“Go get cleaned up. I’ll save some lasagna for you.”
“’Kay. Thanks, Bas.”
“No problem, sweetie.” He left her to shower and dialed Marissa on his way back to the kitchen where the boys were dishing up. She answered on the third ring. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“Sure. Whatcha need?”
“I have a friend who is about your size and in need of clothes. Do you happen to have anything you’d be willing to donate? Just for a few days until I can get her to a store to buy her some stuff.”
“Sure. I can drop some stuff off in about a half an hour. I’m actually going to the mall with a couple girlfriends tomorrow. Your friend can come with, if she wants. We’ll stop at the thrift store first for ninety-nine cent Sunday deals. Bet we could find a lot of great pieces for her.” She paused for a minute. “I’m going out with Eddy tonight. He can’t know I’m stopping by your place.”
Bas frowned into the phone. “Hun, you know I’d never tell you what to do, but Eddy doesn’t deserve you.”
“He’s really not that bad. When it’s just the two of us, he’s so sweet. I think if he wasn’t around your dad so much, he wouldn’t be such a jerk to you. Maybe your mom should have gotten custody.”
Maybe, maybe not. Eddy had always been the odd, quiet kid who got angry at nothing very quickly. Their dad’s temper, yes. But there was no reason he couldn’t try for self-control. And their mom wasn’t going to win any parenting awards anytime soon, either.
“If you stop by, you’ll get some of the Corbins’ famous lasagna. Ru made it.” Bas changed the subject, not wanting to talk about his brother.
“Sounds like heaven. I may grab a bite or two. See you soon.”
“Laters, sweets.” Bas let her go and headed to the kitchen. The guys were all at the counter chowing on heaping helpings of lasagna. Well, everyone except Dane. He had a tiny piece that he carefully cut into even smaller pieces before taking one little bite on his fork and touching it to the very tip of his tongue.
Bas watched Dane put the small piece in his mouth and chew slowly. A lot of expressions crossed Dane’s face, none of them good. No one else seemed to be looking at him, as Tommy had Ru engaged in a conversation about the upcoming European tour.
Since Tommy had dropped out of school, he wanted to be on backup again. Ru protested that he wanted his friend there for Adam, and Adam protested that he would be okay by himself for a few weeks since track season was in full swing. He wouldn’t be competing, but he had lots of people to run with, two half marathons, and one full marathon he’d be running with his dad. Plus the school paper, which was featuring stories about the soon-to-be graduating seniors weekly. Adam was going to be swamped.
Bas knew Dane wasn’t used to hot food, and though everything in the lasagna was easily identifiable, the mix of flavors would not be. He needed to eat more than that tiny bite of food. Bas went to the fridge and pulled out a bag of baby carrots, a head of broccoli, a couple apples, and the homemade peanut butter the Corbins made from ground-up peanuts. He set the items beside Dane as he took out a knife and cut the broccoli and apples, then spooned a helping of peanut butter into a separate bowl. He grabbed a bowl of hummus he’d made and added that to the spread before dishing himself up a large portion of the lasagna.
At first, Dane just nibbled at the vegetables, looking hesitant about the peanut butter, it wasn’t the same consistency as the prepackaged stuff he’d been eating, but when Bas spread the creamy concoction on an apple and stuffed it in his mouth, Dane reached for it. Bas did the same thing with the hummus, carrots, and broccoli. He’d have to buy more veggies if Dane was going to be hanging around. At least he was eating.
Bas devoured his slice of lasagna, finishing just as Marissa arrived. Tommy let her in. She had a bag of clothes, but stopped to exhale a deep sigh of bliss when she caught the smell of food.
“I wish my mom were a better cook,” she said. “I know Mrs. C does everything all natural, but gosh, it can’t be that hard to makesomethingnot from a box, right?”
Marissa looked nice, hair up, dress under a long, heavy coat, heels. He hoped she was careful, as the ice was several inches thick everywhere.
“Best way to get that sort of cooking is to learn to do it yourself,” Bas said. He had a handful of recipes he specialized in from the Corbins, and trying new things no longer daunted him. He reached for the bag, which Marissa handed over.
“Thanks so much.”
“No problem. I have plenty. Hope it helps your friend.”
“Let me introduce you to her. She could use a girlfriend.” Bas led Marissa from the kitchen to the room where Paige was staying. The shower was off. He knocked. She opened the door a moment later wrapped in the robe he’d left her.
“Paige this is Marissa, Marissa this is Paige.” He smiled at his friends. “I’ll let you two go over clothes and plans for tomorrow. Come to the kitchen to get food.” They waved him away like he was just an annoying blip in their girl time.
When Bas returned to the kitchen, it was to find that Dane had devoured all the hummus and more than half the peanut butter. All the veggies were gone, and he was finishing off the last apple. Adam and Ru were washing dishes, and there was still lasagna left for the girls. Bas had never felt so much like this place was home. He sat down beside Dane.
“Have you talked to Ru? Told him?”
“Not really.”
“Are you ready to tell him?” Bas asked Dane quietly. He wondered how much Dane would say. Would he tell Ru that he’d been in love with him? Bas squeezed Dane’s hand, proud that he no longer flinched at the mild touch. Those were decisions Dane could make for himself. It was a semblance of control at least.
“Yeah. I think it will be okay. If he doesn’t freak, is it okay if I stay the night here? I just feel like if I have to go back to rehab alone tonight, my head is not going to be in a good place.” He looked at his empty plates. “I ate a lot.”
“You needed to. Do you feel okay? Not overfull or anything?”
