Braxton shakes himself free of Aiden’s Tell Me What I Want To Know Immediately Glare.
“Right. Fight club,” Braxton mutters.
Aiden looks around again, “Fight club?”
Maxine chuckles. I grin. This is fun, this will drive him crazy.
Ding!
Steven walks in, happy to have stepped right into some drama. He asks the room, “What? Why is Vandy’s head about to explode?”
“Steven,” Aiden smiles a mega-watt million-dollar smile at my old friend. He adds a downright silky sounding, “Good morning.”
“Get outta here!” Maxine yells at Steven.
“What? What’d I do?”
Maxine gets up to literally push Steven away, “He’ll say,” she deepens her voice hilariously, “‘Let’s negotiate’ and you’ll fold like a house of cards, you ninny! Out!”
“C’mon, mate, what’s Fight Club code for?” Aiden tries as Steven is backed out of the door.
“Fight? Ohhh!” Steven beams, feeling like I do, probably. Giddy on the high that we have something Aiden wants. Knowledge. About something silly, but Aiden doesn’t know that. Steven winks, “First rule of fight club…”
Aiden’s shoulders sag, “…Is that you don’t talk about Fight Club.”
I clear my throat at the register, iPad and quiche box waiting for him.
His eyes go thin as he studies me. But he doesn’t bother asking, surprisingly. “I’ll figure it out,” he says, after he finishes paying. I just shrug. He turns but instead of leaving with his order, he pauses to stare down at Braxton.
The teen turns beet red and gulps audibly like we’re in some kind of sitcom. Maxine inches toward Braxton protectively but Aiden just nods. The Dark Lord taps the tabletop near the open textbook, and leaves.
Braxton dissolves to nearly become one with the chair. Maxine wacks his shoulder. He protests, “What, I didn’t say it!”
“No, but you said enough.”
Tyrone waves us off, “Ah, so what, he has no friends to tell anyway.”
“And,” Brax sits up, “don’t wewantpeople curious about…Fight Club?”
Everyone groans at the kid. I laugh. He’s not wrong. We do want everyone wondering about it. But it would have been nice to have one single event Aiden didn’t come to. Just one night offun without his disapproving glares and sighs. But he did come back on that helicopter, apparently. From D.C., is the rumor. I guess he’s a part of the town for the foreseeable future. We’ll just have to accept it. Temporarily. It’s not like he’ll be staying forever.
No one does that except for me.
I fight a sigh and put a new rack of quiches in the oven.
Cute bakery, Harp! And the plan is working! Easter killed…oh.Sorry, Lord.Easter worked. Tonight will work too. Get busy blossoming, girl!
_____
Ding!
“What the…holy crap!”
Was that Braxton’s voice?
I was on my way out the door but I stop and turn back. I walk to the counter to see.
How?
