Chase and Company

Chapter Fourteen: Red in the Face and Red in the Head

        I walked into the kitchen as waves of warmth and sweet fragrance rolled over me, overpowering any other scent within a ten foot radius.

               “Good morning, baby girl,” Landon greeted from his place at the stove. He handed me a mug of coffee and I smiled to him appreciatively. “How was last night?”

               I mulled it over as I tried not to scald my tongue. “It was good,” I replied.

               “Really? I didn’t know being stood up was fun,” he said, arching his brow.

               “Oh well, not that part,” I said. “But, other than that it was good.”

               “Does this have anything to do with one of my baby brothers?” he asked, a knowing smile already on his lips.

               “Maybe,” I tried to say nonchalantly, smiling into my mug.

               “Pancakes!” Clark twirled into the kitchen like a sugar plum fairy, his arms spread in the air. Hudson, Camille, and Aiden filed in behind him.

               “Go set the table,” Landon told him. “And you,” he said, pointing his spatula at me, “take the food.”

               “Yes, mother,” I teased, taking the plate from him before he could swat me on the bum with his cooking utensil. Before I even took a step, Aiden reached over my head and grabbed the plate, taking it to the table for me.

               With everyone seated and snatching pancakes from the stack, they chatted about their night. Somehow, Clark got a girl’s number.

               “You can’t go out with her,” Camille told Clark.

               “Why not?”

               “Her name’s Lydia.”

               “So?”

               “So, put you two together, and you get Chlamydia,” Hudson said, snickering.

               Clark scowled as Landon spoke up. “Trust me, bro, she wasn’t that great. Her extensions were slipping and it looked like she was losing hair by the handful.”

               “But I want a pretty girl in my life!” Clark whined. I felt a bit sorry for my best friend. He hadn’t had a proper girlfriend since, like, ever. Suddenly, I got an idea.

               “I got you,” I told him.

               He looked at me sideways. “Uh, no offense Shay, but dating you is as appealing to me as the idea of dating my grandmother.”

               I flicked a piece of pancake at him. “Not me, gross nugget. And don’t hate on Nana Frederickson, she still sends me crocheted cell phone covers. What I meant was I know someone.”

               He raised his eyebrows. “As long as she’s not a gross nugget, okay.”

               Landon cleared his throat. “So, no one has plans today. What should we do?”

               “Actually, I, uhm, have a modeling gig,” Camille coughed shyly. “Sorry, Lan.”

               Landon nodded. “That’s okay.” He turned to his brother.