Page 30 of Stolen
“Yeah, no thanks.” I scoffed. “I can barely handle athletes and their egos. Supermodels would eat me alive.”
“Probably not, since most of them are vegan, nowadays,” Tommy joked. “But maybe you’re right. Speaking of egos…”
The athletes were coming right around the corner, with Diego leading the pack. Diego was holding a box of what looked like various vegetables and fruits, carrots, corn, tomatoes, watermelon. Andrew and Chris were close behind him, carrying similar boxes of their own.
They didn’t stop until they were standing next to Bradley at the stove.
“We have things we would like to add to the breakfast,” Diego started. “We raided another one of the fridges?—”
“Yeah. We can tell,” Jacob added. “That’s like three days’ worth of breakfast. You guys know that, right?”
“We need a lot of it. We have to keep up our mass,” Andrew added. “We know you two volunteered to make us breakfast, so we didn’t want to step on your toes but?—”
“But eggs and bacon can only take us so far,” Chris jumped into the conversation. “You want real staying power? You have to commit to the bit.”
“I don’t think that means what you think it means, Chris.” Diego looked over at him as he said it. “Did you need to borrow my book? The one about popular American sayings?”
“Actually, yeah. That’d be great.” Chris sighed, seeming relieved. “I swear, mate, you think you have it all right, and then suddenly, it’s like they’re speaking another language right at you.”
“I know!” Diego shook his head. “It’s incredible, isn’t it?”
“One box,” Jacob said, as he took the box out of Diego’s hand. “We can make one box of fruits and veggies. The rest, we can put back in the fridge?—”
“Sic semper tyrannis!” Diego called out. “Death to tyrants!”
“Make the veggies! Make the veggies! Make the veggies!” Andrew chanted, as he shuffled the box in his hands back and forth.
Jacob looked over at me, and we quietly exchanged a knowing glance.
This was definitely some of thediva behaviorthatI’d warned him about.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed back at him. “Just start making the veggies?”
Jacob seemed slightly amused at my response before he nudged Bradley in the shoulder. He then whispered something to his cousin and Bradley nodded, dumping a few of the veggies on the stove, the sizzling sound echoing throughout the café.
Diego, Chris, and Andrew began to celebrate like their respective teams had just scored a winning goal, dancing around the café to music only they could hear.
“Are you good on coffee?”Jacob asked before settling down beside me at one of the bigger café tables. “Because I can always get you another cup if?—”
“I’m good.” I offered him a small smile and took a bite of my breakfast, which consisted of eggs, homemade salsa, and bacon. “Fuck. This is so good. My compliments to the chef.”
“I’ll let Bradley know that you appreciate the meal.” Jacob smirked and dug into his own breakfast. We were surrounded by the rest of the athletes at our table, while Tommy and the rest of the crew were sitting at a table behind us.
Keith had, unfortunately, finally joined us for breakfast, too. He hadn’t come in with the rest of the athletes, which seemed a little strange, but once I noticed how tired he was at the table, the mystery had immediately been solved.
He’d been up all night partying. Again.
It was one of his worst habits, and it looked like he had no plans on changing it, anytime soon.
“Goddamn, Jacob. What’d you put in this coffee?” Andrew took another huge sip before he went on. “This is perfect.”
“Did you used to work at a Starbucks or something?” Chris bit into a chunk of watermelon. “Or one of those independent cafés that have bookshops in the back?”
“I’ve just always been good with making coffee, that’s all.” Jacob shrugged. “I have a good sense of when to add a pump of espresso, caramel, you name it.”
“Your hands are guided by the gods, then, friend,” Diego added. “You and Bradley have superpowers in the kitchen.”
“If you think I’m good in the kitchen, you should see Leo behind the bar.” Jacob winked in my direction. “He’s amazing when it comes to making drinks.”