“I’m adorable, remember?” And feeling his oats.
“Are you, pup?” He made sure to put emphasis on the diminutive. “Oh, that might stick. I like it.”
“Woof. Should I wag?” Troy rolled his eyes, that grin wicked as he took his shot. Christ, how many times had he played this?
He stepped up to take his turn, grabbing Troy’s ass on the way by. “I can appreciate a nice tail.” He lined up his shot and sank his ball. “Ha. One blow job. And I don’t even have to order you.”
Troy applauded, bumping against him as he passed. He almost missed the whispered, “You can have it when you want it.”
But he didn’t.
He crossed his arms and watched Troy’s shot. Maybe on the way home. He’d just make Troy pull over somewhere. “Nice one.”
Troy bowed dramatically. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Hey, are you two going to flirt or play golf?” Kenny shouted as the two of them moved onto the next hole.
“We’re going to flirt, whippersnapper,” Troy shot back.
“Yeah! And you kids get off my lawn!” He cracked up and totally missed his next shot, but it was worth it watching Kenny and Devon lose it, especially when Troy just flew past them like they were standing still.
“Dude, you can play some golf,” Kenny said, and Troy just bowed.
“You should watch me play tiddlywinks.”
Saul pretty much laughed himself sick during the next three holes, and Troy had to rescue him more than once. Mini golf was not his game. But it was fun.
“Shark! Okay. I’ve got this one.”
“Sure you do. Once Troy bails you out again.” Kenny slapped him on the back.
“Shut up.” He lined up his ball. “I was just getting warmed up.”
Troy watched him, the gaze heated enough he swore he could feel it like a physical touch.
Jesus, who knew golf could be foreplay? No wonder he was missing every damn shot. He swung and the ball rolled up the shark’s tail, down onto the green, and right into its mouth.
“Boom! Hole in one. Told you.”
“That took Dev four shots.”
“Shut up, Kenny.”
Troy hummed with approval. “What do you want for a reward for that shot?”
“Well, since I can’t throw you over the glowing, green dinosaur, I guess I’ll have to think about that.” He laughed.
“They might frown on that, yeah. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.”
“You know what I want?” He caught Troy’s arm at the end of the green. “Toasted marshmallows.”
“Toasted marshmallows? Like on a stick?” God, that was the cutest expression.
“Yes, exactly. On a stick.” He took Troy’s arm on the way to the next hole. “Over a fire.”
“All right. I will make that happen. Sunday night?”
Saul loved that—how Troy worked to make things happen for him.
“Thank you. Perfect.” He gave Troy a quick peck on the cheek. “Your turn.”
“We’ll see if I can manage the hammerhead shark this time. This one is tough-ish.” Troy lined up, and Devon goosed him, making Troy jump. “Hey!”
Saul was at Troy’s side in a heartbeat and used his slight height advantage to get in Dev’s face a second later. “Not cool.” Never, ever, touch my sub. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
Dev put his hands up. “Hey, no harm, no foul, man.”
Troy, though, watched him like a hawk, and he could see a quiet approval in his eyes.
“Maybe.” He wasn’t ready to back down just yet. “That’s for him to say, not you. Apologize.”
“Seriously?”
He just raised an eyebrow.
“Uh.” Devon looked at Troy. “Sorry, man. I was just goofing around.”
“No worries. Thanks.” Troy hummed for him, the sound deep and so sweet.
Devon backed away and whispered something to Kenny. Saul rested a hand low on Troy’s back and leaned in close. “Take your shot at the hammerhead, baby.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you.” Troy beamed as his took his shot. Simply beamed.
He’d had a brief moment wondering whether Troy would be weird about him stepping in, but that smile said it all. He knew he had a bit of a possessive streak and sometimes it was more trouble than it was worth, but this time it worked out great.
Troy’s ball banked around and across the head and then dumped out on the green before slowly rolling right into the hole. “Look at that. Nice shot.”
Troy bowed for him, graceful as anything. “Thank you, thank you.”
The next hole was a little awkward with Devon and Kenny, but a couple more down the line they were back to having a good time. He’d apparently had his one good shot, though, and he was getting pity putts and gimmes and a lot of teasing. Troy was having a ball with him, though, his boy relaxed and playful, flirting with him wildly.
“Do not play croquet with me on this last hole, or I will dream up something very uncomfortable.” He grinned at Troy as he lined up his shot.
Kenny and Devon whistled. “You heard the man.”
“I did.” Troy chuckled for him. “I’ll let you use your imagination for something fun, thanks.”
“Hey, Kenny, is that supposed to be a squid or an octopus?”
He took his shot and the ball rolled neatly past the tentacles of the huge octopus… and got stuck. “Damn.” He snorted, about to give up when one tentacle swung down, scooped his ball up and deposited it in the hole.
“What?” Devon gasped and Kenny hooted.
“No. Way.” He laughed. “Holy shit.”
“I think you win the whole fucking night.” Troy nodded to him. “Seriously. You win.”
“That was crazy!” He looked at Kenny and Dev and then bumped shoulders with Troy. “Crazy. Did you know it did that?”
Troy’s answer was a warm chuckle, a wink, and then Troy scooped up his ball and didn’t take his shot.
“You did.” He followed Troy, poking and tickling, playing with him. “Dork. That was so much fun!”
Troy cracked up for him and tossed his ball in the net. “You want a drink before we have our maze?”
“Sure, sounds great.” He let Troy lead the way. “You didn’t tell me you were so good at this. Do you play a lot?”
“Yeah, it’s quiet in the winter when I get off and I’ve got no plans.”
“Do you ski?” He tucked an arm into Troy’s. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“They have cherry Coke. I love that. And I do! I ski, snowmobile, even tried snowshoeing a few times.”
“Awesome. We are never going to run out of things to do.” Saul loved that they had things in common, but also a lot of things to teach each other.
“You guys taking a break?” Kenny called over.
“Yeah, quick drink before the maze.”
Devon waved. “If we don’t run into you again, have a great night!”
He waved back and watched them disappear through the dark doors at the maze entrance. “They were fun. Mostly.”
“They were.” Troy shot him a heated glance. “Thank you for standing up for me. That was hot as hell.”