Page 130 of Mayhem
She scrolled through for a few minutes before deciding on a random one that she was sure was a B-rated movie none of them had seen. She picked up her wine glass as it started and got comfortable.
Erin didn’t remember falling asleep, but that was what happened. She felt a weight on her chest and looked down to find Alijah asleep. She glanced at the other couch to see Lawrence and Chayse in a similar position. The streaming app’s home screen casted a dull light throughout the living room.
After they finished the comedy, they turned on what was supposed to be a psychological thriller, but Erin found it a bit boring. She wasn’t surprised she’d fallen asleep. She shimmied from under Alijah, trying not to wake her, grabbing her phone when she succeeded. It was after four in the morning.
Erin went to her hall closet and pulled out some blankets. She covered her friends with them before turning the television off. She didn’t want to wake them.
Going into her bedroom, she was about to put her phone on the charger when she noticed a text in her group chat with her boyfriends. It was from Cruz, asking her to come to dinner attheir house tomorrow at eight because he and Paetyn wanted to talk to her.
She wondered mildly what they wanted to talk about but scheduled a response to his message for a few hours from then. She’d learned that if they were asleep and she messaged, they’d wake up to respond to her, so she scheduled it for when she thought they’d be awake. She also made a mental note to see if they wanted to get matching costumes for the themed Halloween night at Mirage in a couple of weeks.
There were also two calls from an unknown number that she blocked, assuming it was whoever had been playing on her phone because at this point that seemed to be all they were doing, and she’d started giving the shop’s number out to potential clients.
She had her class again the following afternoon after the last appointment on the books, but she could leave early to meet her boyfriends for dinner. Erin placed her phone on the charger and got into bed. If the usual trend held, Alijah would wake them all up for breakfast in a few hours.
Cruz opened the front door, furrowing his brow as he stepped aside to let Erin in. Her biometrics were loaded into the scanner on the doors, yet she insisted on knocking sometimes when she came over. They’d both already told her that was unnecessary. The only time she wouldn’t was if they weren’t at home, naturally, or her hands were full.
“Hey, baby,” she greeted, rising onto her toes. He leaned down and kissed her. “Something smells good,” she stated before heading down the hall.
He closed the door and followed her into the kitchen. He’d just finished cooking a few minutes ago and placed everything on the table, so she was right on time.
“It looks good, too,” she complimented when she saw it.
“Thank you, Maly.”
She shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s true.”
Cruz was a bit shocked she hadn’t questioned whether or not he’d made the meal since he’d thanked her. Usually, that was how it went in previous relationships because Paetyn did most of the cooking. Mainly because he liked to do so, but Cruz genuinely thought he frequently forgot that he knew how. It was also the first time he could recall cooking for Erin. The fact that she didn’t ask was par for the course, and he was sure she wouldn’t stop surprising either of them with responses opposite to what they were used to.
“Hey, Angel,” Paetyn greeted, coming down the hall.
“Hey, babe,” Erin replied, kissing him before he pulled out her chair. “If this tastes as good as it looks and smells, you’re going to have serious competition,” she told Paetyn. She then turned her attention to Cruz as he sat. “And I’m going to ask you to cook more.”
He hadn’t made anything too fancy: lamb Bolognese with a salad, roasted asparagus, rolls, and mini shortcakes. He didn’t mind cooking more often if that was what she wanted.
When each had food on their plates, he debated whether they should start the conversation they wanted to have or wait until dessert. He decided to wait when Erin spoke.
“I wanted to talk to you about Thanksgiving.”
“What about it, baby?” Cruz asked.
“Would the two of you be opposed to having it here? I would host at my apartment, but I know there’s no way it’ll comfortably fit the nine of us, plus our families.”
“We don’t mind,” Paetyn responded, and Cruz nodded in agreement. If their conversation went well, and they had their way, her apartment would be non-existent by the time the holiday came around in a few weeks.
Erin smiled at them. “Great. My dad and my grandma are coming for the holiday, and I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s a riot.”
“We’re looking forward to it,” Cruz responded.
“She’s your dad’s mom?” Paetyn asked.
“My maternal grandmother,” Erin responded. “How was the party last night?” she asked.
“It didn’t go as intended.”
“What happened?”
“The young man throwing the party proposed to his girlfriend, and she told him no. Something was said about them only being together for six months, and it was too soon. He accepted the answer, but it was obvious that he was sad about it. The party continued, and he and his friend had several drinks afterward. In a misguided way to make him feel better, the friend tells him he dodged a bullet because he’d been sleeping with the girlfriend for a couple of months.”
