Page 130 of Ripped & Shipped
“That Beefy guy?” Duke asks.
“How do you know his account name?” Aiden asks.
“I follow Ella Mae, of course. She’s got awesome tips.”
“On how to paint your nails?” Aiden asks.
“Right?!” Duke laughs. “No. Her other stuff. Like keeping a positive outlook. Great smoothie recipes. She’s even got me trying yoga. Shannon and I do it together, but we do it with some YouTube teacher. Ella Mae was the one who got me started with it, though.”
I shake my head. “You think you know a guy.”
“Tell me about it,” he answers. “I thought I knew you, and then before I knew it, I was seeing pictures of you and Ella Mae online. Next thing I know, you’re in love with her.”
“Love?” Aiden asks, his face serious and strictly inquisitive.
“Yeah,” I confirm. “Big time. I’m in love with her. Like a Mack truck hit me. Like, I’d take a bullet for her. I love her.”
Aiden smiles over at me. “Good for you, man.”
“You tell her yet?” Duke asks.
It’s obvious he thinks I’m going to tell him I chickened out again, even though he saw us at the Fourth. But these two have known we’re faking, so they could have thought all our cuddling and affection was still part of the charade. Man, I’m glad that’s over.
“Yeah, Duke. I told her. On the Fourth I told her I didn’t want to fake anymore, and then yesterday I took her out to this spot I know about, and we spent the afternoon and evening there. I told her then.”
“The big three?” Duke asks.
Aiden looks confused. I know what Duke’s trying to say.
“You know.” He ticks each word off on a finger when he says it. “I … love … you. The big three.”
“Yeah. I said it.”
Duke shakes his head. “Chris St. James. In love. It’s a momentous day for our boy, Aiden.”
“A real milestone,” Aiden agrees.
“Can we get back to this?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Aiden agrees. “So, basically it’s set. We just have to show up.”
“What’s set?” Duke asks.
Aiden pivots on his barstool. “Chris and I sent a message to that Beefy guy asking him to meet Ella Mae at the Big Boy.”
“You sent the message,” I correct him. “I know nothing. I’m not a part of this.”
“Right. Right. I sent the message. The guy thinks it’s from Ella Mae. He agreed to meet her. He’s sending her a photo so she can identify him in person. But the photo will actually come to us. When this guy shows up to meet Ella Mae, we’ll see him and have a little chat.”
“I wanna come,” Duke says, like a kid who’s begging to stay up past his bedtime.
“Can’t hurt,” Aiden says. “Strength in numbers.”
“It can hurt,” I say. “No offense, Duke. But you can be a loose cannon at times, and we’re not playing around here. This guy could be a danger to Ella Mae. We want to let him know his time is up.”
“Yeah. That wasn’t offensive at all,” Duke deadpans. “What do you think I’m going to do? I’m here for you, man. Let me come. That way there’s three of us. He’ll see three strong men instead of Ella Mae, and he’ll know we’re onto him. Like Aiden said, strength in numbers.”
I think it over.
