Page 50 of Take You Home (Redwater Demons #3)

“Speaking of answers to questions,” Cass says, holding up a piece of paper with ten neat food orders written on it, “we’re getting a bigger haul than usual from Tacos Near Me, so I wrote it all down for Lucia.

I already know Obie’s usual order, but what would you like, Kyle? Obie’s paying, obviously.”

“Since when?” Obie complains.

“Oh, please. You always pay.” Cass smiles at Chester. “So what are you in the mood for? ”

“A taco meal with beef would be fantastic,” Chester says. “And if Obie is paying, can we get a round of churros for the table, too?”

“Traitor,” Obie says.

“Nah, we’re getting pavlova,” Cass says evasively. “So no churros for now.”

Desi perks up. “Wait, I know! We can get pavlova and churros for me and Uncle Kyle! Right, Uncle Kyle?”

“Ooh, another excellent point,” Chester agrees. “You’re so smart, Desi.”

Desi beams. Obie takes a deep breath, feeling like he might need a little bit of a break from Chester being everything he’s ever wanted.

“Listen to Cass, sweetie. No churros for now,” he informs her, and he turns to Cass.

“Here, I’ll help with the food?—I need to stretch my legs. Kyle, you’re good?”

“I?—?” Chester looks surprised, but he nods. “Yeah, of course. Go help Cass.”

“Be right back.” Impulsively, Obie leans down, pressing a kiss to the top of Chester’s head.

He quickly turns around and strides away before Chester can react, but that doesn’t prevent Cass from shamelessly staring over his shoulder. “Oh, your boyfriend is blushing at least five shades of red right now,” he says, grinning. “Adorable.”

Obie forces a smile, resisting the urge to peek for himself. “That’s Kyle for you,” he says, and he waits until they’re out of earshot of the rest of the group before adding, “You ready?”

Cass’s grin wavers. “Besides the fact that I feel like I’m about to vomit, yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.”

Obie shoots him a sideways glance as they step onto the line for Tacos Near Me, concern threading through his chest. “From nerves? Or the soul exchange?”

Cass’s jaw tightens. Obie’s heart sinks. “A little bit of both, I think,” Cass admits softly. “I’m nervous, obviously, but I’m pretty sure the nausea and insomnia are more from the soul exchange than the anticipation.”

Obie fights back a wince. “And JJ?”

“He’s worse than I am. Better at hiding it, though.” He shakes his head. “Don’t worry. We’re handling it.”

“That’s a nice sentiment,” Obie says, “but unfortunately for you, you’re my friend. That means I want to worry about you.”

Cass’s lips twitch. “Well, then, you can start worrying about me tomorrow. Tonight is reserved for celebrations only.”

“I’ll take that compromise,” Obie concedes, trying to ignore the guilt twisting through his stomach.

Lately, he’s been so laser-focused on dismantling the Sanctum?—and daydreaming about his spellbound hunter?—that he hasn’t spent much time studying the soul exchange.

Granted, Cass never asked Obie to do any research, but??—

But he shouldn’t have needed to ask. Taking down the Sanctum is important, but Obie’s friends take priority.

The family ahead of them on line wanders off with their freshly secured burritos, and Esteban beams as Obie and Cass approach the counter. “Caballeros, es un placer! Are you ready to pop the question, Cassius?”

This time, Cass’s smile only looks a little bit forced. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he says, handing over the piece of paper with everyone’s favorite meals. “Here. We have a big order tonight, so we figured Lucia would appreciate having a list.”

“Oh, my friend, I could kiss you for this,” Esteban says, expertly ringing up their total; Obie magnanimously hands over his credit card. “Lucia! Clear the kitchen for the young lovers’ order.”

Immediately, Lucia pokes her head into the window. Her eyes narrow reproachfully at Obie. “You’re not JJ. ”

“It’s frankly disturbing how easily you can all tell,” Obie says. “Glamours do exist for a reason, you know.”

“Try harder, then,” she says, disappearing into the depths of the food truck with her list.

Cass shakes his head in amusement, focusing back on Esteban. “Speaking of young lovers, how are things going between you and Falafel Nick?”

Esteban’s face turns a particular shade of crimson that Obie is accustomed to seeing whenever Nick is mentioned. “Nicholas and I are not dating, Cassius. We’re just friends.”

“Oh, please,” Obie says. “He wants to climb you like a tree, and the entire Courtyard knows it. Probably most of Lakeside, too.”

“Why?—why does everyone keep using that analogy?” Esteban demands, flustered. “I am not a tree!”

“But he looks like a climber,” Cass says, waggling his eyebrows.

Obie elbows him in the ribs before turning back to Esteban with a frown. “Seriously, Esteban,” he says quietly. “He’s been very open about the fact that he likes you, and it’s pretty obvious that you like him, too. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

Esteban shakes his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Cass rolls his eyes. “Not for nothing, but I’ve been in this dimension since before this country was founded, and Obie may or may not have been around when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. We’re pretty good at understanding things.”

Esteban looks morbidly fascinated. “Were you really, Obadiah?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny the allegations.” Obie arches an eyebrow. “So? What’s the problem?”

For a long moment, Esteban considers them.

And then he lets out an explosive sigh, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the counter. “All right. Fine. I am… concerned… about the age gap between me and Nicholas. ”

Cass squints at him. “Age gap? What age gap?”

Esteban looks appalled. “He is so young, Cassius! He is only twenty-four! Barely out of college!”

“So?” Obie says, shrugging. “You’re only, like, thirty.”

Esteban presses a hand to his heart, touched. “My friend, you flatter me,” he says. “But I’m forty-three.”

Cass blinks at him, surprised. “Really? You look fantastic.”

“Thank you,” Esteban says seriously. “It is the churros. They keep me young.”

“But that’s still less than twenty years,” Obie argues. “That’s not a huge age gap.”

Esteban gapes at him. “Nineteen years is a very large age gap!”

Obie gestures at Cass. “Cass and his soon-to-be fiancé have an age gap of over two hundred years, and it’s several millennia for me and Kyle. Nineteen years is nothing.”

Esteban jabs a finger at him. “But there’s a certain point at which an age gap ceases to be an age gap and simply becomes comical. You have both reached that point.”

“Wow,” Cass says. “I’ve never actually felt old until this exact moment.”

Esteban doesn’t back down. “I’m going to grow old and die almost two decades sooner than he will,” he says, his voice strained. “Regardless of my feelings on the matter, that’s not fair to him.”

An unreadable expression flickers over Cass’s face.

“You know,” he says, “JJ once said something very similar to me. About?—about how he’s only going to survive for another eighty years at most, and I’m going to live forever.

He asked me if I was sure it was worth it. If I was sure he was worth it.”

Esteban flinches. “Cassius??—?”

“He is, by the way,” Cass says. “That’s, you know, why I’m asking him to marry me tonight.

But my point is that you can’t make that decision for someone else, Esteban.

If there are other reasons why you don’t want to date him, then that’s fine.

But he’s the only one who can decide if it’s fair to him or not.

” He raises his eyebrows meaningfully. “I think you should talk to him.”

Obie smiles. Age doesn’t always equal wisdom with demons, but Cass has grown and matured in a thousand ways since the beginning of the year. Obie is proud of him for that. “I think you should, too,” he agrees.

“You really should,” Lucia adds sourly, appearing out of nowhere by her brother’s side with two trays piled high with food. “Mainly because I’m tired of hearing every other customer nag you about it.”

“All right, you know what, Lucia? Si no quieres oír, entonces puedes irte al infierno, y??—?”

The two of them set about arguing in fairly vicious Spanish. Cass’s eyebrows shoot up. “What did Lucia just tell him to do with a swordfish?”

“Best not to ask,” Obie says, grabbing a tray in each hand and nodding awkwardly at the bickering siblings. “Have a nice night, guys.”

They predictably ignore him. Cass tugs the trays out of Obie’s hands and turns back towards their table. “He’s going to say yes, right?” he asks, studiously avoiding Obie’s eyes. “JJ, I mean?”

Normally, Obie would tease Cass just as much as they teased Esteban, but tonight, he takes pity. “I have no doubt,” he says softly, and Cass throws him a small smile as they return to their friends.