“I’m not bossy!” Dawson yells at the same time that Cal yells, “I’m not pushing my limits!”
“Yeah, sounds totally convincing.” Ellis snickers. “Can we eat, now?”
Ellis lets out a moan as he swallows the first spoonful. “Damn. You are a liar, Dawson.”
“I told you,” Cal says.
“Shut up,” Dawson mumbles, embarrassed. He should’ve known that his reaction would only serve as ammunition to both of them, though, as they continue teasing him. His face is never going to be a normal color again.
By some miracle, they start talking about something other than Dawson’s cooking skills, giving him the much-needed reprieve. Then the topic moves onto Ellis and how he’s settling in.
“Where’s the apartment again?” Dawson asks.
“Surfers Paradise. It’s not what I’m used to, but that’s fine. It’s only temporary, anyway.”
“How long are you staying?”
“As long as I need to.” Ellis’ eyes shift to Cal.
“Dawson said you don’t want to make permanent changes in case my memory comes back.”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Maybe, but…” Cal pauses, rolling a napkin between his fingers. “I’m not sure I’d want to go back to it even if I remember.”
Ellis drops the spoon onto the plate. “What?”
“I know it’s not fair to you, but—”
“That’s not what I meant,” Ellis cuts him off, leaning forward. “Cal, you lived and breathed that job. It annoyed the fuck out of me, but that’s the way it was. So why the sudden change of mind?”
Dawson can feel Cal’s gaze on him, then Ellis’ as well. He just hopes Ellis doesn’t take it to mean that it was his idea.
“As you just said,” Cal starts. “It came to my attention that I had no life outside of work and didn’t care about much else. That’s…not okay.” He shakes his head. “I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”
“You’re serious,” Ellis says, stunned. He doesn’t sound angry, which is a relief, but definitely out of sorts.
“I am. And I’m sorry for putting even more pressure on you.”
Ellis waves his hand. “No, that’s… Look, I was ready to step in either way. I just never expected to hear something like this from you. Do you… What are you planning to do instead?”
“For work, you mean? I… Dawson said that we own the company, and we’ll profit whether we’re actively engaged or not.”
Ellis frowns. “Sure, yeah. But… Man, you’ll be bored out of your mind if you don’t do something.”
“There’s no rush,” Dawson says, sensing Cal could use a back-up. “Cal’s still recovering. I’m sure something will pop up that will catch his interest.” He gives Cal an encouraging smile
“Fair enough, I guess,” Ellis says. He picks up the spoon again, scooping up the rice. “Any ideas? A new hobby, perhaps?”
“I like books,” Cal says after taking a moment to ponder it.
“He’s been reading a lot since he woke up,” Dawson explains when Ellis looks at him questioningly.
“Ah, yeah. I suppose, given the extent of your…condition, you can read all the books you liked for the first time again.” Ellis chuckles, reaching for his water. “What are you reading? Dan Brown? Daniel Silva?”
“At the moment? I recently startedVampire Diaries.”
Ellis inhales at the same time he takes a drink and ends up coughing up a storm.
