Page 22 of Mayhem
“Right,”Jonathan responded with a nod. “I’ll work on memorizing it. I’m going to study the recipes more tonight.”
Cruz watched as Paetyn nodded before looking up at him, which caused Jonathan to turn and look at him as well.
“Oh, hey,”Jonathan greeted, wiping his hand on a towel before walking over and holding his hand out to Cruz. “I’m Jonathan. The chef Mr. Silva hired.”
“Cruz,”he responded, briefly shaking Jonathan’s hand. He then turned his attention to Paetyn. “I ordered lunch. We should get going soon.”
“Give me a few minutes. Jonathan and I will clean up quickly.”Paetyn then turned his attention to Johnathan. “As always, you can take the dishes we made home.”
Cruz went over, taking Paetyn’s wrist and rolling up his unbuttoned sleeve before helping him with the other one. Cruz would have volunteered to help, but he knew Paetyn well enough that he wouldn’t allow him to unless they were open and highly shorthanded, which was rare.
He waited ten minutes for them to clean the few dishes they’d used and sanitize the prep station they’d been at. When they finished, the three men left, Paetyn arming the alarm and locking the door behind them.
Once in Cruz’s car, they headed towards the Chinese restaurant to pick up their order. It should have been ready by that time. He knew that it typically took them longer to prepare to-go orders during the lunchtime rush.
When they had the food, they went to Erin’s apartment, showing up a few minutes before one. Cruz knocked on the door, and a minute later, he heard movement on the other side, and it opened.
Erin stood in the open doorway in ripped boyfriend jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt tucked into them. Her hair pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. Cruz wondered if there was anything she wore that she didn’t look good in, and he was sure the answer was no. She smiled at them before stepping aside and allowing them in.
“Hey. That smells delicious,”Erin stated, gesturing to the dining room table as she headed into the kitchen.
Cruz went to the table with Paetyn, where the other man began unpacking the food they’d brought.
“I’m going to have apple juice,”Erin told them from the kitchen. “Do you want some? I also have a couple of different sodas and bottles of water.”
“Bottled water is fine,”Paetyn responded, and Cruz hummed in agreement.
Erin returned with the three drinks and took one of the seats at the table as she passed them around. Cruz handed her some plasticware, chopsticks, and napkins.
They passed the food containers around and ate silently for a few minutes before Erin broke it.
“So, you both went to work today, I’m assuming? How is it?”
“I hired a new chef I’ve been training for the past couple of months,”Paetyn responded.
“I worked on software today. It still has a way to go,”Cruz replied.
“Speaking of software,”Erin stated, turning her attention to Cruz. “Before you leave, will you show me where I can add my billing information for the security system? I tried to find it in the app butcouldn’t.”
Cruz was not going to do that because he’d already paid for it. He and Paetyn wanted her to be safe, and keeping the security system had given them peace of mind. He knew telling her he wouldn’t let her pay for it would likely start a disagreement.
“We can talk about it after lunch,”Cruz responded.
She nodded at him. “I won’t be keeping either of you from returning to work if we talk about it later, right?”
“No, Maly. We don’t answer to anyone. When we want to leave, we leave.”he told her as Paetyn nodded.
They ate the rest of lunch, making small talk. Erin told them that she had plans to travel to a tattoo convention in a few weeks before looking for a station she could place in the second bedroom to take clients until she found a shop to work at.
Cruz and Paetyn shared a look at that. Neither of them thought that was a good idea, and Paetyn had informed Cruz he’d found a building that would make the perfect studio for her. They were waiting for the building owners to accept the offer. They’d decided to do so even if she told them no. It was another conversation they’d need to have with her at some point.
Paetyn returned to the apartment with the small black and purple gift bag. He’d placed it in the back seat of Cruz’s car when they’d left that morning. He sat on the couch with Cruz while Erin occupied the loveseat. He figured it would be best to give her some space when they began the conversation. They did not want her to feel as if they were crowding her.
“Cruz and I wanted to talk to you,”Paetyn stated.
Erin tucked one of her feet under her. “Okay. What’s up?”
Paetyn was never one for cliches, and while he was far more subtle than his counterpart, he didn’t believe in beating around the bush either. He was aware that Erin didn’t need him to. He also knew that while she may not have thought of the three of them together, her reactions to them, to the small things they’d done, and the one Cruz should have waited to do, said she at least was attracted to them separately.
