Page 47 of Conan
Then again, the entire argument wasn’t well thought out.
Marcum humorlessly snorts before saying, “If I was the trial, you were the error.”
Xavier grunts before standing so fast he sends his chair flying behind him. It’s fixing to be a showdown at the Deviant Knights corral if we don’t herd and wrangle them in before their hotheads get the better of them.
“They’re fixing to go at it, and as a result, Peanut and I are going to die of hunger,” Luna gripes, rubbing her belly which seems to have grown overnight.
I giggle at her dramatics, but then reach over, pat her hand and tell her, “If they do, I’ll finish the grilling and make sure you, as well as my niece or nephew, don’t succumb to hunger pains.”
“They have issues, don’t they?” Luna asks, releasing a pent up rush of air.
“I’ve heard that siblings usually do. Mostly, when it comes to who’s designated as the leader,” I inform her.
“Men,” she harrumphs.
“Can’t live with them and can’t live without the orgasms they give you.” I laugh. “I guess we’re at a stalemate because as much as I want to throttle Xavier, I know my life would be dull without him.”
“And you love him,” she says as a reminder.
“And I love him,” I tell her.
“It’s a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation,” she mutters.
“Love isn’t damned, Luna. That’s your hormones speaking, not you. It’s trying at times, but it’s not damned.”
“I have no patience these days, Demi. It took a hiatus somewhere along the way.”
“These men have a way of testing that on a normal day. I can’t imagine how it is for you since you’re still dealing with morning sickness here and there, your body stretching to accommodate another living being, and dealing with the demands of your industry.”
In the background, we hear grunts as punches are thrown and Luna rolls her eyes. “May wanna watch the burgers while those two play Cowboy and Indian,” she states before tilting her head back and groaning. “If you get blood all over your clothes, I’m not going to be happy, Marcum! I’m over scrubbing your shit to get blood stains out. It’s happening more often than not these days. You’re a fucking child in a grown man’s body!”
“Maybe he’s having pregnancy symptoms too,” I joke before standing up from my chair and heading over to the grill.
Smoke is steaming and billowing, nearly choking me from breathing in as I stand over it. The juices from the hamburger meat drips, hitting the flames and causing them to rise higher over the grate.
I do a quick flip and slide them further to the side, where the heat is less intense. Out of the side view of my eyes, I watch the two roll around in the dirt, wrestling like they’re in the ring, vying for the championship belt.
Having had enough of their childish antics, I walk over to the water hose, turn the nozzle, and press the lever on the hand-held sprinkler and douse them.
When they jump apart and send me the stink eye, I put my hands on my hips, pitch one to the side, and say, “The burgers are burning.”
“Told you you’d burn my burger,” Xavier snarls. “Asshole.”
I shake my head because he just can’t let it go and march back over to the grill and pull the meat off and put it on a serving tray. I’m not sure if they’re done or not but being pink in the middle isn’t bad for you. At least I hope it’s not.
As we sit and dress our burgers, after making sure Marcum and Xavier weren’t within reach of each other, I scan the table and smile.
Family.Myfamily.
We may be unconventional, we may be a little rough around the edges, but I wouldn’t change a thing about who we are or how we act.
We are who we are and I happen to like the unpredictable.
Fuck knows that Marcum and Xavier keep things interesting.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
