“Gabe,” I called.
He said nothing.
“Gabe!” I shouted.
He was out the door.
“Goddammit, he’s done it to me again,” I snapped at the cupcakes.
I just love that guy, Dreamer dreamed.
He’s a pain in our ass, Logic griped.
I stabbed my stamp on the tops of the cupcake boxes, boxed them and was dealing with the ribbon when Gabe returned.
Okay, just let him do this. You’re no less tired than you were last night, Logic stated. You’ve had a weird day. You’re worried about Mr. Shithead. You have a busy day tomorrow. Deliver these, demand he takes you home, and if doesn’t, just call a Lyft when you can.
Or you could go out to dinner with him, Dreamer suggested. Just, you know, get to know him better.
That’s not happening, Logic decided.
Why not? Dreamer demanded.
Because it’s not smart, safe or protective, Logic pointed out.
How boring is all of that? Dreamer asked.
Smart, safe and protective isn’t boring, it’s smart, safe and PROTECTIVE, Logic retorted.
It’s BORING, Dreamer returned.
“Good. You grab that one and we’ll go,” Gabe said, seeing as, while two of my treble personalities were having a discussion, I’d paid attention to them while I fashioned the ribbons around the cupcake boxes rather than doing what I should have been doing—paying attention to Gabe—and now he’d commandeered another box and was again out the door.
Thanks, guys, I entered the conversation. You walked me right into that one.
You’re welcome, Dreamer replied.
Argh!
I nabbed my bag, my phone, shoved my phone in my bag and then grabbed the box and headed out, juggling the box while I locked up.
“Hey, Will,” I heard called from the pool area to see Jacob was grilling, and his fiancée, Alexis, was keeping him company.
It was her calling a greeting.
“Hey!” I replied.
“We need to talk about our wedding cake,” she yelled. “You have time this weekend?”
That was going to be my present to them since some shit had gone down with Alexis’s dad after the engagement announcement. He’d put his foot down about not paying for the wedding because he didn’t approve of his daughter’s choice for a groom.
Since Alexis was a ballerina, not a badass, it took some strength and a lot of emotion, but she found it and told her father to go jump in a lake. She then decreed they were going to pay for it themselves.
It was a drama, it was sad, and it caused Martha to rant and rave for at least a full month to anyone who would listen, because everyone knew, those two were perfect together.
From what I could tell, it sounded like Alexis’s dad just was not at one with letting his baby girl go, when she might always be his baby girl, but she wasn’t actually a baby girl anymore.
To say nothing of the fact that Jacob was awesome. He was a member of the Hottie Squad at NI&S. Great job (if, perhaps, sometimes dangerous). As far as I could tell, fantastic pay, benefits and work environment. And he made it no secret he worshiped the ground Alexis walked on.
