"I'm thinking we break for lunch, the rest of the day will just be loading the truck for trips. Whacha in the mood for boys?" Dillon asked taking a swig of water as he cracked his neck.
"Steak." Both Jake and Jack chorus at the same time, then without missing a beat they both chugged their water.
"Damn, just put the bottles in a bag for now, I'll sort and recycle later." Dillon called as he pulled his phone out to see what was close by. "Sit down or take out?"
"Take out." Jake and Jack called at the same time.
I watched the dynamic, it was a good thing Dillon did enough talking for all of them. Actually, all of us.
"You good with that Max?" Dillon asked as he decided to place an order for pick up rather than delivery.
I had to agree delivery was such a let down, all those stupid extra fees, not worth it. Besides, by the time my food usually arrived it was soggy.
"Uh, yeah, whatever." I agreed.
"Cool, found a burrito place, good reviews, big portions, I'll pass my phone around, place your orders. We'll swing by on the way back. That should be enough time to unload the vehicles." Dillon announced tossing his phone to the cousins. Jake caught the phone without hesitation and started placing his order.
I couldn't help but watch their familiar ease a little enviously, I hadn't bothered opening any of my socials in days. Sure, I'd been busy… but Arianna had been blasting me everywhere from the moment I confronted her in the hospital. I jolted out of my thoughts as Jack waved the phone in my face. I was glad he hadn't thrown it…
"Oh, thanks! Sorry, distracted," I mumbled accepting the phone, I felt my eyes go wide. Eight jumbo burritos, double meat, extra fillings, extra sides, Jesus Christ… I looked at the pictures… ordered one burrito, a side of chips, and a root beer. The total was already over $250. I handed the phone to Dillon, watching his reaction.
Dillon didn't even blink as he put in his own order, then frowned, "Max, you sure this is enough? Don't go hungry mate."
Jack raised his head from putting his shoes back on so they could start unloading the truck. Jake bumped shoulders with Jack, then they both left after a shared look.
"No, it's a big burrito, really." I explained waving the concern away, ordering more than I could eat, that was a good way to piss someone off, especially if someone else was footing the bill.
Dillon shrugged, "I'm going to double your burrito order just in case, we'll probably have a late dinner, so just in case you get hungry later. I added a few extra waters too, hydrate or die yeah?"
I hesitated, hydrate or die? Was that a regular saying around here? When I realized Dillon was still waiting for an answer, I nodded in agreement. I slipped my shoes on then went to grab another box from the car, I definitely wasn't trying to escape Dillon's concerned, questioning glance. God, did Dillon know how broke I was? Were they trying to be considerate? I flushed with embarrassment as I lowered his head. To my added humiliation, Jake and Jack were holding the elevator… they had clearly been waiting for me.
I was practically staring at my chest as the doors closed. The silence was stifling.
"Relax." Jake groused shifting a bit as they watched the numbers go from twelve to the basement.
Despite my best efforts… I stiffened even more. God, if I could just burry myself somewhere that would be great. Where was that hole when you needed one? I heard shuffling behind me, out of morbid curiosity, I used the blurry metal walls to see the cousins, they were shoving each other with their shoulders.
Jake and Jack immediately went to their truck to grab more furniture pieces. I on the other hand… stood beside the locked car door like a moron. With a sigh, I shifted over to the truck to grab three of the shelf boards. I followed the cousins back to the apartment pretending that this had been my plan all along.
I pretended to not see the shared look between the three larger men, ugh, if I could just stop acting like a kicked puppy, they might not walk on eggshells around me. I just couldn't do anything right today… it was all my own doing, making things needlessly awkward. I kept kicking myself as they made more trips… something! Anything to talk about!
"Uhh, how'd you guys meet? I mean, not you guys, cause your cousins, I mean, meet Dillon," God above please send down that lightning, so I had an excuse for my stupid mouth. No freaking duh!
Jack glanced down at me before answering. "Gym, swapped jogging tips."
I grabbed onto that sentence like a lifeline, exhaling a sigh of relief, so Jack was the chattier of the two, which wasn't saying much. "Oh, cool, uh, you still go? Together I mean?"
"Yeah, twice a week. Few others too." Jack nodded as he adjusted his bandanna.
"Nice, I've been, uh, meaning to go, just, time ya know?" I said sheepishly, god could I sound any more desperate.
"Tuesdays, Fridays, 8 a.m. Wolves Den." Jake nodded as the elevator doors opened again.
"We can bring someone with a membership, check it out." Jack added as they walked to the truck. Jake leapt into the bed to pass over a smaller box.
I quickly accepted the box, that jump had been crazy, "Do you guys like uh, parkour? That was an awesome jump." For the first time Jake smiled at me. It was an amused smile, but still, score for not sounding like a total moron, maybe I've been upgraded to a halfwit.
"Kinda." Jake shrugged as he passed Jack the top of the counter, making sure the ledge didn't swing and hit him in the face. If it wasn't so awkward to carry, just one of them would have been enough.
I darted forward to get the elevator, "So, uh, anything else to do around here?" Insert foot in mouth once again. I glanced around… maybe a hole would open up… no?
Jack seemed to think about it before answering, "There's a lake, private property, but open to the public most of the time. Check it out."
I nodded hesitantly, "Uh, want to, add each other? I've got snap and WeChat, oh, and discord."
Jake nodded, "Yeah, in a sec."
I felt the tension just leave, nice, I didn't totally fumble that. I walked in front so I could get the door, Dillon was unpacking his essentials while they made trips. I had to admit, I was glad Dillon had basically strong armed me into coming today. I might just have started off with one, if not three new friends.
"That's the last of it Lynn," Jack called as he tried to keep the door from slamming shut with his foot.
I almost choked hearing the name, bowing my head to hide my smile. He'd heard it earlier but thought I'd heard wrong.
"Gotcha, food should be ready in ten minutes, me and Max will swing by for pick up then meet you guys back at the apartment?" Dillon called as he closed up a box of non-essentials.
"Kay, key?" Jake asked as he handed me his phone.
I quickly entered his number and saved it under his name. I also sent myself a text with Jake's name. As I was looking to add details I realized…I still didn't know their last names, but, this was good. A moment later Jack also handed me his phone. I repeated the process, then saved both numbers.
Dillon tossed his old apartment key to Jake as he nodded to me, "Don't know about you mate, but I'm already starving."
I glanced at the time, it was already after two, time flies. Following Dillon into the restaurant so I could help bring the bags out. Yeash, you'd think they were feeding ten people! We had to make two trips, I even buckled the food in the backseat to make sure it survived the trip to the apartment. No need for burritos to roll all over Dillon's car.
Thankfully, Jake and Jack were waiting by the truck to help carry the food in. This time we all gathered on the living room floor to eat. I tried not to stare as Jake and Jack both ate two double steak burritos. As the duo was working on their sides… I was still struggling to finish my first burrito.
Upside to smaller appetite, I can still afford to eat.
We made three more trips to the new apartment, it was already dark so they decided to eat out. A local sub shop had been dubious with the amount of food we ordered, but had brought the seven foot-long sandwiches to the table. I ate half of one of the foot longs while the others devoured the rest. Then! Dillon ordered two sandwiches to go…
I glanced down at my paper plate… if I ate anymore… they'd have to roll me out.