“Ta-dah,” she said as she performed a makeshift curtsy.

As I stood and stared, incapable of speaking, I realized that she was far more beautiful than my former high maintenance wife could ever be. Something, however, told me she had no idea she was as gorgeous as she actually was. I shifted my gaze from her to Cade, who still stood behind her staring with his hands covering his mouth.

Sorry, Cade, but if I have any say, this girl isn’t going to be leaving anytime soon.

RAIN

As we ate our meal, I tried to do so slowly, and not like a savage. The food tasted so much different than what I had become accustomed to that it was difficult not to scarf it down like a starving Armenian. The two very gracious men seemed a little nervous, but continued to be very polite. Cade was almost overbearing with his courteous well-refined behavior. Ethan, on the other hand, seemed comfortable, but had stumbled a few times when attempting to speak. In my four years of being homeless, I had learned that most people proceeded with caution when speaking or asking questions for fear of offending me.

Actually, nothing offended me.

I watched the two men eat, and tried to match them bite for bite, not finishing my meal before they did. It seemed they were taking their own sweet time, but I couldn’t be certain. It had been a long, long time since I had sat down at a table and eaten an actual meal. It was quite possible my eagerness to shovel the food into my mouth hindered my ability to accurately understand the concept of time.

Cade lifted his fork in the air and waved it toward me, “There’s plenty more. Have another plate if you like. I think I’ll have another.”

I glanced toward Ethan.

“I’m going to,” he nodded.

It seemed strange carrying on an actual conversation. In recent years, I had gone weeks and possibly even as much as a month without even speaking to another human being other than a nod or saying hello. I decided to make a conscious effort to choose my words carefully and not sound like a complete idiot. Although I had befriended the librarian on the east side of town and spent a considerable amount of time during my days reading in the last few years, not communicating for long periods of time made doing so seem rather awkward.

“I might. I’m getting pretty full. It’s very good, though,” I responded.

Truthfully, I could have eaten all night.

“Too spicy?” Cade asked.

I shook my head, “Oh, no. It’s perfect. I like the enchiladas, but I really like the corn.”

“A-loh-tay. It’s spelled E-L-O-T-E.” Ethan said as he carefully sounded out each syllable, “He makes it all the time. It’s corn and cheese.”

“It’s goodness,” I said as I scooped up my last spoonful.

Cade placed his fork on his plate and cupped his hands together. He reminded me of the gay kid I went to school with whose name continued to escape me. As I watched anxiously, he opened his mouth, sighed, and began to speak softly.

“Thank you. I take pride in preparing my meals. Ethan eats it, burps, finishes his one beer, and goes to his room. It’s nice to have someone actually appreciate it and express their appreciation,” he said.

“Fuck you, dude. Everything you cook is good. We both know it. I’m not going to praise you like you’re my wife, you’re my fucking roommate for Christ’s sake,” Ethan grunted as he pushed himself from the table.

“Hand me your plate, I’ll get you some more,” Ethan said as he reached for my plate.

Cade rolled his eyes and shook his head lightly. After what seemed to be a self-conscious clearing of his hair from his forehead, he sighed heavily, “Let her finish what she’s eating, Ethan. I’ll get it for her when she’s done.”

Ethan held his hand to the side of my plate and waited as he glared at Cade. After a moment, I lifted my plate to his hand.

“Thank you,” I said as he accepted the plate.

Mental note: Ethan’s the alpha.

I lifted my hand to my face and acted as if I was scratching my nose with the side of my index finger. As I grazed the tip of my nose with my first knuckle, I inhaled a slow shallow breath.

God I smell good.

“I really liked the smell of that soap; the orange one. What was it again?” I asked openly.

“White bottle?” Ethan asked from the kitchen.

“No, clear,” I responded over my shoulder.

Cade rolled his eyes and flipped his bangs out of his face, “It’s mine. It’s good stuff. Axe. It’s the Snake Peel. Does it smell like citrus?”

I nodded my head.

“Love that stuff,” Cade grinned.

“Smells like shit. The white bottle’s better. Try it in the morning, you’ll love it,” Ethan said as he walked away from the kitchen, both hands holding overly stuffed plates of food.

“In the morning?” I asked under my breath.

Ethan shrugged and shifted his eyes toward Cade, “Not much sense in leaving tonight. It’s raining like a motherfucker, and it’s already hailed twice. Probably hail all night.”

“He’s right,” Cade agreed, “The weather is awful. You should just stay. Your clothes won’t be done for a while anyway.”

Ethan set his plate down and walked around the table. As he handed me my plate, he grinned, “He’s right. You should stay.”

Before Ethan had a chance to walk away, Cade reached into his lap, raised his cellphone, and smiled.

“Lean in…” Cade said under his breath.

“Damn it, Cade. You know how I hate…” Ethan said as he turned away.

“Come on, we may never get a better chance,” Cade sighed as he raised his phone above our heads.

“What?” I shrugged.

“Scooch in here and I’m going to take a picture of all of us,” Cade said as he glanced over his shoulder toward Ethan, “Come on you big ape.”

As Ethan leaned down, resting his elbows on the table on one side of Cade, I leaned over and laid my head on his other shoulder and smiled. The phone clicked as he took a few photos. After the third or so, Ethan grumbled, stood, and walked to his side of the table. Cade scrolled through the photos, put the phone back in his pocket, and turned toward me. After staring at me mindlessly for a moment with his mouth partially open, he glanced down at his plate. He played with his rice and beans with the end of his fork for a moment, and eventually looked up and smiled. I smiled in return before shifting my eyes to Ethan.

“You can sleep in my room, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Ethan said as he sat down.

I expected at best they’d feed me, fuck me, and ask me to leave. I had no idea they’d make such a generous offer to a girl they didn’t even know.

“I could be a serial killer,” I said as I turned my plate in a half circle, positioning my corn directly in front of me.

“Not big enough. You’re too small,” Ethan said flatly as he raised a forkful of enchiladas to his mouth.

“If you feel a compulsion to kill, please kill him first. I’ll help with the body,” Cade chuckled as he shook his fork toward Ethan.

“You dip-shit. You’d barf at the sight of a dead body,” Ethan barked.

“Well, at least I’m not a cold-hearted tattooed biker,” Cade snapped back.

Ethan rested his elbow on the table and raised his fork in front of his face as he cocked one eyebrow, “Cold hearted? Are you fucking serious?”

It was entertaining watching two grown men act in the manner they were acting. It was almost as if they were fighting over possession of me. I knew they weren’t, but as they argued, I told myself they were. It felt really nice thinking about it. The thought of having someone care enough to even make the offers they had made caused me to feel wanted, attractive, and almost valuable. As I slowly began to eat my corn, I drifted away to thoughts of this night continuing for nothing short of a lifetime.