They both chuckled.
“Then make yours and I’ll heat ‘em up.” Ethan used a small spatula to take one out of the pan and moved it onto a plate. Only to replace it with another.
“Oh, yum.” I picked up a couple of sopes. The small circles were like thicker tortillas. But, oh, the goodness… I quickly made one. A swipe of beans, cheese and a little leftover shredded beef. I got a plate and set it beside Ethan. I made my next one. This one got a big scoop of leftover chicken verde, then cheese and a little pico de gio. By the time I was setting that on the plate, Ethan was handing me a heated one. “Sopes, sopes, you’re so delicious, I love you more than all the other dishes… except tamales. And empanadas. And enchiladas… okay, I spoke too soon.”
Ethan and Maria laughed.
Maria got to her feet. “You guys have a good day. And stay out of trouble.”
“When have we not?” Ethan smirked.
“When you came home with tattoos.” Maria shot back.
He cringed. “Oh, yeah…”
Maria turned to me. “I still can’t believe you couldn’t talk them out of it.”
I raised my hands up in surrender. “It was too late when I found out.”
Ethan chuckled. “Ma, you can’t get Lexie to feel guilty about tattoos.”
“I can try.” Maria sent him a chiding look on her way out of the kitchen.
He turned back to the stove. “Yep, she’s still pissed about that.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad she doesn’t know about mine.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes at me. “Hmm. Blackmail material.”
I shook my head and went back to making my other sope.
Soon, we were at the table and eating. I’ll admit, it didn’t take me long. Maria was an amazing cook and she always did everything from scratch. Huh, maybe that’s where Asher learned it. Asher… I was here for more than lunch. “So, are you coming to the meeting tonight?”
Ethan looked up from his food. “Yep. It’s also your birthday, ya know?”
I nodded. “I know, I just want to make sure.” Now I just needed to make sure the others were coming too.
“It’s nothing to worry about, Beautiful. Miles probably just wants to make sure we aren’t going to kill each other as soon as we all get together. A test run is always a good idea. Besides, there’ll be cake. Who fights when there’s cake?”
I snorted. Of course, I knew that wasn’t the case. At least, not completely.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Ethan put his napkin down. “Want to hang out?”
“My job today is to check in with everyone, one on one and make sure they’re coming.”
His eyes grew dimmer. “Oh. I thought you wanted to see me.”
I met his eyes. “I do.”
“That’s not what you said.” Ethan’s voice was hurt. A little too hurt.
I narrowed my eyes at him. A grin spread across his face.
“You shit.” I threw my napkin at him as he laughed. I picked up my plate and put it in the sink. “Now, I need to go ask Isaac if he’s coming.”
“You’re checking in with everyone?” He set his napkin down.
“Yeah, it’s my job today.” As I walked past, he reached out and snagged me around the waist. He pulled, I landed in his lap sideways.
His eyes were warm as he settled me on his thighs, his arms around me. “I want to say happy birthday first.” His nose brushed mine as hot shivers ran through me. He dipped his head, bringing his lips to mine. It was a soft sweet kiss that was completely out of his norm.
When I pulled back, I raised an eyebrow.
He smirked. “You’re going to my brother’s room. I’m not kissing you like I usually do, that reaction is just for me.”
Reaction?
He chuckled as he let me go and I got off his lap. Hiding my smile from him, I left the kitchen and headed upstairs.
Isaac’s bedroom door was closed. I should probably knock, but I never did with the twins. Opening the door, I peeked into the dim room. Isaac was out cold in his bed, on his side facing the inside wall. I smiled, closed the door and quietly went to the other side of the bed. Thinking over my options, I decided not to scare the hell out of him today. Well, maybe not jumping on him scare the hell out of him. I carefully slid onto his bed and scooted up behind him. When I was close enough, I slowly moved my arm around him and rested my hand on his chest. When he still didn’t move I shifted one knee over his hip. Limes filled my senses as he didn’t move. I pressed my front against his back, and rested my cheek against the base of his neck. His hand moved to hold my hand to his chest.
“When did you wake up?” My lips brushed against his skin.
“When you opened the door.” His voice was still half asleep as his other hand went to my knee on his hip. “You’re not slick.”
I snorted. “Never thought I was.”
He let go of me and stretched. Groaning as he moved. When he stopped stretching I went right back to my spot.
He chuckled. “I like waking up to you in the morning.” His hand pressed mine to his chest again.
“I kind of do too.” I hated to admit it but it was the truth. “Are you coming to Miles’ house tonight?”
He sighed. “Yeah. We need to know how big of a pain in the ass Zeke is going to be.”
“Isaac.”
He let go of my hand and shifted to his back so he could see me. “It’s true.”
I shook my head. “He’s not the entire problem.”
He looked shocked. “Who? Me?” He wrapped his arm around me and held me against his side. “I’d never start something like that.”
“My bullshit alarm is going off.” I said in a dry voice.
He chuckled. “Fine, all of us.”
“Own it.” I grinned.
He smiled as he shifted to face me. I hooked my leg over his automatically. His arms moved around me as he got closer. Everything was warm, safe and happy in that moment. I sighed and closed my eyes. His lips kissed my forehead, making me smile. Then my cheekbone. Then finally my lips, where he lingered. One small, sweet kiss after another. I forgot where we were, or what I was supposed to be doing. I just enjoyed his little kisses as he held me close. When he pulled back a little he kissed the tip of my nose. He put his head back on the pillow and met my eyes. Amber light shined through the chocolate. It was uniquely Isaac. “Happy birthday.”
“It is now.” I smiled up at him.
“I think you need to stay the night.” His arm tightened around my waist, pressing me against him.
I laughed softly. “I don’t think your mom will agree.”
“I could always sneak you in.”
I shook my head. “No, Cookie Monster. As you said, I’m not slick. I’d probably fall down the stairs and into a drum set. Why would there be a drum set at the base of the stairs? I don’t know but if I tried to sneak in, I guarantee that it would be there.”
He chuckled. “Knowing your luck? Yeah. I don’t see that being far off.” His eyes ran over my face. “You going to hang out for a while?”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. “I still have to talk to Asher before Miles’ house.” I put my phone back in my pocket. “I actually have to go.”
He pulled me closer and squeezed me tight.
I squeezed him back. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
He let me go with a small smile. With my face warm, I climbed out of his bed and left his room. By the time I was outside, my face was back to normal.
When I reached Asher’s house I didn’t even knock. I simply opened the door and went inside. “Ash?”
“Kitchen!”
I headed across the foyer, through the pass through door and into the kitchen. Asher was in his apron and working.
“What ya doing?” I moved across the kitchen and hopped up on the island to sit.
“I’m making dinners for Jess for while we’re camping.” He put the lid on a casserole dish and put
it away in the freezer.
“Doesn’t she know how to cook?” I opened the cookie jar next to me and snagged a peanut butter one.
“Some, but it’s reading the back of the box cooking.” He grabbed a cookie himself, closed the lid then moved the jar away from me.
“Hey!” I managed around a bite of deliciousness.
He set the jar down on another counter and turned back to me. “You’re not raiding the cookie stash.”
I wrinkled my nose at him before finishing my cookie. “So, are you coming to Miles’ house tonight?”
Asher stuffed the last of his cookie into his mouth and picked up a pot of water off the stove.
His non-answer was answer enough for me. “It’s my birthday.”
“It’s a family meeting.”
“One we need.”
He poured the pot out into the strainer over the sink. “The last time we had a family meeting, I got in a fist fight with Zeke.”
“And?” Yeah, that was messed up but…
He met my gaze. “I don’t know what’s going to happen if I see him again.”
“Ash, he thought you were going to hit me.” I tried to be patient. “He only pulled me back to sit on the couch.”
Asher shook his head. “It wasn’t really about that.”
“I kind of figured.” I kicked the heel of my sandal on the cupboards under me. “But, you two have been best friends since you were four.”
He pushed away from the counter, moved to where the mixing bowl was and started adding ingredients. “I know.”
“You can’t let anything get in the way of that.” Didn’t he understand? “Especially not me.”
He began mixing harder. “I’m still angry with him.”
I raised an eyebrow. “But not at Miles? Or the twins?”
He shook his head as he poured the mixture into another casserole dish. He set the bowl down and went back to the strainer. “No, not the others.” He picked up the strainer and went back to the casserole dish.
“Why?”
He stopped putting noodles in the dish and set the strainer down before turning to me. “Out of all of us, he needed to be the most honest.”
“Um, what insane troll logic is this?” Was he serious?
Asher pulled the dish towel off his shoulder and began to fold it. “If anyone should have told us about his feelings, it was Zeke. We know his history. We know how hard it is for him to care about someone.” He shook his head. “He should have fucking told us.”
“Why should he have?” I wasn’t getting this. “You didn’t say anything; the twins didn’t say anything. Neither did Miles. So, why are you really pissed at Zeke?”
“Because he’s probably going to win.” Asher met my eyes. “Because we know his history. We know how much it would take for him to care this much. It’s going to come up and that’ll be it. Everyone else will step aside for Zeke.”
Stunned, I could only shake my head. “There is so much wrong in that answer that I don’t know where to begin.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I know the guys. This is what’s going to happen.”
“First,” I got off the counter and looked up at him, “I’m not something to win. I’m not a competition. Second, you have no idea what the others are going to say. Third, you’re forgetting Zeke.” I shook my head. “Zeke would never fucking agree to that. Plus, I don’t even know if I can choose.”
His eyes were rough as they met mine. “You can.”
I scoffed. “Oh, I can? Really? ‘Cause every time I even think about it, I start to have a damn panic attack.”
Asher dropped his arms from his chest.
“Look. If you have to be pissed at someone.” I raised my hand. “Be mad at me. Yell at me. But don’t fucking let this destroy your relationship with one of your best friends.”
He rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed. “I’ll think about coming.”
I met his eyes. “I hope you do.” Because if the guys can’t fix their relationships, I was walking away.
Chapter 5
I stopped the Blazer in Miles’ gravel circular driveway and shut off the engine. I leaned against the wheel and pressed my forehead against my hands. It wasn’t even time for the trip and I was already tired. Coffee. Coffee would help. I pushed open my door and headed inside.
“I’m here!” I shut the front door behind me and headed for the kitchen.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” Miles’ voice called from somewhere down the long hall. That worked for me, I made a beeline for the kitchen. Using Miles’ fancy coffee machine, I made a cup of coffee for myself. I was sipping the liquid ambrosia when the mess in the sink caught my eye. Shards of ceramic were everywhere. Well, that’s not good. I took another sip before setting down my mug and getting the garbage can from under the sink. I started picking up pieces carefully and throwing them away.
I was almost done when Miles came in. “What are you doing?”
“I’m picking up a broken mug. At least I think it was a mug.” I sent him a smile over my shoulder.
He was frowning as he took the garbage can from me. “Here, let me get it.”
“I’m almost done-”
“I made the mess then forgot about it.” Miles stopped me from reaching into the sink again. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Alright, alright.” I picked up my coffee and moved to sit on an empty counter. “So, it looks like the only one who might not come is Asher.”
He continued cleaning the sink. “That’s surprising. Did he say why?”
“Yeah, and it’s a doozy.” I explained what Asher had said and my response to it.
Miles was holding off a grin by the time he was done with the sink. “But he wouldn’t say if he’s coming or not?”
I shook my head. “If the guys can’t fix their relationships…”
He put the garbage can back under the sink and turned to me. “I know. You’ll leave.”
My stomach knotted at the very thought. “I won’t be responsible for destroying…” My throat tightened, cutting me off before I could even say the words.
Miles crossed the kitchen to stand in front of me. His hands went to my knees. “I know, Angel. And as difficult as it might be, I agree with you.”
My eyes met his. “You do?”
His face was carefully blank as he rubbed his hands up the outside of my legs. “I do. Even if it’s… painful.”
“Are we even doing the right thing?” My shoulders rounded. “Should I even be here for this?”
His hands squeezed my legs. “Of course you should. You’re a part of this family-”
“And why it might be torn apart.”
His eyes were serene as they met mine. “We’ll make it very clear that the relationships that come first right now are between the guys.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
Miles leaned forward and kissed me gently. “I’m not.”
I shook my head as my heart jumped. “Are you sure you’re not crazy?”
Miles grinned. “So, tonight is about getting them talking again. I don’t believe we should bring up the part with you until we’re camping and they can’t run off.”
“Works for me.”
“Happy birthday.” His smile warmed. “How was your day? It doesn’t look like you got much sleep.”
Yeah, my under-eye baggage wasn’t so great today. “Last night, I went over to Zeke’s and threw my painting at his head. We fought.”
“Have you spoken to him today?” His smile disappeared as he began tapping his fingers on my thigh.
“Yeah, he came over this morning and we fought some more.” I summed up. If Miles ever learned what Zeke had said to me… I’m pretty sure Zeke would be lectured to within an inch of his life.
He nodded. “And you’ve both dealt with it?”
“Yep.” I picked up my coffee and took a sip. “So, how was your day?”
His eyes were shadowed as he smiled. �
�Not bad. Busier than I expected.”
“Oh?”
“Something came up that demanded my attention.” He looked down at my knee and ran his finger over a tiny old scar.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s answering the question without answering the question.” I had noticed Miles doing it a few months back. He was extremely good at not answering questions he didn’t want to answer.
“It is.” His grin was back.
I sighed.
He smiled before leaning down and brushing my lips with his again. As always with Miles, I melted. My brain shut off as his hand held my jaw. Light, barely there kisses moved on to firmer, more insistent kisses. The tip of his tongue stroked my upper lip. I opened up to him and everything fell away. Miles could kiss… not just kiss but kiss. He did things with his tongue in my mouth that I’d never imagined. My fingers dug into his t-shirt and my breathing picked up as I kissed him back. Something dinged. Our kiss grew even softer until he pulled back.
His cheeks were pink as he met my eyes. “Someone’s here.”
“Um, uh, huh?” I couldn’t even put a thought together.
He smiled down at me. “One of the guys is here.”
“Right.” I blinked hard, trying to jumpstart my brain again. “Guys…”
This time he did chuckle.
My face burned. “You only have yourself to blame for my memory loss.”
He stepped back from the counter so I could get down. “I’ll happily take the responsibility for that.”
I got down as nervous energy ran through me. Needing to do something while the guys arrived. I looked through the cabinets and found a box of Club crackers. Ethan swore by them… I pulled them out and went to the fridge. Yep, cheese. I pulled out a couple of kinds, one of them, white sharp cheddar, Asher’s favorite, then went to the counter with the cutting board. Miles, seeing what I was doing, pulled out a large platter and set it down for me. He didn’t say a word as the front door opened. My body grew tense. Miles squeezed my shoulders before going out to see who it was.
I focused on cutting slices of cheese and putting them on the platter. When I figured I had enough, I fanned out the crackers for easy grabbing.
When the Dead Have It Easy Page 5