EP24

Nicol averted his gaze and nodded to Ross as he got to the table. Diana rose from her chair and held out her hand in greeting. Ross ignored him and amused Diana ignored the insult and sat down.

"This is Diana," Nicol said, "and Diana, this is Ross."

Ross sniffed the air and then frowned. "You're a gray. Not from around here."

"Yes." Diana asked, 'Are you going to do something about it?' she wanted to add. But this was not the time to act macho.

Ross' gaze shifted from Diana to Nicol and then to Alfred and Bella. She rested her hands on her hips. "Dude, that's him, huh?"

"Yes, as you can see Alfred got to him first."

Diana finished her water when Bella sat down at the table with Alfred again.

"Are you going to ask him to dance?" Ross asked Nicol.

Nicol rubbed his neck. "And you're going to start a fight? Alfred, you know none of us will let us near him while he's around."