Gage drops his head, shuffling his feet to sit beside Leo. He slides onto the stool, head still down. “He won’t make me Mickey Mouse pancakes, Baby.”
“Aww,” Leo answers, still chuckling. “You poor thing.”
I see Zane slightly stiffen when Gage calls Leo baby, but he doesn’t comment or turn around. He has to know about them. Does he know about Ryder and me?
I hear Les’ laugh spill down the hallway before she rounds the corner, Dex by her side. The first things I notice are the light way she’s walking, her smile, she has on shorts and one of her tighter t-shirts. I turn to Leo and Gage, and they notice the same thing, surprise all over their faces. When she gets closer, we try to school our features, so she doesn’t think we noticed. It might not be a big deal to some, but Les in anything other than baggy clothes or our clothes ishuge.
Dex slides onto the stool beside me while Les drops a kiss on each of our lips. She walks over to the stove where Zane is and tucks herself into his side. He drops an arm over her shoulders, leaning down and kissing her lips slowly. I search everything in me, and Idon’t find any jealousy that I thought I would the first time I saw them together. All I feel is relief. She seems to be letting herself want what she wants instead of fighting it.
“That’s bullshit,” Gage says after they split apart, Zane’s arm still over her shoulders. “I get pushed away, and she gets a kiss.”
Les turns to look at him. “You want a kiss from Zane, Gage?”
“Yes,” Gage pouts back.
Zane snorts. “Not happening, crazy boy.”
“Wow. You’re just trying to rip my fucking heart out today, aren’t you?” Gage replies, wiping a fake tear from his cheek.
Les slides onto the stool beside Gage with a chuckle. “What?”
Gage pulls her into him. “He’s being mean, Pretty girl.”
“He’s cooking you breakfast. How is that mean?” she asks with a laugh.
Gage huffs. “He just called me crazy.”
Leo barks a laugh. “You are fucking crazy, Gage.”
Gage’s head whips to Leo, then he laughs. “Fair point.”
Zane plates up pancakes sitting them in front of everyone but Gage. Zane slides more onto a plate, slapping it in front of Gage. And the very top one is…Mickey Mouse.
“No fucking way!” Les cries, laughing so hard she almost falls off her stool.
“Don’t say I never gave you anything,” Zane says before grabbing his plate and sitting beside Les.
Gage turns big eyes on Leo. “Baby, he made me Mickey Mouse.” Leo doesn’t answer because he’s laughing as hard as the rest of us. Gage turns to Les. “Mickey Mouse, Pretty girl. He made me Mickey Mouse.”
“Yes,” she answers, wiping tears from her cheeks. “He did.”
Gage jumps up from the stool, going toward Zane with his arms out like he’s going to hug him. “If you touch me, I will fucking stab you in the eye,” Zane threatens, holding his fork up as a weapon.
“Aww, come on,” Les says, bumping her shoulder into Zane’s. “Just one.”
Zane glares at Les. “No.”
Gage flops back down, looking at his pancake. “Now, I don’t want to cut him.”
“Oh my God,” Les laughs, stabbing the pancake with her fork. “There, I killed him for you.”
“You’re a monster,” Gage declares, pouring syrup. “A real fucking monster.”
Les just giggles, shoving a bite of pancake into her mouth.
The day Les went missing, and Gage got shot was the worst day of my life. Even being held in captivity for four years didn’t compare to the thought of losing either one of them. Now they’re sitting here, laughing and joking.
I look at Les again to ensure I’m not imagining things. The shadows that clouded her eyes are gone, leaving them that vivid blue that I love.
