John's friends relax

Rachel entered the living room, smiling brightly and me and the boys.

"Hey boys!" She chirped, placing a bowl of popcorn down on the table. "We've got soda and chips, too. If you want anything, you can give me a call, I'll be in the kitchen cooking dinner."

"Thanks Rachel!" Juan and Isaac beamed simultaneously, while Dmitri just glared at her chest (under normal circumstances, I'd care but at least his behaviour was better than Rob's).

I turned to Rachel as Isaac toyed with the TV remote, switching between the NBA and NFL. "Honey, do you need any help?"

Rachel wagged her head, "No thanks. Rob's helping me plenty in the kitchen."

Silence.

I felt the blood rush to my face, as both friends turned to me. I guess I had some explaining to do.

"Rob? Who's Rob?" Juan asked, his mind clearly racing back to the memories of Rough Rob tormenting me in the locker room, while Juan and Isaac stood from the sides, powerless.

"Um..." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "It's not really important. He's just a guy who we've hired for some gym stuff."

"Oh! That makes sense!" Isaac relaxed into the soft leather of the sofa. "So you've starting working out? Wanna be like our man Dmitri here?" Isaac gestured towards Dmitri's ample muscle, laughing.

Finally, Dmitri spoke in his trademark broken English, "No gym. My muscle from the prison."

Everybody looked up at an unfazed Dmitri.

Isaac broke the silence. "Uh... cool." he said, awkwardly.