Page 100 of Hades

I turn and look at her. “No, I wanted to do that and just used her for her knowledge.”

“But why?”

“Because since you’ve been on leave, you’ve been down, which is valid, but I fucking hate it. I wanted to surprise you with something that would make you smile. So I ordered food I knew you would eat. I wanted to take you on a date, do something fun, but we are trying not to be on Dansworth’s radar right now, so anything we do will have to be here.”

Her eyes soften as she studies me.

“No one has ever done something that sweet for me before,” she says softly.

“I’ve never done it before, so it’s new for the both of us,” I mutter, making her laugh.

“All right, tell me what the game plan is,” she says as she grabs the container of tenders and her sauces.

I watch as she opens them and then immediately dunks the chicken in both.

“You mix them?”

“Yes, and don’t judge me. It’s delicious. Now tell me what the plan is.”

I shake my head. “Well, we can continue down the trash TV route, or we could always try a movie instead. I found a shit ton of games in the hall closet, and I thought we could play a couple of those.”

“Most of those take more than two people,” she says before taking a bite.

I reach for my burger and unwrap it. “Who gives a fuck what the rules say? Who’s going to tell on us for making our own and playing how we want?”

A pretty smile crosses her face as she tucks her legs under her. “Okay, I’m down, but before I agree to the movie thing, I need to know what type you are into. If you say horror, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” she says, making me wince.

“Horror is not for me. Not because I get scared or anything, but because I hate how unrealistic they are,” I admit.

She hums. “I don’t know, they’ve gotten better over the years.”

“Not doing it.”

I take a bite of my burger and watch her.

“So action? Drama? Romantic comedy?”

I shrug. “I don’t mind any of them. We had a sweetbutt at the clubhouse in Chicago who was obsessed with Hallmark Christmas movies and would play them for everyone to watch. We all knew if it was new movie day to either stay the fuck out or to sit and be quiet.”

Evelyn tips her head back and laughs. “You guys really watched Hallmark Christmas movies because a sweetbutt of all people wanted to watch them?”

I shrug. “She was awesome and more like a house mom than a sweetbutt. None of us wanted to piss her off.”

“I wonder if she’s still there,” she muses.

“Probably. I’ll have to ask the guys. Shit, I haven’t thought about her really since I left. I hope she’s doing well.”

She pats my hand. “That’s awesome. You should definitely ask.”

“I will.”

“Speaking of Chicago…how are you handling them being so close? I know you’ve seen them a few times.”

I shrug as I crumple up my wrapper and toss it back into the bag. “I’m fine. It’s weird, don’t get me wrong, but it’s all right. I’m sure it would feel different if they were constantly around, but where they are undercover, we only meet when we need to.”

“That makes sense.” Evelyn nods.

I grab the fries and pop one into my mouth. “Are you missing the hospital?”