Page 13 of Calla's Boys

He is such an attention hog,I think as I look back at Jesse.

“Okay, I’m in.”

***

I wrinkle my nose when the pretty, punkish looking girl brings our meals. I don’t know what the hell smells the way it does, but when she sets it down in front of Clyde, I lower my face to hide a smile.

He’s going to end up smelling rank, and it’s going to make him feel self-conscious. I sigh as I sit back and let her place my plate down in front of me.

For Jesse’s plan to work, we all have to be in on it. Not that Clyde will passthisup.

With as much as I hate to admit it, Jesse came through with another wild idea that I know everyone—maybe even Calla—will be enthusiastic about.

It’s dirty, devious, and a little gross, though I have a feeling that my latter opinion will change once we start building oursnowman.

I do my best to put the thought out of my head while I enjoy my breakfast. I don’t know what they’ve done to my eggs, but they taste better than anything I could have cooked up at home myself.

As I’m ready to shove another forkful into my mouth, Jesse loudly clears his throat, and I look over at him with my mouth open and fork stopped mid-flight to its destination.

He does his best to jerk his head imperceptibly toward Doc, who’s sitting on the other side of me. I shake my head briefly in confusion and arch an eyebrow.

He rolls his eyes before mouthing,tell him.

All things considering, I think his idea is really creative and cool, but I’m not entirely sure that’s a message to pass on when people are trying to eat breakfast. But, when Jesse’s eyes harden and his mouth becomes a tight line, I know I don’t have much of a choice.

Placing my fork down, I take a deep breath, then lean over and tap Doc on the arm. He glances at me curiously as he takes a bite out of his huge, fancy breakfast sandwich and raises an eyebrow.

Leaning over, I quickly whisper Jesse’s idea to him.

Chapter Ten

Doc

I quickly put a fist to my mouth to keep from spitting out my food. The raucous laughter that’s just erupted from me has gotten the attention of almost everyone in the restaurant, but I can’t help it.

I hiccup as I pick up my cloth napkin and wipe my mouth, nodding at Jesse, who grins back at me.

What quite possibly could turn out to be one of his nastier ideas actually piques my interest to the point that I have to try it.

Calla might be pissed by the time we’re done, though something tells me that she’ll let bygones be bygones.

Her usualboys will be boysbullshit excuse she likes to hand out to us when we’ve gone a little too far.

Not that she ever seems to have much of an issue when she feels that we’ve crossed the line. Calla believes whole-heartedly that she can walk away from us at any time.

She believes it, but it’s not true. However, I don’t like to piss on her parade, so I’ll let her have her little fantasies so long as she keeps fulfilling ours.

I clear my throat as I pick up my sandwich again and take another bite. I stare at Jesse until he feels my eyes on him, then mouth a question—when?

He holds up one finger, and I nod in understanding.

We all have one hour to finish our meals, convince Calla to get back upstairs instead of going out and seeing the city, and have some fun.

I shove the last bit of sandwich into my mouth, then snap my fingers at Clyde, who’s monopolizing Calla’s attention. He gives me an annoyed grunt as he glares at me with a dangerously arched eyebrow, and I push back my chair, getting to my feet. “Got a sec?”

“I’m having a conversation,” he barks, motioning toward her, and I smirk. “I can see that, thanks. But I really need to talk to you about something.”

The aggression drops away from his face, his tense body, his everything almost immediately. Clyde knows that something is up now, and I’m taking him away from his precious time with Calla. He’s put two and two together, and realizes now that it’s about her.

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