Shaking his head, John followed after them and closed the front door. He took a moment to just breathe in the soothing scent of Lukas’s laundry detergent and whatever candle he had lit somewhere. He’d never been in Lukas’s house for a nonwork reason, so he took his time actually checking out the place.
It wasn’t a very big house, but it was in decent shape, and Lukas had told his dad when he’d bought it that it was all he needed at the time. As John wandered into the cozy-looking living room, he wondered if Lukas had meant he’d need more space when he had a family someday. Did he want a family?
“Do you want me to start the grill now? How hungry are you?” Lukas asked from behind him, startling him a little.
Turning around, he shrugged. “Totally up to you. I grabbed a snack when I got off work a few hours ago, so I’m not starving or anything.”
Lukas scrunched up his face in thought. “I can’t remember if I had time to eat lunch today. We were kinda busy.”
He shook his head and started toward Lukas, briefly squeezing his arm before slipping past him. “Well then, we’ll eat now. The grill’s out back, right?”
There was a pause before he heard Lukas hurrying after him. “Oh, I can make dinner. Why don’t you go relax in the living room?”
Not bothering to respond, John shot him a look and kept going. There was a door in the kitchen that led to Lukas’s small back patio and fenced-in yard. He hadn’t been out there since right after Lukas moved in, as the basement egress was on the side of the house.
“Wait, John—”
He was opening the door when Lukas’s panicked voice stopped him. Turning, he narrowed his eyes at him. “Do you have a dead body back here or something?”
Lukas rolled his eyes and smiled but then wouldn’t meet John’s gaze, glancing at his bare feet. “No, it’s just… I haven’t had time to, uh, work on the landscaping back there lately.”
Seemed like a weird thing to get so upset about, but John just shrugged. “I promise not to judge you for your messy backyard.”
As he finally pushed the door open and stepped outside, he thought he heard Lukas say, “Messy’s an understatement.”
He may have spoken too soon about not judging.
The grass looked like it hadn’t been cut all summer, and there were overgrown trees and bushes everywhere.
He felt Lukas step out onto the tiny patio next to him but didn’t take his eyes off the disaster of a backyard. As he stared, Ruby followed them out and went off into the grass that was almost as tall as she was in some spots.
“How… Why…?” He was stumped. The inside of Lukas’s house was so well-kept, and the front had some flowerpots and beds—though they were a little weedy and had looked like they could use a drink. Still, he couldn’t wrap his head around why Lukas would let the back get so overgrown. John took such pride in his lawn and the appearance of his house, having worked his ass off for it, and he knew Lukas felt the same based on the well-loved inside.
“Oh my god, you are so judging!” Lukas cackled at him and moved over to the grill to get it going.
“Okay, yes, but—” He had to stop when Lukas only laughed harder as he pressed the ignition button to start his… gas grill. “Wait, you don’t have a charcoal grill?”
Lukas had to step back as he started wheezing from laughing so hard, half bent over and arm around his stomach. “You sound so scandalized,” he said, once he could catch his breath. “Which offends you more: the gas grill or the overgrown yard?”
He looked back and forth between the two, honestly not sure of the answer. “Um…”
Still chuckling, Lukas headed back toward the door. “Oh wow, here I thought I’d be embarrassed, but that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Hang on, let me grab the chicken.”
Not sure what to do or how to feel about Lukas’s amusement, he eyed the hard, plastic chair sitting on the very edge of the patio, facing outward. Lukas probably sat there sometimes and watched Ruby—he definitely wasn’t using it to enjoy his backyard after a long day’s work.
John shook his head and carefully lowered himself onto the seat, unsure if it would hold his large frame. When it didn’t make any cracking noises, he relaxed as he tried to take in the overgrown mess and see the potential beneath.
Before Dave had convinced him to look into a profession that would provide more financial stability, John had worked odd jobs in construction or laying cement, but there had also been a few years where he’d worked spring to fall for a landscaper. He’d enjoyed the work—for the most part—but the guy had been forced to lay off everyone during the winter since there wasn’t much work to go around during Michigan cold-weather months.
When the door opened, Ruby popped out from behind an enormous bush along the back fence and came running, tongue hanging out. Standing, John turned to find Lukas had the chicken breasts on a tray and a teasing grin on his face that John had the sudden and inexplicable urge to remove with a kiss.
Shaking his head, he accepted the tray and turning fork and moved over to the grill. “They won’t taste quite as good, but I guess we’ll live.”
Lukas laughed behind him but didn’t say anything. Once John had all the chicken on the grill, he turned and found Lukas wearing a small, happy smile. He held out his hand for the tray, then gave John one more unreadable look and headed back inside with Ruby.
Well, that had been strange.
He stared at the uncomfortable chair for a moment, but something was tugging at him. Looking through the window nearest him, he watched Lukas’s face as he washed the tray at the sink just on the other side. His mouth was moving, and it took John a moment to realize he was singing to himself.
Something that felt like longing hit him square in the chest as he stared hard at Lukas as he finished washing and then twirled around the kitchen, pulling salad fixings out of the fridge and grabbing something from out of the freezer before making a face.
When Lukas turned toward the window, he caught John’s eyes, lifted the bag, and pointed at it. They were frozen, crinkle-cut fries, and it seemed like Lukas was asking if John wanted them with their dinner.
Their dinner. Together. Just the two of them.
That feeling in his chest grew as he shook his head, letting Lukas know the fries weren’t necessary, then turned toward the grill to check on the chicken.
Noticing another man was attractive was fine—John had done it more than once in his life—but feeling attracted to them was something entirely different. And new. Was that really what he was feeling? Attracted to Lukas?
He remembered his thoughts from last Friday, and how much he’d been admiring Lukas’s ass.
Okay, so yeah, maybe he was attracted to Lukas.
That didn’t have to mean anything though.
Right?
Chapter Four
When Saturday rolled around, Lukas found he was still very much distracted by his midweek dinner with John. Laughing at John’s horror at his backyard, and then enjoying the meal as they talked about shows they’d been watching lately and comparing their tastes, had been one of the best date-type nights of his life, even though it had been the furthest thing from an actual date.