off hard enough that he nearly tripped sideways over the curb as she wiped the kiss off her flushed cheek with her sleeve. “In your dreams, asshole.”
I shot a look at Ruzik, who just grinned and shook his head. “Technically, there’s no dating allowed between crewmates.”
“Who said anything about dating?” DeLuca said.
“You’re a scumbag.” Morales glared, the corner of her mouth quirking up slightly like she couldn’t quite keep herself from smiling.
“None of my business,” I said, holding my hands up.
The rumble of another engine pulled my attention away. Two more trucks pulled up. Callum climbed out of the first one, and my pulse ratcheted up about two thousand notches.
Honestly, I hadn’t actually expected him to show up. Offhandedly, he’d said he’d be there, but the way he’d been acting since the first day told me it was the very last thing he wanted to do.
In fact, I got the distinct impression—and by distinct impression, I mean he outright said—that he’d rather be anywhere than where I was. It’d probably make his whole year if I quit the crew and went to work somewhere else.
Unfortunately for him, I had absolutely no intention of doing that.
“Morning,” he grumbled as he crossed stepped up onto the sidewalk.
“Good morning, sunshine. What’s got you so chipper this morning?” Ruzik asked.
“I need more of a reason than moving someone else’s shit at nine in the morning on a Saturday?”
“None of the rest of us have our panties in a bunch,” Ruzik said. “Except Morales, but she got accosted by DeLuca, so that’s completely understandable.”
Guts trailed in behind Murphy.
“I really don’t have that much stuff…” I protested when I saw that he’d brought both his sons to help as well. They looked to be sixteen or seventeen, and the way they were staring down at their phones told me they felt the same way Callum did.
Anywhere but here would be an improvement.
Guts shrugged. “They didn’t have anything better to do this morning, and extra hands means we’ll get to the beer even sooner.”
“Right. Okay, well, thanks. The locker’s right here,” I said, unhooking the lock and pushing the door up and open. “Everything can be cleared out and just dumped wherever you can find a spot at my new place.”
Everyone started grabbing boxes and piling them onto dollies to load the trucks. It was kind of amazing. They all got to work in this crazy coordinated dance, and it was clear they all knew each other very well. That kind of unspoken communication took years to build.
As tight as I’d been with my coworkers at Pacific Point, it had never been anything like this.
Within the hour, everything had been emptied out of the space, filling the back of one truck before moving onto the next. In no time at all, there was nothing left but dust and cobwebs.
I handed the lock in at the office, thanked the woman behind the desk for keeping my shit safe for two years, then headed out. The fleet of trucks behind me was ready to go, engines rumbling as I climbed into the driver’s seat of my beater and started it up.
A weird sort of happiness settled into my chest.
These people didn’t know me. They’d met me for all of five minutes before every single one of them offered their help. Granted, they were getting free beer out of the deal, but it still left me feeling all gooey.
Clearly, they were all close, and they’d been willing to just let me into their circle, no questions asked.
I really didn’t want to fuck this up.
As much as Callum seemed to kind of detest me now, the others seemed perfectly happy to assume we’d be friends, and I was grateful for it.
It took even less time to unload everything into my new apartment. There was a mountain of boxes in the center of my living room and nowhere to sit, but it was done.
“Anyone have preferences for pizza?”
Ruzik clapped me on the shoulder. “Most of us’ll eat anything.”
“Except if it’s gross,” DeLuca added.
“Like anchovies?” I asked.
“Nah, like green shit.”
“Pesto?”
“Veggies.”
I laughed. “Meat lovers for DeLuca, then.”
“Now you’re speaking my language.”
“Anyone else object to veg?” I looked around the room, but everyone shook their heads. “Got it.”
“I’ll call it in,” Morales offered. “Everyone good with Mario’s?”
A chorus of yeses and a couple of fuck yeahs rang through the apartment, but Morales had already dialed and was now walking toward the sliding glass door out to the balcony.
“We might as well get started with unpacking