“Thank you,” I said and picked up my burger. Once again, I took a bite of food and grimaced.
“What’s wrong?” Irene asked.
I pointed to my lip while I quickly chewed the bite of burger and swallowed. “I keep forgetting about my lip. Dice gave me some numbing gel to use. It’s in the room I’m staying in, on the nightstand. Would one of you mind grabbing it for me?”
“I’ll get it,” Harper said and returned moments later with the tube.
“Thank you. This stuff is amazing.”
“Gabby, aren’t you the one who gave Dice that gel?” Macy asked.
Gabby grinned. “I am. He came over for dinner the day he dropped that wrench on his face and couldn’t eat anything.”
“I’m glad you did. It’s really helped me,” I told her and proceeded to enjoy my burger and fries.
“Are we actually going to watch a movie or just spend the whole time talking like we usually do?” Reese asked.
“We’ve been trying to watch the same movie for several months now,” Annabelle said.
“I’ve already seen it,” Harper said, and shrugged. “I wanted to watch it and got tired of waiting. It was good, so I don’t mind watching it again.”
“Let’s watch the movie,” Irene said. “A few hours of our chattering will be too much for Daphne.”
With that, everyone got comfortable while Ember dimmed the lights, and a large screen descended from the ceiling.
“You guys take movie night seriously,” I said.
“My son is a professional MMA fighter,” Annabelle said. “We installed the screen so we could watch his matches at the clubhouse.”
“My dad and Uncle Buck were professional boxers. I wonder if they know each other.”
“It’s possible. He lives in California, but everyone in the fighting community seems to know each other. His name is Nathan Davis.”
“Your son is Nathan ‘Night Night’ Davis?” I almost shouted.
She smiled proudly. “Yes, he is. I take it you’ve heard of him.”
“Yes, I have. He’s one of my favorites. He’s always so polite and professional. I can’t wait to tell my dad and Uncle Buck.”
“I’ll make sure we let you know the next time he’s in town so you can meet him.”
“That sounds great.”
“All right,” Irene said and clapped her hands together. “Let’s get this show on the road. I’m an old lady with an early bedtime.”
Evie laughed. “Neither of those things is true.”
“Okay, here we go,” Ember said and started the movie.
I lasted about thirty minutes before I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I vaguely remembered Dice carrying me to bed and tucking me in.
6
DICE
“We need to talk about how we’re going to keep you safe before you go home.”
Daphne briefly scrunched her nose before she sighed. “I know, but it feels weird. Are we sure this is necessary?”