Silas took the opportunity to play up the poke in the arm, rubbing at it like Rae had actually done some damage. “How was I supposed to know you were being truthful about it?” he questioned, eyebrow arched. “Ain’t exactly like candy is an easy thing to come by these days.” Bea probably found it somewhere, from what he knew of the woman she was known for being a decent looter. “It could have just been a trap to get me up in the office so you could show off whatever the two of you put on that whiteboard.”
“Even if it was Brandon?” he teased, more than aware of the animosity between the two of them. And saying that seemed safer than saying anything else, like how he’d try to bring one back. That would just be crossing a line he didn’t want to cross. She was cute when she was embarrassed, and it wasn’t hurting anything to notice that. “A little bit. But the enthusiasm is nice.” He shook away the thought to reach over and tilt her chin back up; that would not be good. Friends. They were friends, and that would be another line he’d crossed. “I never noticed ‘em much. But I don’t disagree.” Gran had made a show of Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah, even Christmas to extent since that had been his grandfather’s favorite holiday.
“My Gran raised me right, what can I say,” he said. “We could use Leah too,” he suggested when she said they should get Bea in on it. “We couldn’t lose if the three of you put your efforts into it.” He snorted at the thought of Brandon trying to beat Rae in a flexibility contest. Flexible wouldn’t be a word he’d usually associate with him. “He’s an idiot when it comes to betting. Should be pretty easy to get him trapped.” He was baffled by her reaction to his statement? Hell, had he managed to cross a line he’d been so careful about. Maybe this conversation was getting dangerous after all. “You are,” he told her, trying not to make too much of the soft way she’d said it. “More likable than some.”
“Me neither. Never even finished high school.” Not something he was ashamed of, it had been his own choice. “I’ll be sure to ask next time I see her,” he said with only a little mock-seriousness. Eloise would probably take the question easy enough, even if inwardly she’d be wondering why he was asking it. “Or maybe, now that I’m thinking, you should.”
Wasn’t he supposed to watch Brandon’s back? Not knowing what Lexi was planning, if anything, made him uneasy. And nothing Rae had said was doing any good to make him feel more secure that the woman wasn’t looking to fuck with her old ties. But everyone was an adult, they could handle themselves. Even if Brandon ended up being an idiot about things, he was also capable of dealing with things on his own without Silas butting in where he shouldn’t. “Sounds complicated and shady, if you ask me.” But then, he knew that both Lexi and Dominic had passed on information that security and leadership could use, so it was murky situation to be in.
He leaned back again, scratching at the back of his scalp, weighing whether or not he wanted to tell Rae. “Drugs,” he finally hedged, glancing at her then away again. He wasn’t ashamed of the shit he’d done, it was what it was, but some people heard that and pegged him as a junkie. “Went to rehab twice. And prison before that.” Might as well get it all out there. Even if it felt fucking weird disclosing any of that to her; she knew about as much about him now as Mike or Brandon, or any of Stone women did. More even. He wasn’t sure if Leah, Lilah or Kori knew his first name.
“What fun is a conversation that goes smoothly anyways,” he replied in a deadpan.