Sugar Spell it Out

Eight: There's this Girl

I made Ray drive us back, considering he had the world's loveliest nap while we were working like dogs.

Just like he did to me, I yapped in his ear the whole duration of our ride while Daniel and Cade laughed, joining in when I got tired.

My shoes hit the hardwood floors of the vacation house. I had to resist the urge to get on my knees and kiss the ground.

It was around four-thirty; the sky was still pitch black. The shoot didn't last as long as we had expected, but three hours was still outrageous for it to be so early.

After rejecting Jaslene in the first hour of the shoot, the rest went by in a blur. I hardly remembered the heated looks I'd get from her whenever we took our ten minute breaks.

I dragged my body into the large kitchen, straight for the refrigerator. I decided to heat up leftover pizza, grabbing the bottle of hot sauce in the door of the refrigerator.

"Shit, I'm beat," said Daniel, taking a seat across from me and putting his head on the table.
"You? I think I'm gonna pass out," said Cade with a muffled voice.

Looking a bit disoriented, he emerged from the pantry with a large bag of chocolate chip cookies hanging between his lips. Biting into my own food, I watched him get his tall glass of milk before sitting down too.
"I think we've all had it tough the past couple of days." Cade looked at me pointedly.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Is Arthur still by your mom's house? He doesn't know how good he's got it, that lucky son of a-"
"Hey!" Cade's face was comical. Daniel raised his head from the table, a small grin on his face as his hands raised in surrender. Cade's finger was in Dan's face for less than a second. Dan slapped it away roughly.
"Better watch yourself, Danny boy." He gave Daniel 'the eye'. "Nobody calls my mama out of her name."
"I was just joking," he replied, amusement coloring his tone. Cade tried to glare at him.
Daniel rolled his eyes, turning to look at me.

I clicked my teeth, "Chill out, man—throwing the bitch word around."
He shrugged at me, cracking a smile.

Cade threatening Daniel was similar to a beagle trying to mess over a wolf. It didn't look right. It wasn't as if Cade wasn't tough, though. It just looked funny.

Dan and I have been around him too long for that to happen.

"What's Arthur up to now? He was supposed to be coming back tomorrow." I said. "I haven't been able to talk to him the past couple of days."

Cade shrugged. "He's so indecisive when it comes to Mama. He originally was supposed to stay for a week, but he told me he lost his resolve after eating her homemade oatmeal the morning he was supposed to fly down here."

Daniel snorted, stealing a cookie. Cade slid the glass of milk his way.

"Don't say it like that," I said, finishing off my pizza.

"Yeah, hell, I think we'd all be that way if we had a chance to see our families." Dan finished for me.

Cade simply shrugged again. "But it's not fair." He ran a hand through his spiked hair. "I want some, too."

I got up to throw my dirty plate away, before opening up the pantry to find something else to eat.

"We saw what went down with you and Jaslene," Cade said.
I glanced at him, "You did?"

Dan nodded his head, confirming what Cade had said. I turned back to the pantry grabbing the Fruit Loops™, a large bowl, and the gallon of milk, sitting back
"So why didn't you hit her up?" Cade asked. His tone seemed conversational, but I could tell he was dying to know.