9
Audra
"What did you lose?" I ask Derrick.
"A bet with Mark and Alex," he replies, but it seems to be so much more than that from the looks on their faces.
"Hmm." I sip my tea tentatively. A burnt tongue is no fun.
"Your toast," Mark offers. He sets the plate in front of me and I pick up a slice and take a bite. I make a face.
"What?" Alex asks.
"I hate dry toast."
"Better than puking up buttery toast if your tummy's not ready," Alex tells me.
"I never imagined I’d hear you say the word 'tummy'," I tell him.
He smirks. "I never imagined you'd be in Derrick's robe."
Touché. I smirk back and he winks. My eyes widen.
They know.
Alex winks again.
I finish the toast and I want that bacon. "Bacon. Must have bacon."
Mark chuckles and heaps some on my plate. Mark's the chef. Alex is the helper, it seems, and Derrick—well, Derrick just keeps staring at me.
"Do you have any apple juice?" I question.
Derrick nods. "Just so happens I do."
He reaches in the fridge for the bottle and Alex sets a glass in front of me. Derrick makes his way over and fills it up.
"Derrick, here, is an apple juice guy whereas I'm an orange juice guy," Mark informs me.
I take a sip of the juice, then another.
"Slow," Derrick offers, "just in case."
I nod. "What about Alex?"
"What about Alex?" Alex asks.
"Apple or orange?"
He shrugs. "Either one. I'm not fussy, though I like the one with the orange strawberry and banana. That juice is the shit."
I nod. "I like that too."
"I don't know how the hell they get banana juice," Mark declares.
"Squeeze it, dummy," Alex retorts.
"Maybe, but I don't know. Banana juice seems like a weird thing," Mark says and I snicker. All three of them look at me and I snicker some more.
