Page 106 of Crew
"Yeah." Her smile remained, but it tightened. "Maybe." Her eyes darted to Cross again. She didn't say anything else, but it looked like she wanted to.
Cross nodded to Ava. "Sorry about that. We'll follow you."
We sat in the corner.
A different server brought over water, then soda. We had just gotten our second round of drinks when a hush fell over the Pizzeria.
I didn't need to look up to know why.
My brother had arrived.
I kept my eyes glued to the menu, not needing to see the sick worship Channing always received. I'd read the same sentence ten times before Channing and Moose got to our table.
"Hey, guys." Channing moved around, taking the empty seat on my left. He faced the rest of the restaurant, his back to the window. Moose sat next to him.
I'd been right. He pushed back one of the extra chairs and moved his over to take all the space. His massive shoulders hunched forward, but not in a sheepish way. He was trying to get comfortable, if that was possible. Moose could've told me he ate ostrich eggs as a snack, and I would've believed him. (Though, I don't support that.) "Bren." He gave me a friendly smile.
"Hi."
Channing had been watching me. I ignored him, and he sighed. "Really?" he asked under his breath.
Zellman chose now to make his entrance. He literally jumped into the seat beside Moose, leapfrogging over the back of the chair as he clamped a hand around Moose's bicep. "I think this is as big as my head. What's your secret?" Z's grin was lopsided. "Vegan organic egg whites for every single meal of your life and for a midnight snack?"
Moose barked out a laugh, grabbed Zellman, and pulled him in for a headlock. "Let's see if it is." He flexed, his bicep pushing against Z's face.
Jordan's eyes got big. "Dude. It is. Oh my God. Look. Side by side, it's the same size." He pulled his phone out and snapped a picture.
"No way." Z grabbed for it, showing Moose.
And that was just the start. Z wanted to see what else matched the size of Moose's bicep.
As they kept taking photos, I began to believe they were going to do a whole collage. Jordan insisted he didn't know what Pinterest was, but I didn't believe him.
"You guys come in here a lot?"
Channing surprised everyone with that question.
The bicep-comparison photo session was paused.
Jordan lowered his phone and shrugged. "I guess. I don't know. It's okay."
Z propped his elbows on the table, a rapt expression raising his eyebrows. "Why? Are you getting into the pizza business?"
But Channing just leaned back in his seat. "I don't know."
"Really?" Z leaned over the table.
"Dude. That'd be amazing." Jordan held up a fist to Z, who met it with his own.
"You serious?" Moose asked.
Channing put his hand on the back of my chair. I wasn't looking at him, but he sounded bemused. "Maybe. It'd be an interesting business idea, don't you think?"
Moose shook his head. "Scratch is going to go ape-shit."
"Why?" Channing let go of my chair and pulled up close to the table again. "It wouldn't compete with the bar."
"Because you're already hardly ever there. Scratch says he's been running the whole thing by himself."
