“That makes sense.” Levi hadn’t actually noticed that the living room didn’t have a television until George mentioned it. “And I’m the same about not owning a TV. There wasn’t a great place to install one in my house, and I have a tablet to stream stuff. And I usually prefer to read in the evenings, versus watching movies. Most of my TV watching happens on my days off.”
“Same. But I also watch videos all day long for my day job, so getting my eyes off the screen for a while helps. I have ebooks, but Orry also brings me physical books from the library when I ask him to.”
“Well, maybe one day soon you’ll want to go get your own books.”
George nodded slowly. “That’s part of the plan. Do more for myself so Orry doesn’t have to keep doing everything for me.”
“And you’re taking steps to get there. As your friend, I look forward to helping you take more of those steps.”
“Yeah?” George’s smile sent an odd warmth through Levi’s belly. “Thank you. And thanks for lunch, the sub is really good.”
“Happy to.” Before Levi could think through the intelligence of it, he blurted out, “We could make this a daily thing. You and me having lunch with Ginger. And it doesn’t always have to be subs, if you want something different.”
“Nah, subs are great. Like I said, I usually have a basic sandwich for lunch anyway.” George stared down at the portion of his six-incher remaining. “Honestly, I’m not sure I can eat the whole thing.”
“They have a four-inch option if six inches is too much meat.” Levi realized what he’d said and tried to hide his embarrassment behind sipping his water. George, thankfully, seemed oblivious to the innuendo.
“Maybe the four-inch tomorrow, then. I’ll finish the rest of this with my dinner.” He put the remaining quarter of the sub back down and ate his last pretzel.
Levi finished his food in between petting Ginger. She seemed content with her human companions, and the bandage on her hip looked as clean and new as yesterday. “Has she been messing with the bandages?”
“Not really, no.” George petted the other side of her neck. “She really is a doll baby when she isn’t yowling at the top of her lungs.”
“She cried quite a bit as a kitten, but I also kept them fairly confined to the house until I thought they were old enough to run around outside. And, of course, they were confined whenever we were driving to a new spot.”
“How often do you move around?”
Do, not did. Interesting.
Levi pondered how much to share about Grant. “Well, when I first found the kittens, I settled at a campground in Wyoming, and I stayed there for a while. Then I needed a fresh start, so we traveled around before settling in Colorado. That’s where I was when Robin called me about the rodeo attraction.”
“And then you came here. About a year ago?”
“Almost a year, yes.” Levi saw the unasked questions in George’s wide eyes. “I love my job here, and I love working with Robin again. I like to think I’m here for a while longer. At least one more season at the ghost town.”
Something like relief flashed in his eyes. “Okay, cool. I mean, you bought a tiny house so you can travel, but it’s also nice to have roots.”
“I’m honestly not sure what it’s like to have roots. Growing up, we had a home base where we’d winter the rodeo in New Mexico, but it wasn’t like having a real house with Sunday dinners and all kinds of memories. My family moved around as a unit. I guess it’s sort of in my blood. But I do like to think I’ll settle down one day. Maybe find someone to settle with.”
George scratched beneath Ginger’s chin, his lips pursed together. “Maybe that’s it.”
“What’s it?”
“Maybe Orry is seeing someone and he lied last night so I wouldn’t know.”
“Why would your brother lie to you about dating someone?”
“I don’t know. I know he’s had casual things over the years, but he’s never really dated because he’s busy working and worrying about me. Maybe he’s met someone and doesn’t want me to know yet, so I don’t feel guilty and push my limits before I’m ready.”
Levi turned that over for a moment and it made sense. “How would you feel about him dating someone?”
“I’d be over the moon.” George’s entire face lit up. “Orry really deserves a great girl in his life. Or guy, I’m not totally sure who he’s into. We’ve never talked about it.”
“His sexuality?”
“Yeah. Or mine. But I was always busy with skating and didn’t have time to really notice people, and then I isolated myself, and it stopped mattering.”
Levi blinked several times, surprised at how many personal things George was telling him today. And also kind of honored. “You don’t know your sexuality?”
George shrugged. “It never really mattered before now.”
“Why does it matter more now?”
Those pretty eyes briefly dropped to Levi’s lips again, and his heart kicked. “Because now I’m getting out into the world. Meeting people. Stuff that didn’t seem important before is suddenly important.”
“That makes sense.” Levi risked a brief squeeze to George’s knee. “You’re still young, George, you have time to figure yourself out.”
“When did you know?”
Levi put his plate on the carpet and scratched his chin, his other hand still stroking Ginger, pulling out long, rusty purrs. “Well, I consider myself bisexual. I’ve dated women but my only serious relationship was with a man. I guess I figured it out during puberty, when I was noticing both the hot cowboys in their tight jeans, and the hot cowgirls in their denim skirts. My first kiss was a girl, but my first under-the-clothes encounter was with a boy.” Off George’s wide-eyed surprise, he added, “But I was also a very social person from a young age, and my brother Xander had a knack for goading me into things. You’ve lived a very different life.”
George watched him with an indecipherable expression, when the guy was usually easy to read. As if stuck between surprise over everything Levi had confessed and...something else. Understanding, maybe?
“Have you ever been attracted to another person, George?” Levi asked.
“I’m not sure. I mean, back when I skated I noticed other boys in the locker room. I admired the girl skaters for their abilities but not the same way I admired some of the boys. Especially Andy Jaworski. He wasn’t as good as me in the long program but damn, he could do an amazing triple axel-double salchow combination.”