Imeantfor him to put it back in the car, but he’s determined now. So with a sigh, I leave him to it and head toward the rather large two-story home. We’ve let ourselves into the backyard and from this vantage point, I believe Cassel’s right since I don’t see a security system in place.
We walk around the large in-ground pool and over to a glass sliding door. Using my shirt, I check the door as Ellis juggles his cake while I choose to hold a much more important item: a gun. The door is firmly locked, so I look around for something hefty enough to break glass. I pick up a rock and chuck it at the door just as Ellis goes, “This window’s unlocked.”
The rock bounces off the sliding glass door and slingshots itself right at Ellis, who literally flings his body in the way of the rock so the cake remains unharmed.
Ellis gives me a look of disbelief. “What the fuck? You were crying about Leland breaking shit and now you’re doing the same thing! I almost dropped the cake!”
“Why the hell did you stepintothe rock? Now I look like the asshole beating you with rocks!”
“Because I didn’t want the cake to get damaged.”
“Forget the cake!”
Ellis looks horrified by the suggestion. “No! Leland’s done so much for us! He took us in. He’s fed us, clothed us, made a bed for us, and went and helped us deal with the bad guys! I want to do something for him!”
Where the hell did this kind soul come from? He’s like a rare item I must not let get tarnished.
“Okay,” I say. “Yeah, where’s this window?”
He nods at it, so I use my shirt to push it open before crawling inside.
“Can you… hold the cake while I come in?”
What am I doing with my life? “Sure.”
Ellis holds it out to me then hesitates. “You’re not going to like… drop it, right?”
“I would risk my life for this cake,” I say with enough sarcasm to frost the entire thing.
He raises an eyebrow. “Promise me. Pinky promise.”
“Yeah, yeah. Pinky promise.”
Ellis still seems quite skeptical when he hands me the cake. His eyes tell me that I better treat this cake with the care I would a newborn child. And just because he’s cute and not Leland, I do.
He hoists himself up and then wiggles a bit before his pants get a little snagged and he has to shift his ass to get through. I do my best to try not to glance at it as he does so.
“You looking at my ass?”
“I would never,” I assure him.
“Now I’m offended you’re not looking at my ass.”
“I mean… I’ve never seen a prettier sight.”
Ellis laughs and wiggles some more to get through in a way he won’t crash down on his head. “You made this look significantly easier than it is.”
“You’re not used to B and Es?” I tease.
“Bacon and eggs? Ooh, that sounds good. You want breakfast for lunch? I would say my treat, but I still have absolutely no money. I could pay you back, though.”
“Breaking and entering,” I clarify for the confused man.
“Oh. Significantly less delicious,” he says as he takes the cake back.
He cradles the cake box and hurries after me into the next room where someone goes, “I’ll fuck you up.”
Ellisleapsoff the floor, losing his hold on the cake that’s sent careening through the air, but I’m quick enough I grab it before it’s flipped overorhits the ground. In the same breath, I point my gun at the source of the noise.
