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“A juicy hamburger,” Syd finishes my sentence. Exactly. The day after a drunken night, the best thing in the world is to eat a hamburger. At least, I think so.
Aiden flags down a waitress and orders. “Make that two,” Max says, smirking. I look over at his food piled high and shake my head. These guys are going to get their money’s worth. “What? It does sound good.” He rubs his hands together and picks up a rib, taking a hefty bite. Judging by his tray, it seems everything looks good to Max.
“Let’s hear about last night,” I say, poking Katie next to me. “It’s not legit, is it?”
“Too Legit To Quit” from MC Hammer comes out of Damon’s mouth and Syd adds the “heeyy heyyyya” part. My head tilts to the side as I stare at the two across the table.
“I can’t take you guys anywhere. Y’all are nuts,” I say, chuckling. It’s not until Aiden starts beat-boxing next to me that Damon starts rapping the lyrics. Max starts playing the drums with his silverware on the table. I think they’ve all lost their freaking minds. I shrink down in my chair and glance around the restaurant. All eyes are on us. Please, make it stop soon.
Katie leans over and whispers into my ear, “Now you see what I’ve had to put up with for years. Welcome to the family,” she giggles. I should be used to it by now because of Syd. But this is a whole new level. We’ve got a band now.
When they finish, I clap and tell Aiden, “I’m so glad Audacious Babes are getting back together.” Aiden shakes his head and chuckles.
“Who the hell is Audacious Babes?” Max asks, putting down his silverware drumsticks.
I do my best confused expression that I can muster. “I thought that was the name of y’all’s band when you were kids?”
“You told her about that?” Max says, belting out a laugh. Aiden leans over and wraps his arm around my chair, kissing me on my temple.
“I did,” he answers. “But I did not tell her our name was Audacious Babes. That’s her own spin on that story.”
I shrug. “It’s better than Paperback Boys,” I say dryly.
Ryker and Jaxon burst out laughing. “Paperback Boys? Why haven’t we ever heard this story,” Ryker taunts. Max throws a roll at him and hits him in the head.
“That was a long time ago,” he answers and looks at Aiden with a lopsided grin. Max knows the pain Aiden went through from the death of his mom. Pain that left an unspoken promise to never talk about the past. Aside from the teasing, Max seems genuinely happy that Aiden told me.
The pieces of our lives that we hid from the world because of the deaths of our mothers have slowly surfaced. I lean my head on Aiden’s arm and reflect how far we’ve come. Our instant attraction that turned into a deeper love than I ever could have imagined has shaken my whole world and that world is being rebuilt with Aiden as my foundation.
“I love you,” Aiden whispers. The rasp of his voice pulls at my insides. I glance up at him and softly smile. He can sing every love song or dance with me every night but nothing will elicit the same heartfelt response than hearing those three simple words.
A plate is placed in front of me, pulling me from my deep thoughts. I politely thank the waitress as I stare at the delicious hamburger. My mouth waters and my stomach grumbles in anticipation.
As I bring the hamburger to my lips and take too big of a bite, the waitress says, “What male revue do you guys work at?” I try to laugh but my mouth is too full so I end up choking it down. The other girls break out in giggles at the absurd remark. Tears run down my face as I reach for my water. Aiden helps by patting my back.
“What?” Damon says, sitting up taller in his chair.
“What show are you guys from,” she says in a hushed tone. I look around the table and I can see where she might think that. All the guys at the table are very built and are wearing T-shirts that show off their muscular arms. They’re hot and they seem to be okay with entertaining people.
“We’re FBI,” Damon states matter-of-factly, holding his arms out.
“Oh! I bet that is a hot skit. So, all of you come out on the stage in uniform?” She starts fanning herself with the menu she has in her hand. My hand is on Aiden’s leg, and I squeeze it while I try and stifle my laugh. The waitress is young, maybe twenty at the most, and she is dead serious.
“You think this is funny?” Aiden says, poking me in the waist. I double over and laugh, thinking about Aiden being on stage dancing like the guys the other night. Don’t get me wrong, it’d be hot, but I just can’t see him wanting to do that.
“At least I wouldn’t have to stuff my thong,” Damon busts out proudly.
“Oh, baby,” Syd snickers. “I’ve seen you dance. You need to keep your day job.”
This is too much. I can’t stop laughing. The waitress looks around the table. Her lips twist. I think she’s starting to question if they really are part of any show. But then again, if I were her, I wouldn’t believe they were FBI either.
Damon jumps up and straddles Syd. She squeals, sitting all the way back in her chair. He wraps her hands around his ass as he grinds his hips on her lap. This is happening. In a restaurant. People are going to think we’re crazy. The waitress watches while the table roars with laughter. When he’s done, he flashes a confident smile as if he thinks he’s proven Sydney wrong. Her face is red from laughing so hard.
“So…you’re not dancers?” the waitress comments after he sits down. Aiden slaps his hand down on the table and throws his head back, laughing. Damon laughs but flips off Aiden.
“No. I’m Ryker Dallas,” Ryker says, standing up and taking off his hat. The waitress’s eyes widen. Her face flushes from embarrassment. “I am definitely not a stripper.”
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.” Her voice raises a couple octaves and her face flushes. Ryker politely smiles and puts his hat back on.
