"For a second there, I didn't know if she wanted to kiss you again or kill you," Donal snickered, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Tristan muttered.
"I do," I assured him, a little annoyed that my best friend in the whole world would doubt me.
"Don't get defensive," he chided. "I don't want either one of you to get hurt. I'm looking out for you just as much as I am for her."
"For what it's worth, I think what you guys have is fuckin' explosive," Donal threw in.
"The best relationships always are," Shep muttered, a bit cryptically, too, for someone who hadn't been in a relationship for almost as long as Wasted Breath had been a band.
I followed the temptingly seductive sway of Marni's hips like a carrot on a stick until I lost sight of her entering the ladies room.
And then I concocted a plan. Something Tristan might refer to as one of my 'harebrained schemes,' though it paled in comparison to most of the other shenanigans I'd pulled in the past.
"Here, take this," I instructed, slipping my bestie a fifty. "Order me, like, two of everything. And extra fries."
"Why do you need that much food?"
"You're gonna shit for days," Donal warned.
"It's not just for me. Just do it, Tris. Please."
I ignored my friends' knowing looks and jogged back out to the tour bus. I had mere minutes to pack a bag with some clothes and a few essentials. I tossed it into Marni's passenger seat, careful not to crush Simon in my haste. "Hey, buddy," I cooed. "Be back soon."
I wrapped my arm around Marni when I found her standing in line at the counter. "Hope you're hungry." I breathed the words where I was nibbling on the sensitive shell of her ear.
I grinned at the shiver that worked its way from her head down to her toes.
"Hence, why I'm standing in line, Brick." Her snark was subverted by the husky quality in her voice.
"What are you in the mood for? Burger? Fish? Nugs?" I continued my aural assault.
"Mm. Nugs." She breathed, fidgeting and shoving an elbow in my ribs. "Knock it off," she protested weakly.
I chuckled. "Hey, Tris! Order me some extra nugs."
Tristan's beleaguered sigh carried all the way back from the counter.
"And don't forget the honey mustard," I added.
"Sweet and sour," Marni corrected.
"Sweet and sour, Tris!"
"You're making a scene," Shep growled with a warning glare.
I finally took my eyes off my lady and looked around the restaurant. People were starting to stare, and the second someone recognized any of us was the second pandemonium would ensue. Pandemonium always managed to put Shep in a bad mood.
I ducked my head, burying my nose in Marni's hair and inhaling her earthy scent before turning her to follow Tristan out the door.
"Thanks, man," I said, grabbing my bags from his hands and striding toward Marni's truck.
"Brick, where are you going?"
"To the truck, babe," I pointed out, thinking that was obvious.
"But, why? You have a perfectly good tour bus."
"Yes, but the tour bus doesn't have you." I tossed her a wink most ladies dropped their panties for. Not my Marni, though. She was made of tougher stuff.
Her eyes flashed with something that inexplicably excited me before she narrowed them in an adorable glare. "You have perfectly good band mates on said tour bus that you can annoy."
I pulled open the driver's side door before grabbing Marni around the waist and hoisting her up, smirking at the indignant squeal of protest that fell from her lips. "Up you go." I planted her in her seat and handed her the bags of food.
I jogged around the front of the cab to the passenger side and fastened my seatbelt before pulling the bags out of Marni's hands and divvying up the bounty of food I'd ordered via proxy. "Nugs and sweet and sour sauce for the lady." I held it up, chuckling as Marni came out of her stupor and snatched the processed poultry byproduct from my grip.
"You're annoying."
"So you've said."
"I'm still going to eat this," she declared, ripping open her dipping sauce. "Even though you manhandled me."
"You're welcome."
She scoffed, shoving an entire chicken nugget into her mouth and chewing furiously. "You're not riding with me," she blurted once she'd finished chewing and swallowed.
I shot her a look that said, 'Is that what you think?' "C'mon now, honey bunch, there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with you. And Simon. I think he's growing rather attached to me." I indicated where Simon sat on my shoulder, no doubt plotting how to steal a fry or fifteen.
"Don't even think about sneaking him a fry. They're not good for him."
"Sorry, little dude. Mama said no." I shoved the last of my fries in my mouth and dug around for a burger, ignoring the nuggets and...was that a salad? Jesus, Tristan. I shook my head in disgust but quickly changed my tune. "Can he eat any of this?" I held up the plastic to-go container full of rabbit food.
She leaned over to examine the Caesar salad before declaring, "Yes. But not the croutons."
"Excellent." I beamed at her and thought maybe Tristan wasn't such a dick after all. "Here we go, little dude." I used the lid of the container as Simon's dinner plate and rationed out a bit of lettuce, a couple slices of cucumber, and a cherry tomato before setting it down on the floor space behind my seat.
Marni polished off the rest of her nugs and turned to toss the empty carton in the trash. Only, in the process, she spotted my duffel bag. "What's that?"
"What's what?"
"Your eyes are conveying innocence, but your smile is giving you away," she said dryly. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"Oh, that thing? It's my bag."
Marni sighed. "I can see that, dork face. But what is it doing here?"
"I'm riding with you," I repeated my early assertion, ignoring her lame insult to my ruggedly handsome good looks.
"We've covered that. Why do you need a bag?" Her eyes widened comically. "Oh, god. Tell me that's not an overnight bag. Tell me, Brick."
"Well, I don't want to lie to you..." I winced when she snarled at me. God, she's like a gloriously ferocious Bengal tiger when she's mad. There was no reason why I should be aroused right now, but damn it! She could rip me apart, and I'd gladly let her. I'm realizing that I'd let her do anything so long as it means she's got her hands on me. I thought about her sinking her nails into the skin of my back. Her teeth nipping at my flesh... I groaned at the visual and the tent I've pitched.
"Brick?" Marni's tone is one of concern; her eyes questioning. "You okay?"
I bit my lip to hide my smile and made a show of closing my eyes. "Yeah, I'm great. Just thinking about you naked." My eyes popped back open when something smacked me square between the eyes. "Ow," I grumbled, plucking the projectile from my lap and setting it aside for later. Those apple pies were too delicious to be wasted and should never be used as weapons. They were pies of love.