Seth laughed out loud, then winked at Dev. “This is good cake, just not quitethatgood.”
Dev rolled his eyes, but his smile was fond, and Leaf might’ve had a sappy look on his face as he watched them.
They took their plates to the backyard and settled around the fire pit in the lounge chairs. The evening was getting darker, and while it wouldn’t be cold, the fire would certainly be appreciated.
The dogs all lounged nearby, Grace and Missy next to each other and Husky a bit farther away. Leaf knew they were keeping an eye on all the entrances to the yard. He smiled at them fondly and took a bite of the cake.
His eyes widened. He wasn’t big on chocolate or cake, but this one was pretty perfect.
“This is so good,” he murmured at Dev, who sat on his left.
Dev ducked his head. “Thanks.”
“I like that it’s moist and not too sweet. Is there chili in this?” Leaf tried to pinpoint the extra flavor.
“Yeah, enhances the taste, doesn’t it? It’s an Aztec thing, chili in chocolate.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that,” Rain said, nodding. “I’ve had chocolate in chili, but not the other way around and sweet. This cake is to die for, Dev.”
“Devin’s Food Cake?” Seth smirked, making all the rest of them groan.
“You’re over your quota of dad jokes for tonight, just so you know,” Dev said, pointing his fork at Seth.
Once the first round of cake had been consumed, Leaf set out to light the fire and Seth went inside to get their stash. He brought out the kit Rain kept in her stuff in the guest room dresser as well.
“Aww, thank you, Seth.” She smiled at him, taking out her own little bottle-green pipe. It had been made for her by an ex, a glass blower, and she liked to keep it there for these special occasions.
Leaf poked at the little fire and realized they needed more wood. Before he had time to get up from his kneeling position by the pit, Dev came to him with an armful of logs from the lean-to behind the garage.
“Here, thought you’d need these,” he said, putting the wood next to the fire pit.
“I do, thank you,” Leaf replied and squeezed Dev’s thigh, enjoying the muscles he could feel under his jeans.
Dev smiled and went to sit. He accepted a joint from Seth and took a drag, humming contently as he flopped back in his seat. A few seconds later, he let the smoke out, then made another happy sound.
“Good stuff?” Rain grinned at him while lighting her pipe.
“Reallygood stuff.”
Seth rolled a fatter blunt for himself and Leaf to share, like always, then put their kit in its old cookie tin down next to his chair.
Leaf couldn’t wait to see what Dev would be like when he got high. Seth had two modes: he got either incredibly introspective or giggly. Either way, it changed to lazy horniness at some point. Rain usually got relaxed and melancholic, then went to bed early but woke up happy.
Leaf himself, well, he was definitely on board with the horniness. He didn’t care for weed in general. Not enough to indulge often. But in good company, he still did occasionally. It didn’t affect him much, at least not the stuff they normally got. He knew there were strains that might’ve affected him differently, but he didn’t like smoking enough to figure one out for himself.
When Leaf finally went to sit in his chair between Dev and Seth, Dev and Rain were discussing something California related.
Seth took a hit from their joint and handed it over. Leaf smoked for a bit, taking shallow pulls of the smoke so as not to overwhelm himself. He didn’t want a coughing fit, which could easily happen for whatever reason. Eventually he took a longer hit, then handed the joint back to Seth.
“So where did you guys meet?” Dev asked, turning to Seth and Leaf. “I mean, I know you and Rain were in California, and Seth’s from Texas, but how did you end up bumping into each other twice?”
Leaf chuckled.
“I was a young, impressionable Texan studying art history at Stanford,” Seth started in a dramatic tone. “One night, when I was twenty-one, I was at this sports bar just because I didn’t really want to hang out with my roommates. This gorgeous older guy came to chat me up.”
“Long story short, there was a bit of an… encounter in the bathroom of that sports bar,” Leaf continued.
Rain chuckled. She’d heard the story before.
