"Why not?"
Scooter has a very expressive face. When he's happy, it lights up the whole room. When he's pissed, run for your life.
And right now, he looks so concerned that a knot forms in my stomach.
"I think some heavy shit is going down."
"What does that mean?"
"We took different flights to get here, but we landed at the same time. When I walked up to him at the airport, he was on the phone to the guy, I assume, and it sounded really intense."
"Intense how?"
"Like they were breaking up because the guy had done some really shady shit."
"Oh, man. That sucks." I check to make sure Cy is still in the kitchen. He is. "But he seems fine."
"It's Cyrus. When does he ever not put on a happy, everything's fine face?"
"True. That is his default. Okay. Thanks for the heads-up."
"I've already told the others, so I think we're good. If Cyrus wants to talk, he will. But I think we should just be cool so he knows he's got us, whenever he's ready."
"Fair enough."
Zane and Court come over, and Scooter does that freaky thing he can do of flicking some internal switch, and he flashes a smile like he doesn't have a care in the world. Must be a reality TV thing because he never used to be able to do that.
"Mind if I have a turn holding him?" Zane asks.
"Not at all," Scooter says, sliding Brock into Zane's arms.
"I'm going to check on Howie," I say, planting a quick kiss on Court's lips before we swap positions.
He's not in the kitchen, but I spot him out in the backyard.
"Hey," I say, stepping out onto the lawn, two deck chairs in hand.
He spins around and smiles. "Hey."
"You okay? What are you doing out here?"
"Just wanted to get some fresh air."
I plant the chairs on the ground and motion for him to come over. Once we're both sitting down, I ask, "So what's the deal with you and Ramzi? Did you guys have a fight or something?"
"What? No. It's nothing like that."
"Then what is it? Because you were acting weird the day you helped me move in, and you're acting weird today."
Howie closes his eyes and leans his neck back, the sun lighting up his features. He's not as good-looking as I am, but he gets by. "We hooked up with the same chick."
"Oh, shit." That's not good. "Is he mad, or are you mad?"
"No one's mad."
"Okay. So it's just a casual thing then?"
"Yeah, yeah. You know me. After getting burned with Elsie, causal is all I do."
