered the bar.

There were only a few other occupied tables in the room, and King breathed an air of relief. He didn’t feel particularly comfortable talking about how he was feeling in a room full of people.

He made his way to his friends and settled into the only available seat at the table. “I’m sorry, guys. Had a little delay with…work. What did I miss?”

They waved off his apology and mumbled greetings to him in response. All except Jay, who grunted and sipped beer from the bottle.

“Well, let’s see…” Blake replied, rubbing his jaw pensively in mock consideration. “Not much really. To be honest, there’s not really been a lot going on, so you can see we’ve been collectively enjoying a quiet drink.”

Articus smirked and shook his head. Callahan laughed, earning him a frown from Fannar. King looked from face to face, taking in the