Thomas squeezed his knee. “I was thinking. What if I pay this guy –”
“No.”
“Scott.”
“I don’t want your money, Thomas. I’ve…I’ve got a plan, and I’m sticking to it. Please let me do this alone; it’s my mess, not yours.”
“But –”
“No, Thomas.” Scott stroked Thomas’s hand still on his knee. “These are badass by the way.”
Thomas snorted, flicking his gaze down to his nails. “I’m terrified I’m going to break one.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with my grumpy ex-cellmate?”
Thomas released Scott’s knee. “We need to get back. Jay gave me explicit instructions to let the banana and chocolate chip crumble thaw on the side, not whack it in the microwave on defrost.”
Scott gasped. “Banana and chocolate crumble?” He rubbed his hands together. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
The next morning, Scott stepped into the kitchen and caught Carly and Jay admiring Thomas’s nails as he showed them off with a big grin on his face. His grin faded when he spotted Scott in the doorway.
“Don’t stop on my account…”
Thomas rolled his eye, then got out the cereal boxes for breakfast.
“You finally met Susan,” Carly said.
Scott frowned. “How did you…oh, the group chat.”
“The group chat,” Jay agreed.
“I didn’t meet her. I think she flew over me in a rage.”
Carly looked at him. “And how is your rear end?”
“My what?”
“Your arse,” Thomas said. “The balloons.”
“Oh…” Scott laughed awkwardly. “Of course you know about that too. It’s fine, thanks for asking.”
“I brought some nappy cream with me in case,” Janice said.
“Nappy cream…”
“I used to smother it all over my kids’ arses when they were little.”
Thomas wrinkled his brow. “Not what I want to be hearing at the table.”
“Thank you,” Scott said. “But that won’t be necessary.”
Jay turned away from the stove. “And what about your short trip into insanity?”
Scott froze and shot a questioning look Thomas’s way.
Thomas smirked. “He’s talking about you with the balloons. Janice told them all about it.”
“Oh, right… I’m feeling much better now.”
