Shane and Ian turned to Hollie and stopped sulking right away. Their handsome faces split into warm smiles and they chorused delightedly, “Hi Hollie! It’s great to finally meet you.”
“So...how long have you and Kyle been mated?” Ian asked as he fell into step beside her.
“Ian!” Kyle barked. “Stop it.”
“What? What did I do?” Ian asked, looking perfectly innocent.
“Stop interrogating Hollie,” Kyle said sternly.
“I was just making conversation,” Ian grumbled. “Since when have you become so touchy, Kyle?”
Kyle rolled his eyes as he unlocked his front door. He ushered Hollie into the house and called over his shoulder, “Are you guys coming in? Don’t forget the pizzas.”
“You mean the pizza boxes,” Shane shot back. “We finished the pizzas while we were waiting for you.”
“Nah, he’s kidding,” Ian said as he trooped into the house. “We only finished two pizzas. There are seven more.”
Shane and Ian placed the stack of pizza boxes on the dining table and shouted to Kyle to get them some beer from the fridge.
Kyle came out of the kitchen and tossed a can of beer each to his friends. “What would you like?” he asked Hollie. “Beer? Juice? Tea?”
“Orange juice, please,” she answered.
Shane and Ian were already helping themselves to the pizzas. “Eat,” Shane told Hollie. “Dig in. Just grab a slice.”
Kyle grinned at her. “Don’t mind their table manners. They eat like savages.”
“We do not,” Ian huffed as he chomped noisily on his third slice of pizza. “We just eat like bears.”
“They’re bear shifters,” Kyle said to Hollie.
“Like you,” she said, breaking into a grin.
Kyle sat down beside Hollie, and placed two slices of pizza on a plate for her. As she ate, she listened to the rowdy banter between Kyle and his buddies, and Kyle saw her chuckle and giggle at their jokes. She relaxed visibly and even joined in with a few jokes and quips of her own.
Once Hollie started eating, Kyle noticed that she ate at an unnaturally fast pace. She gobbled down her food, and swallowed even before she finished chewing.
Shane and Ian were also watching Hollie in surprise and wonder. When Hollie finished her juice in one gulp and put down her glass, Ian let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s...amazing.”
Hollie looked up at Ian and frowned. “What’s amazing?”
Kyle shot his friends a warning look but Ian was already babbling enthusiastically, “You! You eat really fast. I consider myself a fast eater, but you beat me hands down! You are an amazing eater!”
Hollie stared at Ian and the silence stretched. She opened her mouth and closed it, unable to get the words out.
Finally, she winced and said very softly, “I always finish my food as fast as I can. I don’t know when someone will walk by and yank my plate away, or order me to get up and do some chores before I’ve finished my meal. I can’t afford to go hungry. If I don’t have enough energy and I’m sluggish or slow, I’ll be punished. Eating fast is a necessity.” She tried to laugh. “But I guess it’s become a habit.”
Ian yelped suddenly and rubbed his leg. “Did you just kick me under the table?” He glared at Shane.
“You and your big mouth,” Shane growled at him.
“How was I to know?” Ian said. He looked up at Hollie and said, “I’m sorry, Hollie. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything. I meant it as a compliment. I didn’t realize...”
“It’s okay,” Hollie said. “I do eat really fast, and I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
Ian brightened up. “Hey, there’s a hot dog eating contest coming up,” he said. “Maybe we can form a team!”
Before Hollie can answer, Ian jumped up and yelled, “If you kick me one more time, Shane...”
When Shane smirked at him, Ian pounced on him and tackled him to the floor.
As his two friends rolled and wrestled their way to the living room, Kyle simply turned back to the food and said nonchalantly, “Don’t mind them. They do this all the time. Let’s finish the rest of the pizza. No point letting all this food go to waste.”