Page 94 of Stay Toxic

SHASHA

“I like her,” Auden said. “She’s great with Lola.”

“Brecken taught first grade before she moved on to high school,” JJ said as she watched Lola and Brecken bring in dessert.

The entire family was gathered around the table except for those two, and all of us were watching how cute they were together.

Another leaf had been added to the table. Chairs had been brought in. Food. So much food had been consumed.

And I’d enjoyed myself immensely.

So had my family.

Dima was currently laughing with Tibbs and Holden about some military fuck up from last week. Milena was talking to McCoy at the opposite end of the table. Nastya was holding Brando, who was sound asleep on her chest, and talking withRyler and Bronc about a legal case set to be tried in the supreme court this week.

I felt so…full.

I hadn’t felt this full in a very long time.

“Why’d she move to high school kids?” Maven shook her head. “I can’t even imagine.”

“Long story short, she liked being able to actually teach what she loves—history. She has a love so deep for it that she almost obsesses over it sometimes. If you ever want to win her over, talk to her about the war or something. She’ll go all gooey eyed over it,” JJ admitted.

“Oh, we should’ve asked Jessa to come.” Nastya turned, hearing our comments. “She would’ve wowed her with the World War II stories.”

“World War II?”

I grinned at the way that Brecken was standing in the doorway, bent over, helping Lola hold up a couple of pies balanced on a tray.

“Our grandmother, who goes by Grams or Jessa only, loves talking about the wars,” Nastya explained. “We almost asked her to come with us, but she was very firmly entrenched in Bingo today. It was black light night.”

“What, exactly, is black light night?” Tibbs asked.

“Exactly what it sounds,” I admitted. “She goes up there with her black shirt covered in fluorescent paint and plays Bingo in the dark with only black lights to light the area. I’ve gone once and came home with a pounding headache because of the amount of bass that was playing.”

“They like to listen to techno and screaming metal bands.” Nastya shivered.

She, too, had experienced the Bingo Night From Hell.

“The last time I was there it was nudie night. I didn’t realize that until Grams told me I had to get undressed.” Milena shookher head. “I waited out in the parking lot for four hours for her to get done.”

I’d died with all the messages that night Milena had been sharing.

Apparently, you’d been able to see from the windows what was going on inside, and what she’d seen had scarred her for life.

“That’s wild.” Auden shook his head. “I had no clue that was even a thing here.”

“It’s done at the old folks’ home that she moved into when we moved here. She adores it. It keeps her active, and also slightly independent. Two things that she adores,” Milena explained.

Lola and Brecken came farther into the room and placed the two pies on the table.

She had to lean over me to do so, and I had to resist the urge to push my face into the side of her breast.

Just as that thought hit me, the sound of her stomach gurgling had me wincing.

The poor thing.

She’d eaten a lot tonight, and no doubt all of it had dairy in it.

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