Page 74 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
He wanted to go on a date, but I had a feeling it was going to turn into more of a hook-up type situation. And I wanted that—I wanted him—so there was no way I was going to deny either of us that experience. But I really hoped he’d want to remain friends even after we hooked up.
Before long, the delivery guy turned up with about a billion bags of food. I’d already paid online and added a hefty tip to the driver, so all I had to do was get Winter to help me carry everything over to the rest of the group.
Luckily, we found a picnic bench to eat at near the garden entrance, so we weren’t too close to the cursed mansion.
Yay for not wanting to punch each other while we ate!
As we all settled in, Clucky hopped up on the table and sat by Chaos’s elbow. I had a feeling she was going to be begging us all for food soon.
“Holy hell, did you buy one of everything on the menu?” Aeson asked with a laugh. “That’s so much food.”
I shrugged. “Well, I’ve always heard that teenagers eat their parents out of house and home, so…”
The two teens shared a look I couldn’t interpret before Aeson sent me a small smile. “Thank you for the food, Miles. We both really appreciate it. Especially since you didn’t know I’d be tagging along.”
I waved him off. “It’s no big deal. Don’t even worry about it. We obviously need the extra hands, anyway.”
Aeson smiled and softly said, “It’s a big deal to us.” Then he grabbed one of the bags and started pulling food out.
Oh my god, my heart. These kids were killing me.
Clucky wanted some food too, and Chaos and Aeson kept feeding her little bits and pieces as they ate. She was well-behaved and didn’t bother the rest of us, to my surprise.
Everyone must’ve been pretty ravenous because we were all quiet for a few minutes—definitely a feat for Lyric—while we shoveled food into our mouths. I wasn’t surprised in the least when it was Lyric who spoke first.
“This is the best damn Chinese food I’ve ever had. Mmm. Good pick, boys.” They winked at the teens.
Aeson grinned at them, and Chaos rolled his eyes but said, “We’ve eaten there before. It’s always good.”
Winter tilted his head to the side. “I thought you weren’t from around here.”
The boys shared a look before Chaos shrugged. “We’ve moved around a lot. I don’t like driving my car out here too often because it’s a piece of crap, but we come out here for jobs sometimes.”
Winter grunted in acknowledgment.
Lyric asked, “Aeson, do you have a job?”
The kid grinned widely. “Actually, I just started working at the Museum of Supernatural History. There’s a few people getting ready to leave, so Morty might apply too.”
“Oh, that sounds like a cool place to work,” I said with a grin. “I haven’t been there since my ninth-grade field trip.”
Winter nudged me with his knee. “Oh my god, I forgot about that trip. That was a fun one.”
Lyric and Winter shared a grin, and I felt a pang of jealousy shoot through my chest. I wasn’t even sure why. Was it becauseit was clear how well the two of them knew each other? Or could it be because I’d been so lonely in high school, so as awesome as seeing that museum had been, I hadn’t spent that trip with my friends… because I hadn’t had any? I’d been thrown into a group, and it’d been clear no one wanted me with them, so I wasn’t even sure I’d spoken more than two words to other people the entire day.
Shaking myself out of those morose thoughts, I concentrated on Aeson as he asked, “So you guys all went to high school together?”
Winter nodded with a grin. “We sure did.” He shoved a huge bite of some noodle concoction I’d ordered into his mouth with chopsticks.
Aeson pointed at Winter and me with his chopsticks, waving them back and forth. “So are you guys high school sweethearts?”
I almost spit out my sip of water, and Winter absently patted me on the back while answering him. “Unfortunately, no. We just started dating.”We did?“Miles was… well, he didn’t really hang out with us back then.”
I rolled my eyes, and before I could say it, Lyric said, “He was the emo loner kid… and kinda dressed exactly like Chaos.”
That made Aeson crack up, and Chaos stabbed his brother in the arm with his chopsticks.
Lyric held up their own pair, pointing them at Chaos. “No violence, or we’ll be forced to duel.”
