Chapter Thirty-Nine
Friday night, Luke passed out in Cy's room with the dogs. Saturday morning, I was surprised in the kitchen by a puppy dragging around a pair of dirty underwear. Evidently, Sissy was settled in and comfortable. I managed to convince the puppy to give up her latest chew toy, but I was laughing when I returned them to Luke. The entire ass was missing, left in little scraps all over the floor of Cy's room.
So, that evening, we finally caved and decided to try crate training. Sissy was not a fan. She started howling at the top of her lungs, her little puppy voice pitched high enough to carry throughout the entire house. That was what convinced usallthat dinner at the Grill sounded like a great idea.
Berto invited Emily and Zeke, so we made a night of it. When I saw Cy walking down the hall in a very tight cyan shirt, I decided to put a little effort into how I looked. Then I saw Luke in my shirt, the one I'd left in his room that first time I'd snuck in there. Damn, that man looked good in designer clothing - or, well, anything, really.
When we showed up at the Grill, our herd made an impression. Like always, Violet walked in first. Cy, Luke, and I followed after, flanking her like bodyguards. We just couldn't help ourselves. Billy, Darnell, Cessily, Berto, Emily, and Zeke followed after. The only thing missing was Faith. It was weird to not have her right in the middle of things.
But once again, the size of our party meant a little shuffling of tables. This time, we didn't get the royalty treatment from Bev, but I had a feeling that she didn't work on the weekends. I also didn't blame her. The place was packed, and we got quite a few dirty looks for messing up the regular seating arrangement. I made sure that I left a big enough tip when we ordered food to make up for it.
Billy took the chair at the very end of the table. Violet claimed a spot beside Luke. I took a chair beside Cy. Darnell paired up with Cess, and Berto asked if Emily minded him sitting beside her. Zeke got stuck at the end of the table, directly across from Billy, but the boy sat there like he was a king presiding over things. He also had his eyeliner on extra thick today, which made his white-blonde hair look even paler than usual.
"So," he said, dropping his elbows onto the table. "Mom said there's one of those panty parties at Southwind this week. Does this mean I have to stay home?"
"Yes," Emily told him before any of us could answer. "And Faith can spend the night with you this time."
Darnell lifted his hand like a kid in class. "Can I hang with the kids? I don't want to get dragged into that panty shit either."
"Lots of cute, single women," Cessily pointed out.
Berto grunted at that. "Yeah, like he cares."
"What? He's still single," Cessily countered.
"I think it's more true that you're single," I told her. "Sorry, hun, but you aren't really fooling any of us. I mean, your attachment level is atrocious. I haven't even heard about your cat in a few months."
She waved that off. "He's staying with my partner. He also lost his nuts last month. See? This is a perfect relationship."
Zeke just looked over at Darnell. "You can definitely hang with us that night," the boy said sagely. "You just have to be ok with watching teen movies."
"I'm completely down with teen movies," Darnell promised. "They always have hot moms, you know." Then he grinned at Emily. "I'm babysitting!"
"He doesn't need a babysitter, Darnell," Emily said.
"Yes, I do," Zeke countered. "I mean, if it's Darnell, I do."
We were all laughing about that as our food came out. That caused a little bit of chaos as the staff tried to figure out who had ordered what. In calling out to claim something, it made the people around us look over. A few sneered or grumbled about us having fun, but not all. When the girl handed me my catfish, she leaned low, putting her mouth beside my ear.
"Is there an age limit for these lingerie parties?" she asked.
"No," I said, turning to look at her. "It's also not anything obscene. We're just discussing women's underwear and I happen to be the designer. The next one is at Southwind, if you want to come. Starts at six on Thursday afternoon. Gates will be open, so just show up."
The girl's face split into a grin. "Thanks! I heard about the last one. Bev has been bragging about the stuff she got."
"Open to anyone who wants to show up," I said loudly enough for the other two waitresses to hear. "Drinks, appetizers, and lots and lots of lingerie."
"I vote that we guys do beer and barbeque on the back porch," Berto said.
Cy just shook his head. "Nope, I want to see Ash in his element. I have a feeling he gets a little animated when he starts talking about color combinations and fabrics."
"He does," Violet said as the serving staff finished up and headed back toward the kitchen. "He also gets really cute when he talks about flattering figures and support."
Luke jerked his chin at Berto. "I'm down for beer and barbeque. Billy?"
"Don't really do that many people," Billy admitted, "so count me in. I also vote for scotch instead of beer."
"Then you need to pick some up," Violet said. "Gran's bottle is almost empty."
