Damian sighs, then pats her head."You may leave now."
She leans back, wipes her hand across her lips, "B…but…"
"That was excellent for a one-off," he informs her, "but my friends are waiting, and bros before hos, and all that."
He jerks his chin, and she rises to her feet.
"You…you’ll call when you feel the need?"
"No promises, babe.You knew what you were getting into when you volunteered your services in the first place."
"Can I at least get a selfie?"she whines
"You know the rules; no pictures allowed in here."He raises a finger and points it to the door, "Off you go, now."
She looks like she is about to protest, then pivots and marches to the door.
"Since when did we decide no pictures in the dressing room?"I scowl as the door snicks shut behind her.
"Since I’ve had a stalker showing up on my social media sites making threats."
"Bro, you’ve arrived."Saint shakes his head, "To think, people actually pay to hear you yowl."
"Most likely, it's some girl you treated like shit," I mutter.
Saint snorts.
Damian glowers.
"I’ll make you yowl, you mofo."Damian closes his pants.He springs up, heads in Saint’s direction, when Sinner steps between them.
"Let’s cut the shit and get out of here."He holds up a paper envelope, then glances around the room."These here are the winnings from the fine fight that you gentleman put up today.What say we go and blow some of this on a slap-up meal?"
The next day we meet at lunch time at one of our favorite pubs.It's on the outskirts of the city, not far from Saint's uncle's urban farm, where we had stopped off first to help out with the horses.The pub itself is buzzing, this time of the day.Like many British pubs, this one has transformed itself into a bit of a gastro-pub, complete with a chef who cooks really well.It attracts both noobs like me and the Seven, as well as families who stop off the highway, in search of a decent meal.
I pile my plate with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a well-done burger, and waffles on top, because, yeah, I’m not hungry at all.My stomach rumbles, and I pick up my knife and fork.I tear into the waffle, while Edward eyes my portions."I don’t think you have enough on that plate."
"Hmm."I chew on my food, swallow it, then glance around the table.Stick my fork into a potato and place it on top of the pile."There, that’s better, isn’t it?"
Edward grimaces, turns back to his plate.I take in the roast duck on his plate."That’s all you are having?"
"Nope."He cuts into his food, swallows a mouthful, "I am just not eating everything, all at the same time."
I stare down at my plate, then at his again, "You may have a point… Not."I smirk, "Why wait, when you can have everything at the same time?"
"Why try to sample everything all at once, when you can take your time and savor the taste of each mouthful?"
"And there you have it, ladies," Saint drawls, "the difference between the two of you."
"Which is?"I scowl.
"Yeah, enlighten us, oh wise soul," Edward scoffs.
"Speaks for itself, doesn’t it?"He glances at my plate, "Our man Baron, here, clearly, prefers to cram as much as he can into the moment.While Ed—" He turns to Edward’s plate, "He errs on the side of caution.Likes to take his time to savor what he has."He stares between us, "In a sense, you guys are two sides of the same coin."
"How so?"I frown.
"You make sure you never lose an opportunity; you make the most of everything you can get your hands on in the moment, while, Ed," he jerks his chin in Ed’s direction, "he relishes whatever is in front of him.So, both of you, in a sense, want to live in the present.You both want to take hold of everything in front of you and make sure you indulge yourself.You both want to let go of the past; you both don’t want to worry about the future.Ergo, you like to be in the moment… Which is the toughest thing anyone can do, and yet, both of you make it look so easy."He laughs."Not."Saint lays down his fork, "Any of you guys fancy another round of beer?"
