She heard Shawn laugh and she gave him an elbow to his gut, turning that laugh into a cough. He backed off which was a good thing because she was suddenly face to chest with a very angry Marine.
"Who's this ass?"
Maile had to look up to make sure that that it was Axl speaking.
She wasn't sure if it was Shawn or Axl.
But giving the waves of grump rolling off of the large man in front of her she had a feeling it was Axl.
Narrowing her eyes at him she lifted a brow.
"What?" She heard the exaggerated T almost echoing in her ears.
Well, it might be off of the concrete walls of the baggage claim area.
Axl leaned in an inch or two. "The answer is 'Who'?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "No...Whatdid you say?"
She wasn't sure but she could swear that he was smiling... on the inside. Because on the outside?
He still looked like the angrysumbitchhe always was.
"I askedwho," he held out his arm and pointed over her shoulder, "is the ass?"
Maile didn't see Shawn, but she felt him step up beside her. "I'm herfriend."
The tone of his words meant to make Axl think that they were together. Like, boyfriend and girlfriendtogether.
She saw a shadow and knew that Shawn was about to put his arm around her shoulders again.
Before he could touch her, she shot out her arm and heard the hollow 'wuff' of sound as she felt the contact of her hand and Shawn's belly.
She ignored, at least she tried to ignore, the jarring pain of the side of her hand coming in contact with the man's abs.
Even with Axl's eyes boring into hers she turned her head and glared at her old soon-to-be-ex friend. "Don't you have instruments to pick up?"
Shawn wasn't quite doubled over, but he still managed half a smile. "I can get them in a minute. This guy," he lifted his chin at Axl, "looks like he's an ass."
She shook her head and used her hand to push against his shoulder. "I'm surrounded by toxic masculinity."
Shawn staggered back a step, but he has a smile on his face as he looked past her, probably at Axl. "Did you hear that? She thinks I'm masculine."
A shadow fell over her before Axl stepped in between them.
He put his big hand on Shawn's chest. "She said we're both masculine, asshole."
Maile barely kept herself from kicking Axl in the ass with her sneaker. "I said," she shook her head, "you're both toxic."
She turned and headed for the baggage carousel.
It was perfect timing.
The conveyor belt of the carousel started to move, with a lurch and then a grumble.
She picked a place where she could see the bags coming out and then she fished out her phone.
Her instinct was to text, but she called instead.
