This Life And The Next

Chapter 15

Drake balled up his napkin and sent it flying. His landed on the intended mark—Landon's right cheek.

Landon howled and grabbed the ball once it landed on the table, shooting it back at Drake.

The two of them engaged in balled napkin war. Both plucked napkins out of the dispenser and balled them up, letting them fly, seconds later. Their shenanigans continued until the waitress's sudden appearance took them by surprise.

"Everythin' okay, here?" she asked, bending forward to collect several of the balled napkins littered across the floor behind Landon's chair.

"Peachy keen," Randy said.

She chortled. "I can see that. You've been making quite the ruckus. Might I suggest you guys tone it down a little?"

My cheeks flushed with heat. "Sorry. They're a little over the top sometimes."

Landon shot a balled napkin at my head. "How would you know?"

I caught the projectile in midair and set it down on the table. Ignoring him, I said, "We'll keep it down."

The young woman nodded and finished collecting the rest of the balled napkins. She turned and walked away, leaving us alone to finish our lunches.

"Well," Myrla murmured, "I guess this means we can't come back here anymore."

"Pffft," Drake said. "We can come back whenever we want. We're just having a little fun, that's all."

She grimaced. "I don't think the patrons appreciate us having fun right now."

Landon drank the rest of his iced tea. "They'll get over it. We didn't mean anything by it, really. 'Sides, we're just taking a little time to eat and shoot the shit. Where's the harm in that?"

"When you start disrupting the business, I think it's time for you to move on," Dillon replied. "We're done, right?"

"Pretty much," Aiden said, tossing his soiled napkin onto his plate. "What's next on the agenda? Gonna go back to the Adventuredome?"

Dillon slid a hand into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "No. Was thinking of taking Chance to the circus. Or the Cirque Du Soleil show, maybe."

"Can always take her to Midway," Randy suggested.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Do I look like someone who'd enjoy a round at the casino?"

"Don't knock it if you haven't tried it," he said.

"I've been to a casino. We have Foxwoods back home, you know."

Drake raised an eyebrow at me. "You're from Connecticut, right?"

"Yeah. I moved down to California several months ago. Myrla and I have been roomies ever since."

"Mohegun Sun isn't that bad a place. I've been there a few times. Mostly for the concerts, though. The last one I went to, I got drunk and ended up in bed with some totally random chick."

I chuckled. "You like that sort of thing, do you?"

"Having fun, yes. To end up in bed with someone I don't know? Not really. I never meant for it to happen either. Just . . . we had a good time and one thing led to another. Thank goodness I didn't have a girlfriend at the time. Can you imagine the shitstorm if I had?"

Myrla laughed. "You'd have been in the doghouse."

"Doghouse is an understatement. So, we're going to the circus, then?"

Dillon nodded and waved a hand in the air.

The waitress sauntered in our direction, seconds later. "What's up?"