Page 23 of Needing More
"How about it?" She looked to Vic.
The bell on the door jingled and they all looked to see Joel coming in.
"What's going on?" he asked sensing the remnants of the silent duel between his brothers.
Sapphire spoke first. "I'm asking Vic if he would like to come over for an early dinner in trade for you guys going to the bar a little later."
Joel's eyes brightened at that. "Ooh, that could work. What's on the menu?"
Sapphire smiled slowly knowing the ace she had up her sleeve would seal the deal. "Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, greens, and a small fruit tart."
Sapphire could swear she heard Joel whimper and felt Hayden let out a defeated sigh. Glancing at Vic, she let out a laugh at his overly alert posture.
"Hell fucking yeah, I'll be there," Vic agreed readily before looking pointedly at Hayden. "That is if a certain someone even wants me there."
They all looked at Hayden.
Hayden rolled his eyes as a slow smile edged at the corners of his mouth. "Yeah, yeah. Just make sure to keep your hands to yourself," he said, turning to go up the stairs with Joel in tow.
Waiting until they were out of earshot, Vic looked at her with a devious little smile. "I should've pointed out that your hands were around me first." Seeing her annoyed expression in response, Vic laughed and walked to the front door. "Thanks for the invite, I'll see you in a bit."
A few hours later with the café closed and the evening regulars supplied their treats, Sapphire was busy at the stove upstairs when she heard the footsteps coming up the stairwell.
"Hey!" Joel called out from the living room to Vic as he rounded the stairwell corner. "You made it."
Sapphire looked over her shoulder to see Vic glancing around the place. His hair was damp and pushed back from his face and he wore a clean pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt with some sort of band logo etched in crackling white lettering.
"It feels like I haven't been up here in years," Vic replied, looking around the big room.
"At least a year." Joel took a seat at the table next to Hayden.
Pulling out the third seat, Vic sat down on their other side.
There was no tension or awkward pauses between the three of them. Conversation picked up almost immediately, growing livelier by the second. Pouring the sour cream and bits of meat and cheese into the mashed potatoes, Sapphire listened to them laugh about some of the gossip at the bar before settling down on the topic of their shared businesses. Everything from rent being owed from a few delinquent tenants to the gym they were behind on in construction.
"Damn, I really wanted to get that fucking building up and running by now," Joel complained. "But we don't even have the damn second floor done. That fucking thing is going to cost a fortune to get back into the realm of safety and be strong enough to hold tons of heavy equipment. And let's not mention bringing it up to code."
There was a pause, and Sapphire turned to look over and shoulder to see all three men in deep thought.
"We're behind, yeah," Vic countered. "But only a few students have moved in and the rest are still on their way. If we hustle, I think we can get the core of the place done. We may not have all the equipment in but we will have most of it. We just need to focus on the structure right now."
Sapphire turned and grabbed the plates from the other cabinet and could see Hayden nod. His steel grey eyes were lit with renewed determination. "I'll call Martin and see if he can start with the flooring any sooner than he last projected. We need to get this shit done. Hell, we may even need to consider going with the crew from Stardust if Martin can't work us in any sooner."
"Okay, food's ready," she announced.
Immediately all three men stood and grabbed their plates from her obediently. Like soldiers, they came up one by one and let her fill their plates. Joel nibbled and kissed her neck while Hayden hugged her from behind whispering his love and indecent promises against her ear. Vic was the last to get his food. He stood still as she ladled the gravy on top of his chicken fried steak. Hesitantly, she looked up and met his gaze.
With his midnight hair, half pulled back and some hanging down around his shoulders Vic towered above her, blocking her view of the table behind him and the conversation between Hayden and Joel.
Vic looked down at his plate before looking back at her meaningfully. "I can’t decide if coming here was a good idea or not." He watched her expression change into confusion. "I'm getting to see firsthand the life I missed out on here."
Vic didn't wait for her reply. Turning with his plate he sat down at the table with the other two and joined the conversation.
Sapphire was speechless. She could barely get herself to move and fix her own plate. What did he mean by that? Trying to think back to what he saw, she rewound the images of her serving food, both Joel and Hayden's display of affection toward her, and their conversation. Was he talking about the food? Was that just his offhand way of saying he wished he could be here for daily food being served to him? Or was he talking about the love between her and the guys?
Slowly, she took her plate and turned to sit at the table. Catching Hayden's watchful gaze from across the square table, Sapphire smiled softly before taking a bite of her food. She was almost too confused to even taste the food. She wanted to look at Vic again, to see if his handsome face would show her the answers to her questions but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. There was something odd and undefined—almost dangerous—in his eyes tonight and she was too much of a coward to try and confront it.
"Hey." Joel reached out a hand and covered hers. "You not hungry?"
