Page 79 of Prayers for the Prickly

“We’ve got a booth for you if you’ll just follow me,” she said upon her return, and with a few menus in hand, led us to a cozy spot at the end of the wall near the bar, near the bathrooms, which was perfect with how frequently I had to go.

As if sensing where my thoughts had gone, Gregor slid in the booth first, leaving me the outside spot so I could get up whenever I needed to.

“Do I want to ask what other stories you told?” Gregor said as he peered across the table at Janie before shifting his focus to Brendon.

“I’m more curious about what Dash wanted when he pulled you aside after the last game,” Brendon said, the two locking stares in a way that got a bit intense before Gregor looked away.

“He just wanted me to pass a message to Olly for him,” Gregor explained, shrugging before picking up his water dish.

But there’s more to it?I asked in his mind, instantly concerned.

Yeah.

Talk tonight?

Of course.

I let it drop so we could enjoy the time with our friends, but now that I’d dialed into it, I could feel the concern radiating from him and wondered if he’d intended to head straight over to the shop to see Olly after he’d taken me home.

Shit.

No, it’s okay.

Guess I thought that pretty loud.

Yeah, but it’s okay, seriously. It’s not critical, it’s just something he isn’t going to want to hear and I’m sort of worried about how he is going to take it. Being here will give me a chance to figure out how to break it to him.

“What’s your deal with Dash anyway? I saw you guys glaring at one another a couple times, even after a good play.”

“Ech, it’s too long of a story and I wouldn’t wanna sour dinner,” Brendon said, but I noticed the way his eyes slid toward Janie and figured that he was the real reason Brendon didn’t want to talk about it.

“So, did you pick up a business major in college, or are you winging it like the rest of us?” Gregor asked to shift the subject.

“Winging it,” Brendon said. “We both are.”

“I majored in dance and was performing with a troupe in Portland until I wrecked my knee and tore my ACL. It healed well, but I don’t ever want to go through anything like that again,” Janie explained. “Between the pain and the rehab, I’m good with where my life is at. If I wanna dance, Brendon and I just hit the club or go down to the beach and play music on our phones.”

“We do a hell of a kitchen mamba while we’re doing dishes, too,” Brendon pointed out.

“And you haven’t accidentally sent him tumbling out a window yet?” Gregor asked, raising an eyebrow at him as Brendon’s face began to pink up.

“Wait, what? Why would you even think that could happen?” Janie asked.

Gregor cocked his head and studied a squirming Brendon across the table. “Ohh, so you only shared the stories of the shit the rest of us got up to those weekend tournaments, not the spectacular calamities you pulled off.”

“Calamities?” Janie said, perking up and turning on the bench so he could stare at his mate. “I’ve never heard anything about any calamities, let alone ones that sent someone out the window, and who was this someone you were dancing with, since I know it wasn’t me?”

I giggled as I watched them. Janie so wasn’t pissed, or jealous, he couldn’t even keep a straight face as he teased his ever-reddening mate.

“It was, umm, Dash that fell out the window,” Brendon said. “I was trying to teach him to dance so he could ask Alex Reid to the junior formal.”

“And you dropped him out a window?” Janie squeaked.

Chuckling, Gregor decided to take pity on his friend and fill in the rest of the gaps in the story.

“More like he spun him a bit aggressively after Dash kissed him on the nose. It was in the middle of some technique where you pull your partner in, hold them close and make eye contact, and Brendon was being all serious about it while Dash was being the class clown,” Gregor said. “It was all good, though. He landed in a hedge.”

We all chuckled and giggled at that, then gave the waitress our orders. My tummy would be happy when it reached the table because the smells in here had me salivating while my stomach growled itself hoarse waiting for me to send more food it’s way.

---