Page 78 of Our Tricks

Leaving the two of them to talk, I grabbed Cognac’s hand and pulled him after me. “Come on, lover, I need to find more coffee.”

“I know you’re not interested in having kids of your own, but have you ever thought of adopting or even fostering kids?” Cognac asked.

Surprised at the out-of-the-blue question, it had me stopped so fast he ran into me. Quickly, he grabbed my hips so I didn’t get knocked over. I half turned to look at him over my shoulder with a shocked expression. “Do what now?”

“Before you take everything I just said in the wrong way, let me state emphatically for the record, as long as I have you, nothing else matters,” Cognac reassured me. “The only reason I ask is because I’ve seen how you are with Alvaro and the heart you have for people who don’t have a family.”

“Can we put a pin in that topic and come back to it once I don’t feel like the world is trying to kill me? Right now, my answer would be hell fucking no. Why would I want to put anyone at risk being around me? While I know that isn’t always going to be true, my brain won’t let me even consider what that will look like,” I answered as honestly as I could. “This topic deserves a real conversation with the others, though.”

Cognac kissed me tenderly, turned me to face forward, and gave a little shove down the plane’s cabin. “Come on, let’s get you some coffee. Apparently, there’s a little café next to the airport for travelers. That’s where the others have gone to save us seats.”

I loved he was simply taking me at my word and not making this awkward. Strolling hand in hand, we crossed the tarmac and entered the main building. Various people were milling around with their luggage, chatting or reading as they waited for their planes to be ready or for the rest of their party to arrive. It was odd to feel that this was normal, but I almost couldn’t remember what it was like to travel on a regular plane crammed with people.

Once we exited the terminal, I stopped at the café off to the right, and it was a busy little place if the cars were any indicator. The place was called Plane Tasty, which had me snickering. Got to love a good pun, especially when it fits the atmosphere. The inside of the café was painted Tiffany blue and silver like we’d just landed in the fifties. The floor was the traditional black and white checker squares, but I was disappointed not to see the waitstaff wearing roller skates.

The guys waved when they spotted us in a huge corner booth that fit all of them with room for the rest of us to join them. Sliding in, I sat next to Eagle, who dropped a kiss on my lips before setting a mug of coffee in front of me.

“Warning, it’s strong and bitter,” Eagle whispered. “Pretty sure that had to be simmering in that pot for a full day before they served it.”

“It can’t be that bad,” I argued and took a sip.

The second it hit my tongue, I knew what he meant. It tasted burned and gritty, like they had left the coffee grounds in it. “What the fuck is this shit?”

Everyone chuckled at my reaction, and I noticed each of them had a mug set off to the side, untouched.

“Janice should be back if you want to ask her,” Wes commented.

“Yeah, and I’d like to get food that isn’t spat in,” I grumbled. “Please tell me they have Coke. At least that will have a decent amount of caffeine.”

Grabbing a menu, I looked over it and was impressed with the selection of breakfast food. You could get pretty much any meat with eggs and pancakes. Then there were the eggs benedict and other common options that made my stomach rumble.

“Ah… so we have two more joining you,” a woman stated with a raspy voice that reminded me of crabby old Carol.

“Do you have Coke products?” I asked.

“No, we have RC,” she answered.

“That’s okay. What about chocolate milk?” I inquired.

Janice looked me up and down. “While you look tiny, I don’t think you’re twelve and under. Chocolate milk only comes with the kids’ meal.”

“Of course, it does… because what grown adult would possibly want that,” I muttered under my breath. “Water is gonna be great, thank you.”

She just grunted and turned to Cognac. “Orange juice?”

“Is that a question or what you’re ordering?” Janice demanded.

“I’d like a glass of orange juice, please,” Cognac tried again.

Jotting it down on her pad, she nodded and left. When I was sure she was far enough away, I turned to the others. “We aren’t staying here. Once Harper and Jaxson show up, we are leaving and finding someplace else to eat.”

“About that…” Ghost started to say when a man walked up and began to put plates of food down. “We already ordered. None of us knew if you were going to be sleeping longer or not.”

Groaning, I dropped my head to the table.

“What’s wrong with her?” Harper’s voice asked.

“Bad coffee,” Wes commented.