Basically, everything they did was heaven.
I’d bought all of it on the way home, but the guacamole was the thing of food cravings dreams. Smooth but chunky, huge amounts of fresh cilantro, chunks of tomato, fresh jalapenos, and tons of lime. But what made it even better was their family secret—tomatillos that’d been soaked in lime, diced, and added into it. I don’t know how, but it just made it freaking fantastic. Maybe that was normal? Hell if I knew, I could never make it right no matter what I tried.
Nodding her head crazily, Rose gestured at me to hurry up. The others had finished what they were doing and were watching us with disgusted looks on their faces.
Well, most of them did. The others had covered their mouths with their hands, so we couldn’t see their exact expressions.
“Oh, get the chili tortilla chips that we picked up,” Rose snapped her fingers. “We’ll crush some on top.”
The others groaned, but I thought it over, eventually shaking my head and getting a sigh of relief out of them all.
“Negative on that one, chick. You see,” I launched into munchy cuisine professor mode, “that would be like adding the salsa. We have delicate flavors in these bowls. The soft sweetness of the sheet cake, the fluffy, almost meringue-like texture of the sweet Happy Birthday icing, the buttery heaven of the mashed potatoes, and now the slight chili heat of the guacamole—”
Garrett frowned as he looked down at the tub the guacamole was in. “I don’t think that’s the milder—”
“To add the chili tortilla chips on top would break up the lightness,” I continued, still totally focused on the gourmet cuisine.
Nodding slowly, Rose chewed her lower lip while she listened. “Okay, so what do you suggest.”
I would’ve crossed my arms over my chest, but my back and arm were starting to hurt again. Something which Garrett had noticed a couple of minutes ago and made me take another dose of the medication.
“Its simplicity will astound you,” I warned her. “Plain salted chips.”
There were some gagging noises from the others, but Rose clapped her hands together excitedly. “You’re a genius.”
So that’s what we did. We crushed some on top and then stuck a spoon in and got a big scoop out of the bowl.
The first mouthful was always the one that was the worry. Had you got the ratio right? Were the flavors complementary? Would you puke? Did it need some pepper?
Rose tipped her head back and groaned. “Oh my God, this is just… There are no words.”
Yup, which was why I wasn’t talking at all. If I did that, I’d have to stop eating.
“I don’t get it?” Bond said loudly, watching us with a frown. “I get that Rose is pregnant—”
“Ya think?” Canon snorted, yelping when a smacking noise followed it. “I was just saying that it was obvious she’s pregnant.”
Glaring at his brother, Bond continued, “So I get why she’s eating weird shit. But why is Zuri eating it?”
“The painkillers,” Garrett sighed, his upper lip curling up when I shoved the next mouthful in. “She said last night that they give her the munchies.”
“Imagine what she’d be like if she smoked weed,” Reid chuckled, taking a step back when all of the members of Piersville Police Department turned to look at him. “Like the medical-grade shit—it’s legal, isn’t it? Who’d ever smoke the non-medical stuff? Drugs kill, y’all.”
Even high as a kite, I didn’t believe him on that. So when Dave pointed at his eyes and then back at Reid, I made a noise of agreement and almost choked on the food in my mouth. This meant that the chili’s in the guacamole did something in my throat, and it was like a small fire started.
Then, the weirdest sensation started to take over. It was like my limbs were turning to jelly as every bone melted, leaving only the burning in that one location. My brain decided to join the mushy feeling, just as my bowl hit the countertop.
“Whoa, shit, what’s happening to her?” Jarrod asked, moving to catch me, but Garrett got there first and carefully held me against him.
“She didn’t take the prescribed dose of the meds this morning,” Rose murmured as she sucked potato and frosting off her finger. “She was still in a lot of pain while we were out but was trying to hide it, so I told Garrett to make sure he gave her the next one bang on time.”
Raoul walked over and looked at Rose’s bowl with a sneer. “You about done with that shit?”
When she nodded, he looked at his brother. “You can’t carry her with your shoulder, so I’ll get her settled before we go.”
There was a pause, then, just as I was trying to get the spoon to my mouth because I wasn’t a quitter, the world tilted, and I was moving through the air. Legit, flying through the air.