“Pay up, fuckers!” I crowed. Sabre muttered something as I grabbed the wad of cash.
“You wagered on me?” Nanci demanded.
“Nope, I bet Chill would escape as he always did, and where is the asshole now? Gone!”
“How much did you win?” Amy asked shyly as she glanced around and squirmed when she saw everyone looking at her.
“Four hundred and fifty bucks,” I said. Amy’s eyes widened.
“Wow, you guys don’t mess about.”
“Not when betting. Although the club rules, we’re not allowed to bet each other more than one hundred bucks. In the past, that led to fights. Inglorious installed a rule that no more than fifty per wager,” I explained.
“Seems fair.”
“Are you hungry?” I asked, and Amy nodded.
“Come, sit down. Is there anything you don’t eat?”
“Mushrooms and tomatoes,” Amy replied.
I thought back to last night. “You picked the mushrooms out of the noodles.”
“Yes, I eat most foods, but some are just…nope. I can pick out what I don’t like, and not eating Chinese is a crime,” Amy said as I rose.
“Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee.”
“Stay there and ignore these nosy assholes.” The club was slowly moving into place around Amy. They were all curious but would go easy, knowing what they did. I was happy enough to leave to fill a plate.
“Is everyone fed now, Vortex?” Meadow inquired.
“Yes, honey.”
“Okay, I’ll make the usual with it,” Meadow replied, and I nodded. Meadow refused to waste a scrap. Whatever breakfast leftovers there were, Meadow baked into a hash for lunch. She’d add pork and beans to it, and it usually got devoured. Although Meadow had become accomplished at guessing how much we ate for breakfast, there was little waste to be had.
Anything else Meadow scraped into a compost box that Chill had built for her. He’d also argued that Meadow wanted a vegetable garden and had managed to badger Inglorious into building a greenhouse for her. Plus, she had a plot of land to grow things on, too. And my idiot brother thought he was bad for Meadow. Seriously stupid.
Amy ate in silence but kept casting wary glances around. Didn’t this lot have work?
“Get off your asses, we open in a fortnight. Go start doing your jobs,” Inglorious bellowed. Baleful looks were cast in his direction, but everyone headed out. Jesus.
Amy finally relaxed.
“Ignore them, they’re nosier than a cat. Would you like a tour after breakfast?”
“That would be nice. You said the opening ceremony is in two weeks?” Amy replied.
“Yeah, we were looking forward to it,” I admitted, and a shadow crossed Amy’s face.
“Until the crash.”
“Which wasn’t your fault, Amy. None of it was,” I stated firmly. Amy nodded and pushed her plate away. I was happy to see she’d eaten everything.
“Can we go explore?” Amy asked. I sensed she was distancing herself from her thoughts, and I let her for now. Amy was dealing with a lot.
“Go get your coat,” I said, and Amy headed for the stairs. I couldn’t help but admire her ass.
