Page 21 of Bolo's Curveball
“Seriously?” I asked. When he nodded, I heaved a sigh of relief. “Yeah, man, that would be great. Thanks.”
“What about Rue?” OD asked.
“I’ll get her set up with my friend, too, though I doubt she’ll do an ultrasound this early unless Rue has something she’s worried about.”
“Nah, she’s feeling good. But we’d be down to use your…friend.”
“You have a friend?” Relay asked. He’d only waited until they had finished talking to ask that as a courtesy to Rue. I was sure of it.
“A female friend?” Strike added with a look of disbelief.
“I’m still stuck at friend, let alone female friend,” Relay said.
“And I didn’t even have to pay her to stick around,” Drifter shot back.
Everyone laughed as Kilo came back in and dropped a circular tub of candies in my lap.
“What the-”
“They help with the nausea,” Kilo said. “Thankfully, Camila is out of that stage so you can have them.”
“Holy…fuck! They’re sour as shit,” Merc said, making a face.
I glanced down. He’d somehow gotten the lid off and taken, unwrapped, and popped a candy into his mouth before I even realized what he’d done. “You asshole.”
He was smacking his lips, slowly shaking his head. “Fucking hate sour shit.”
“Then that’s what you fucking deserve for taking a pregnant lady’s shit,” Hype told him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Flir cleared his throat, catching our attention. He pointed up to the TV screen hanging on the wall. Flicking on the power, he started clicking on his laptop.
We all groaned in unison as a PowerPoint popped up.
“No,” Ruck said, horror and dread heavy in his tone. “No fucking PowerPoints.”
“Death by PowerPoint,” OD said in misery as Flir began speaking as he flicked through slides.
“Some common pregnancy symptoms are-”
“Wait,” I said, interrupting him. “Did you just make this while we were talking?”
“Of course,” he said, scowling at me for interrupting him.
“It’s thirty fucking slides long,” Strike groaned.
“How did you make that so damn fast?” Relay asked.
“Never mind that,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s not what I need help with.” I paused, then looked over at Flir. “Send me that later.”
OD nodded, “And me.”
“Me too. I want to make sure it’s accurate,” Drifter told him.
Flir gave him an offended look. “It’s fucking accurate. You think I’d put together anything that isn’t?”
“Whatdoyou need help with?” Ruck asked again, raising his voice so everyone would shut the fuck up.
“I need ideas on how to move forward with Devyn, without scaring her off. She’s slow to trust. I get the feeling that she could bolt at any moment.”
