Page 29 of Griffin
Crusoe moved some of the dirty dishes aside, so he could make a piece of toast.
"When did he hear?" I asked.
Crusoe looked up through a tangle of dark hair. He pushed it back, away from his eyes. "Hear what?"
"God, you're a fucking idiot."
"Oh, that thing about Lacey. We were at a race last month, and remember that guy, shit, can't remember his name, but we all called him Crane because he had that freakish long neck."
"Jimmy Roberts, yeah, what about him?"
"He used to live next door to Lacey's family, and her parents still live there. Crane asked Theo if he'd heard that Lacey was marrying some rich doctor. Theo looked as if someone had slammed him in the gut. He came in fifth. I almost think Crane did it on purpose cuz he knew it was going to take Theo right out of the running."
"How would Crane know that Theo still had a thing for Lacey? It's been years since he's even seen her."
Crusoe shrugged. "Don't know. Just thought that he did it on purpose. Even if he didn't, it fucked up Theo's ride."
"Well, that explains why he's partying so hard. You know, you could help him. You're both always out together."
Crusoe turned and looked at me as if I'd just asked him to cut off his own balls. "I'm not going to be a mother hen to my buddy. He's fine. Let him get it out of his system."
"Just last week he was bitching and groaning because one of his sponsorships was pulled. If he keeps coming in fifth, then he'll lose all of them. He's supposed to be out training today."
"Is he?" Crusoe grabbed the piece of toast, dropped it fast on the plate and waved his fingers to cool them. "Look, I'm not going to lecture him about his partying. I'll leave that to the two grannies of the bunch, you and Jaxon, but honestly, he'll get past this soon. It'll be fine."
"Yeah, if you say so." I got up from the table.
Crusoe leaned against the counter and chewed his toast. "Can you imagine?" he asked.
"Imagine what?"
"Having your balls in such a twist about some girl you dated in high school or having your balls in a twist about any chick at all?"
I thought about last night and my time with Shay. "Actually, I can."
Crusoe's eyes widened. "Yeah? That woman from work? Theo said she was married. But man, she could dance."
"Yep. I'm going out to get some decent coffee. Clean up this fucking mess."
"Yes, ma'am," Crusoe called back.
My phone rang when I reached my room. Ballerina came up on the screen. "Hey, Ballerina." I could feel my face break in half with a smile. I had it bad.
"This isn't something I've done in a long time." She giggled nervously. "Actually, I don't think I've ever done this, call a boy, that is, but I guess since I'm calling Greta I'm not really calling a boy. And speaking of boys, oh boy, do I sound like a raving lunatic right now. I was just wondering if you wanted to go?—"
"Yes, I do," I answered enthusiastically.
Shay laughed. "I haven't even said where yet. What if I was about to ask if you want to go to the landfill and watch garbage trucks dump their loads?"
"It'd still be a yes."
"Well, then, I was going to see if you wanted to get coffee. We'll leave the landfill idea for another day. I can pick you up. And there's another first for me. Asking a boy on a date and volunteering to pick him up. I'm kind of liking this new me."
"I'm liking all of you. I'll be ready in twenty minutes. Does that work?"
"It sure does. See you soon. Oh and Fin, thanks."
"Thanks for what?"
