Chapter 3 #2
Seth: Is that all you want, still?
Ren: No. Not anymore.
Seth set his phone down on the desk and began to pace.
This was the moment.
Except, what if it wasn’t?
What if Ren was pissed? What if Ren wasn’t in deep enough yet?
Seth didn’t know how he’d figure out when that was true—but he wasn’t willing to stop winning Ren over until he was just as sure as Seth was. He walked back to the desk, picked up the phone and typed out something else.
Seth: I was hoping you’d say that.
Ren: I didn’t know what the truth was, until you asked me just now.
Seth’s phone dinged. Not with the notification he wanted. With a reminder that he had a meeting of his own to be getting to, and he had to eat first. Things had been going so good, but he needed to do this. Lennox would skin him, slowly, if he blew it.
Seth: I’ve got to go get ready for my meeting, but I hope we can chat later.
Ren: I wouldn’t miss it.
Seth: Good. Me either.
“Hey, Ren.”
He glanced up, and saw Ash standing there.
He’d been so absorbed in his conversation with Jake that he hadn’t even noticed him approach.
Ren had taken a seat at the table he considered “his spot” twenty minutes ago because he could always tell if Gabe ended up with a line big enough that he couldn’t handle it on his own—and after setting down the wrap he’d gotten from Sean’s truck, pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He’d spent most of the morning, despite how busy it had been, wondering if PICMAN would reply to the message he’d sent first thing this morning.
If he’d been glued to his phone during prep, Gabriel definitely would’ve noticed and demanded he explain, so even though he’d felt it vibrate a handful of times, he’d avoided looking at it for the last few hours.
But the lunch rush had finally ended, and Ren had told his cousin he was taking a break. Gabe had been flicking through their sales numbers on the truck’s tablet, and had barely paid attention when he’d slipped out.
“Oh, hey, I didn’t see you there,” Ren said. “What’s up?”
He normally really enjoyed talking to Ash, but honestly, all he wanted to do was keep talking to Jake. Even if he had a meeting to get to.
Ash sat down opposite Ren. He had his own lunch in his hands, and set it down in front of him.
“I just had the weirdest visitor,” Ash said, digging into his salad.
Please don’t say Seth, please don’t say Seth.
It made no sense that it would be Seth, but Ren felt like he was finally making inroads on forgetting he even existed, and the last thing he needed was for Ash to bring him up again.
“Who was it?”
“He said his name was Jonas, Jonas Anderson,” Ash said. “And that he’s starting up a food truck lot a few blocks from here. Less than a mile, he said.”
“What?” After only a bite, Ren set his wrap down again. “Is he really? Tony is gonna freak out.”
“Tony is gonna freak out more when he finds out that this Jonas dude is trying to poach his food trucks.”
“You’re kidding,” Ren said, this new problem almost pushing the thought of Seth out of his head.
“I wish I was kidding,” Ash said solemnly. “I told him right away that I appreciated the attention, but that I wasn’t interested. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer, and kept upping the offer, trying to sweeten the deal, I guess.”
“Wow.”
“I know.” Ash sighed. “I’m not even sure he really believed that I’d say no, even though he finally left.”
“I wonder if he’s going to ask anyone else.”
“Oh,” Ash said grimly, “I’d bet on it.”
“You need to tell Tony,” Ren said.
“I will, eventually.” Ash speared a piece of chicken in his salad.
“Here’s the weirdest thing though. This guy he’s .
. . well, you’ll have to meet him, and frankly, I think there’s no way you won’t, because why would he go after me, when he could have you guys?
You’re notorious. But if you do meet him, you’ll see. He’s exactly like Tony. Exactly.”
“What, bossy and pushy and refuses to take no for an answer? Thinks he knows better than anyone else?”
“And knows he’s charming as hell, too, so he can get away with it,” Ash said. “Like Tony, I didn’t even hate him for it. I didn’t even dislike him for it. He was fun to talk to. I just didn’t want to work for him. This is where I’m meant to be. You guys are like family.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t agree more,” Ren said. “We’re not going to be interested—except maybe to hear the pitch and give Tony shit about it later.”
Ash grinned. “Exactly,” he said.
“You really think this guy is gonna try to poach all of us?” It would take brass balls to attempt it; but in a different situation, Tony might’ve done it. Maybe Ash was right and he was actually Tony’s long-lost twin.
“I do,” Ash said, leaning forward, a gleam in his eyes. “I totally do.”
“It would be mean to fuck with Tony like that.” Ren had always liked Tony, though half of the time he couldn’t deny Tony made everyone a little crazy with all his schemes.
To give Tony credit, they were often schemes that paid off. A few months back, Tony had spearheaded an effort to help Ross without actually looking like they were helping Ross, and in the end, they’d all ended up with a significant sales boost.
Waffle Day had not only been a huge success for Ross, but for all of them.
“But hilarious,” Ash said. “He’s always interfering. It would be amusing to interfere with him right back.”
It was true.
If you looked up “interfering,” in the dictionary, there was Tony’s face.
“Imagine when he finds out that the guy recruited Lucas.”
Ren chuckled. “You think he will?”
“Undoubtedly. The guy has a fanatical following. Every vegan in Los Angeles knows about his truck. Especially since Waffle Day.” Lucas’ menu offering for Waffle Day hadn’t been the winning entry—everyone had known it was going to be Ross, and he’d deserved it—but the unique way he’d made chicken and waffles had totally changed how both vegans and non-vegans alike thought about fried chicken.
It had catapulted Lucas into being one of the most popular food trucks on a very popular food truck lot.
And that was why this Jonas guy was coming for it.
So many people didn’t have the imagination to come up with something new.
A food truck lot—that was hardly new and innovative thinking, but Tony had turned their lot into something else.
People came not just to get the food and grab a beer, but to hang out.
Chat with their friends. Listen to the music.
It was becoming a place to see and be seen.
Tony was strutting around, justifiably pleased at how they were doing, when they were just now approaching their one-year anniversary of opening, but it wouldn’t hurt to take him down a peg.
“Imagine trying to poach a guy’s boyfriend,” Ash said with a laugh. “Tony is gonna lose his shit.”
“I’d pay real money to be there when he finds out,” Ren said.
“Speaking of boyfriends . . .” Ash said, and Ren tensed.
“And how I’m never going to have one?” Ren finished the sentence for him.
He was not necessarily as convinced as he’d always been—after all, if he didn’t want a boyfriend, why was he flirting with Jake?—but he wasn’t even close to ready to discuss his evolving opinions on the subject.
Even with Ash, who wouldn’t give him the kind of crap that Gabriel no doubt would.
Ash laughed at Ren’s comment. “We all know you’re not interested in a boyfriend, but I think . . . well, I think Seth might be getting one.”
“Oh?” Ren forced his voice to stay casual. Uninterested.
“Yeah, he told Lennox he actually met someone he really likes on that new app. You might not have to worry about him mooning after you anymore. That’s good, right?”
“Great,” Ren echoed awkwardly.
He did not think it was great.
If anyone deserved to move on first, it was him.
“I know it’s been awkward, but if he moves on, the same way you have, it’ll make it a lot easier, don’t you think?”
“Oh yeah. Much easier.” Ren heard the irony in his own voice, but Ash wasn’t looking for it, so he just smiled in agreement. And then he couldn’t help himself, because something he refused to identify as jealous was spiking inside him. “Seth told Lennox about a guy he likes? Really?”
Ash leaned forward, grinning. “I was downstairs in the office grabbing coffee ’cause Lennox was out upstairs, and he asked Seth if he’d found anyone on that app. I guess they made a profile for Seth the other day. And Seth said yes. I couldn’t believe it.”
“Seth is an attractive guy. Why wouldn’t he find someone?” Defending him came almost as easy as breathing. He’d wanted him. Badly.
“Because in all the time I’ve known him, he hasn’t ever been interested in anyone . . . just . . .” Ash hesitated, glancing down at his half-eaten salad.
“Me,” Ren finished for him. “He’s only ever been interested in me.”
“I was just worried, that’s all. That he wouldn’t find someone. He’s a good guy.”
Ren nodded his agreement with this assessment, because, well, he knew it. He’d known it from the moment they met. Even when he’d hated Seth, he’d still admired him. Still respected him.
“So, you taking a date to Shaw’s bar opening this weekend?” Ash said, casually changing the subject, like he hadn’t made Ren overthink everything, all over again.
“No,” Ren said. He hadn’t been able to even think about a date after the last pathetically terrible one, and chatting with Jake made the idea of calling someone up to go with him even more unattractive.
He’d go alone, or as a third wheel with Gabe and Sean. They wouldn’t mind. He wouldn’t even mind that much, despite all his whining about their loved-up ridiculousness.
“Ah, well, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of cute guys there,” Ash said. “You could always pick up someone there.”
“I could.”
For a moment, he considered asking Jake to go with him. Would he say yes? Or would it ruin whatever it was that they’d started to build?
“Lennox and I are gonna make sure Seth goes,” Ash said. Then added, tilting his head thoughtfully, “Or maybe he’ll ask that guy he’s been chatting with.”
“Maybe.” Oh God, I hope not.
The idea of having to watch as Seth and some other guy flirted with each other—or worse—was abhorrent.
“I’m going to suggest that,” Ash said, sounding very satisfied with this.
“Or maybe you should just let him figure out what he wants to do,” Ren said. “And then let him do it.”
Ash laughed. “When did you get so smart? And at this stuff?”
“Uh, maybe because I don’t get involved?” Ren had no idea if that was true, but he did know, without a doubt, that he was absolutely fucking terrible at this stuff.
“Good point,” Ash said warmly.
For a moment, they were both quiet, eating their lunches in peace, and Ren thought for a split second that the awkwardness might finally be over.
But then Ash chewed and swallowed. “I have a friend I could hook you up with for the party if you wanted. He’s cute. And good in bed.”
Before Lennox, Ash had had a series of casual dates and boyfriends, slightly more serious than Ren, but ultimately leading to a long list of guys he could probably call.
Ugh.
Old Lorenzo would have jumped all over that, because Ash had good taste in guys. But Right Now Lorenzo was absolutely not interested.
“Uh, thanks, but I’m good.”
Ash narrowed his eyes. “Really?”
“Really.”
He picked up the rest of his wrap and gestured to the truck, which had only had a handful of visitors in the last twenty minutes. “I’ve . . . uh, I’ve got to go give Gabe some help.”
Ash looked momentarily confused, but then the baffled look was gone from his face.
“Okay,” he said. “Catch you later.”
“Bye,” Ren said, and absolutely fucking escaped back to the truck.
When he climbed up the back steps, Gabe was still flicking through sales reports on their tablet. “You didn’t have to come back just yet,” Gabe said, not looking away from the screen. “It’s been quiet.”
“Oh, I was done,” Ren said, then shoved the rest of the wrap into his mouth, chewing with difficulty.
“Okay.” Gabe hesitated. “You okay? You’ve been acting odd. Ever since . . . well, since you and Seth . . .”
“I don’t want to talk about Seth,” Ren said with conviction.
He’d never actually not wanted to talk about Seth before.
He’d always hung around, surreptitiously eavesdropping and gathering whatever info he could find.
He’d jumped on every opportunity to have a conversation about the man—specifically or tangentially.
“Uh, okay,” Gabe said. “Anyway, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Ren said.
“You seem . . . off.”
It was annoying how damn perceptive Gabe was. Probably because they’d spent nearly every waking moment together for the last few years. They worked together, they lived together, went to the bar together, and even though Gabe was fucking terrible at trivia, he’d gone with Ren plenty of times.
“Really, I’m good.”
“You want to come with Sean and me to the Fickle Cup opening on Saturday night?”
“Sure,” Ren said, and then immediately changed the subject. “Did Tony give his okay to close the lot earlier that night?”
Gabe nodded. “Seven. Gives you plenty of time to doll yourself up for all your admirers.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t worry,” Gabe said, shooting him a quicksilver grin, “you can go with me and Sean, but I won’t expect you to come home with us.”
“Right. Of course not.”
Gabe never expected him to go home alone.
But what if he did meet someone at the opening night party?
What would he do about Jake?
It wasn’t like they’d made each other promises. Or they’d even met. But somehow, Ren felt like it would be wrong to sleep with some other guy.
Some other guy that wasn’t Jake.