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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Losing Jay from the team was a nightmare. Not because Ella missed him, but because he did a lot of work with content, running with ideas, and controlling hers. Right now, she had a thousand ideas and was running short on time for her project. Her anxiety was at an all-time high, and it wasn’t even past breakfast time.
“Bishop’s about to swing up here,” Locke said. “I’m headed out.”
“Thanks for pulling an overnight guard duty. I know there’s a thousand things more fun than patrolling my front door and couch.” She liked him. Sometimes, Locke said a lot when he said nothing at all. “I made fresh, non-wheatgrass smoothies, if you didn’t notice me take tons of pictures to post later.”
“No big deal, and”—he laughed—“I did notice. Very red looking.”
“I’m going to be insulted if you don’t try one sometime soon.” The door opened, and Bishop walked in, accompanying Manny. “Hey, guys!” She turned back to Locke. “Now you’re off the clock. Go try one.”
“Working didn’t keep me from trying one, Ella.”
Having chosen the pictures she wanted to post and rereading the recipe, she tossed her phone on the counter. “Now I’m insulted.”
Locke’s eyes widened a fraction, and dang it, he was too nice to screw with. That she would leave for Bishop. “Kidding. Kidding.”
He smiled, which didn’t happen nearly often enough. “All right, I’ll try one.”
Ella beamed that finally she had worn him down. Bishop was next on her list, though her goal was to get him to drink something with wheatgrass in it. That would be considered a trophy win.
“Hey, El.”
Two words, one reaction. Swoony-smiley. That was how Bishop made her feel when he turned his green eyes on her. “Hi.”
Locke spun toward her blender and poured the strawberry power blast into a glass as she picked her phone back up and scheduled it to go live later.
He stirred the cup. “Smoothies of champions.”
“Cheers.” She prayed he would love it. Surely he would. Right? Who in their right mind wouldn’t?
“Ella!” Manny pointed his thumb. “So me and Muscles—”
Bishop glared. “Excuse me?”
“What? If she can call you that, why can’t I?”
Locke choked on his smoothie, laughing, covering his mouth and heading for the sink.
Bishop’s eyebrows almost hit his hair. “Muscles?”
“What?” Her cheeks were on fire. “You’ve heard me say that before.”
He glowered. “I didn’t know this was a common thing.”
Locke howled in laughter, not that he was finished choking on her smoothie, which he had spit in the sink, dang it.
Manny tried to help. “Oh, come on. You’ve got big muscles. What other nicknames should we call you?”
Locke rejoined the conversation, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, still chortling. “Yeah, Muscles.”
“Screw you.” Bishop shook his head, trying not to laugh, but Ella could see that he could at least appreciate the entertainment value.
“He calls you Crazy,” Locke offered.
“Still?”Ella sobered. “That’s not fair. Or nice. At least Muscles is nice.”
“And true,” Manny said. “Ella’s not crazy.”