“So Halle can swoop in? I don’t think so,” Brook said and kissed my nose. “I’ve put too much work into training him.”
“There is no way this one is even close to housebroken,” Rita said as she rolled her eyes.
“David, would you get me something to drink?” Brook asked, trying to prove how well I was trained.
I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder, and swatted her butt. Both Rita and Brook got the giggles as I carried her to the bar to see what they had. I put Brook down and grabbed a couple of sodas. I also got one for Rita.
“He is a work in progress,” Brook admitted and then gave me a kiss.
◊◊◊
We landed at Van Nuys Airport, located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. It’s said to be the busiest noncommercial airport in the world. They handled over 200,000 takeoffs each year. Once the doors opened, I led everyone off the plane. When the sun hit my face, I stopped, let my head drop back, and closed my eyes.
This was why people lived in LA. It was about 70 degrees with a gentle breeze to blow the smog off. If you were from here, you didn’t really notice it. But living in a rural area and then traveling to a big city, you could feel the pollution in your lungs some days.
Malibu wasn’t so bad because it had the ocean breeze. It was more when you hit the city proper that you noticed it. I would consider this amount of smog a fair tradeoff, considering the snow we’d left behind us.
“Move it,” Cassidy bossed me.
“Young lady, you are about to get on my last nerve. You’ve started to get bossy in your old age.”
She had gotten comfortable around me and treated me more like a brother than anything else—a brother she was allowed to boss around. The thing was, I would put up with a lot more from her than almost anyone else. That was because I knew that she cared deeply about me and would never really do anything to harm me.
Cassidy would also protect me and mine without a thought. Even then, as her ‘brother,’ I had to remind her every once in a while that she couldn’t completely take advantage of my good nature.
“David, I told her to lead the way as your security,” Fritz called out from inside the plane.
“Well, then, by all means, I will move,” I said and let her wiggle past me.
I wasn’t too worried about security because there was no one within twenty yards of us. Then again, what did I know? I paid Fritz and his people for a reason.
We all deplaned, and they gave us our luggage. Once we exited the airport terminal, we found Manaia with Jane and Flo standing by three Range Rovers. Fritz, Rita, Stewart, and Halle got into one, and my crew filled the other two so we could go home.
◊◊◊
Once we got to the house, Brook and I gave everyone the grand tour and showed people where their rooms were.
“Seriously? I thought the boy-boy, girl-girl roomies stuff was just for the parents’ sake,” Wolf said to Sarah.
He’d assumed that he and Sarah would be sleeping in the same room.
“Dude, cool it,” Tim told his friend.
“But David and Brook …” Wolf began.
“Are much more serious,” Tami said to play referee.
Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to get in the middle of this. I was sure Tim and Tami would get Wolf to understand. I left them to figure it out as I toddled down the hall, carrying Brook’s and my bags to our room. Once I dropped the bags off, I went downstairs and found Brook with her head in the refrigerator.
“You need to make a run to the store for supplies. Why don’t you take Tim and Wolf? That’ll give you all a chance to talk and leave us girls some time alone,” Brook said.
“What are you planning?” I asked.
“I’m impressed. Normally you don’t figure these things out,” she teased me.
“Hey, while you and the girls are plotting our downfall, call Cindy.”
“Why me?” Brook asked.
“Because you brought up the little issue.”
“Word is, it isn’t all that little.”
I closed my eyes and tried not to snap out a bad comeback. My mind went blank.
“Whatev.”
I needed to work on my material.
◊◊◊
“David,” Wolf said with concern on his face, “is there somewhere cheaper we could go?”
I’d taken the guys to the Malibu grocery store my dad and I had first come to. At the time, I’d been shocked at how expensive everything was. I could see both Tim and Wolf were worried.
“As much as I hate to say it, we aren’t back home where everything is normal. I know you don’t want to hear this, but let me buy. Ignore the prices and get what you want.”
“I can’t do that. You can’t just pay for everything. It’s too much,” Wolf complained and took a deep breath. “Actually, all of this is too much. I don’t belong here.”
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“The flight, the house …” he said, waving his hands around him. “All this. People like me aren’t supposed to be here.”
My eyebrows rose, and I looked at Tim for help.
“Do you expect David not to have nice things?” Tim asked.
“I forget that he’s so much better off. Maybe it would be better if we weren’t friends. I have no idea why you want to hang out with me,” Wolf said.
“Do you mind hanging out with Brook?” I asked.
“No, not really,” Wolf admitted.
