“Totally,” Lawrence said. He leaned over the table, struck by how determined Cash suddenly looked. There was a fire in his pupils, and his forehead was creased in concentration as he glanced between the laptop and the paper, drawing a timeline across the top.
It was hot. Like, incredibly so. Lawrence just hoped they could all agree to take a break from work long enough to celebrate what he’d accomplished that afternoon.
He turned toward the kitchen, where Raiden was chopping potatoes on a big wooden board. He was hunched over a little with the short counters, but by the way the knife flew, Lawrence could tell he knew what he was doing. For a minute, he let himself be content with just that, sitting there while they each did their thing. When he’d had his fill of the warm, satisfied feeling it sparked in his gut, he finally rose to his feet and started tidying up the mess that accumulated on all the tables.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Cash said, his eyes still on the laptop. “Just relax!”
Lawrence laughed. “I know I don’t have to. But if we’re turning this into our base, I want it tidy. And frankly, you’re both a bit of a mess.”
Raiden and Cash looked at each other, then laughed. “Fine,” Cash said. “And thank you.”
Lawrence curtsied, then started gathering a few scattered mugs and dishes from around the spacious studio.
“You figuring anything out?” Raiden asked from the kitchen area.
“Kind of,” Cash said. “I’m just trying to decide how trustworthy the source is. At one point, it seemed like Rios suggested your father was planning a war, Lawrence.”
“I heard that. It must have been an expression,” Lawrence said. “He might pollute the earth and cheat his workers, but I can’t imagine he would be able to pull off something like that.”
Raiden shot an audible puff of breath out of his nose. “Don’t think there haven’t been wars planned by businessmen before.”
“That’s true,” Cash said. “But your father doesn’t manage any weapons manufacturers or things of that nature.”
Lawrence felt his stomach twist. “Rios did mention private military contractors, though. Could my father really start a war?” He pushed his hands through his hair, frustration knocking aside the warm feeling the guys gave him. “I hate that I even have to think something like that.” His thoughts flashed back to Raiden’s dad and Cash’s parents and the role his father played in their deaths. “I’m sorry for all the shitty things he’s done. I really am.”
Raiden put his knife down, and Cash gently stood from his seat. “You don’t have to apologize for him anymore,” Raiden said.
“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Cash added. “You’ve only ever tried to make things better.”
Lawrence wiped at his eyes. “Sorry. You’re the ones who lost your parents. I shouldn’t be upset about this in front of you.”
Raiden and Cash both crossed closer to him. “It’s reasonable to be upset, sweetheart,” Cash said. “What you heard was upsetting.”
“And you don’t have to keep quiet just because my dad died,” Raiden added, his comforting hand on Lawrence’s shoulder. “I like talking about him.”
“Same with my parents,” Cash added. “I’ve never really had someone to share the stories with.”
“Thanks.” Lawrence laughed softly. “Do you think I’ve earned a drink now?”
Raiden and Cash both chuckled. “How about we all have a drink,” Cash asked, “but we just leave it at one?” He winked at Lawrence, then playfully poked his side. “I like you clearheaded.”
“Me, too,” Raiden whispered in his ear.
Lawrence laughed as the three of them came together in a kind of embrace, the hands trailing each other’s sides. “Okay,” he said. “One drink sounds nice. And maybe you both could tell me a story about your family, too?”
Raiden and Cash exchanged a surprised look, but each nodded. “Sounds nice,” Raiden said. “I’ll grab drinks!”
“I know the story,” Cash said quickly. He leaned back on the table, then smiled. “When I was just a little kid, I really wanted to take dance lessons. The problem was, we were out in the country, and there weren’t any studios in an hour’s drive of us. Now, just about any other parents in that town, they would have laughed at a boy who wanted to study ballet. But my mom and dad only ever cared about making me happy. So when I was in the second grade, we suddenly had two new dance teachers in our town.”
Lawrence laughed, a grin filling his face. “Your family opened a dance studio?”
Cash laughed, then waved his hand in the air. “That might be a generous way to describe it. But my ma taught herself ballet, and my dad taught himself jazz dance, and they offered lessons twice a week to me and my best friends, three sisters from down the road.”
“Hold up,” Raiden said, returning to pass a beer to Cash and a glass of wine to Lawrence. “You going to show us a little ballet, twinkle toes?”
Cash stared Raiden straight in the eye, then stuck his leg straight to the side, grabbed his heel with one hand, and lifted his pointed toe shockingly high, his trousers tugged tight. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten,” he teased.
Raiden and Lawrence both erupted in laughter. “I doubt he’s going to forget that,” Lawrence said.
