“Yeah?” He closed his fingers around the key ring. “Wow. No shit?”
“Of course. And do you remember the date you started working here? That’s the safe combination.” Carter shrugged. “See? You’ve always been important.”
A rush of tingles hit him, flooding him from top to bottom, sending goosebumps along his arms and making his nipples hard. “Oh.”
“Oh. I… sorry.” Carter squeezed Troy’s fingers, then cleared his throat and moved away again. “A new door opened last night, and I guess I’m anxious to see what’s on the other side of it. Whatever is there has nothing to do with the diner, though. I apologize, I won’t cross that line again.”
“Don’t apologize, please. We’ll have a shitton of things to figure out. If we start with the I’m-sorrys, we’re going to waste a lot of time.”
Carter grinned. “Fine. I’m not sorry. You want to learn the ordering system?”
“I’ve been working here for twenty years, watching you. Let me order and show me what I miss?” He wasn’t stupid, and he managed when Carter needed time off.
Carter raised an eyebrow at him and stepped out of his way, gesturing to the desk chair. “Be my guest.”
“Thank you. I have your back, Carter. Always.” And Troy could pull his weight here. He sat down, grinning up as he did. “Wow. Cushy.”
“Only the best for my backside.” Carter pulled out a laptop and sat in a chair on the other side of the desk. “Let me know if you have issues. I’m going to work on next week’s schedule. When we’re done, you can take me on a tour and tell me what you’d change if we had cash on hand. Which we do now.”
“Fair enough.” He wasn’t intimidated. Nope. Not. Not at all. “Let’s do this.”
Then he’d take Saul out to lunch.
They had so much to talk about.
37
Troy headed into the bike shop, ready for a little food, a little rest, and a lot of company. He’d done some of everything, including cooking up two patty melts for Carter and Geoff, and sharing his meatloaf recipe.
Emma was at the front counter, grinning wide at the sight of him. “Look at you!”
Saul was carrying a tall box and clearly couldn’t see around it. “Yeah, I know, I’m a stud.”
“Not you, idiot. Your man is here.”
“Huh? Oh!” Saul put the box down next to the counter, eyes lighting up. Sweaty bangs, pink cheeks. God, he looked so young like that. “Hi!”
“Hey, gorgeous. I was wondering if you would like to come to lunch.” He wanted to sit with Saul, talk, tell him everything that had happened, touch base.
“Make you a deal, Emma. I take a long lunch and then you get to leave early. You in?”
“Oh. That would be awesome. I’m in.”
“She has a date tonight.” Saul winked at him.
Emma laughed. “No. We’re not dating tonight. It’s a straight up booty-call.”
“Lucky woman. Congratulations.” Troy high-fived with her, loving how she laughed. “I appreciate it. I just went back to work today, and I need to tell my man all about it.”
“Well, get out of here. We’re dead today anyway. Take your time.”
“Thanks, Em.” Saul kissed her cheek and then followed him out the door. “This is a nice surprise. Are we walking?”
“Is it all right? I just—” Needed to hear your voice, tell you everything, be your touchstone. “—wanted to visit you.”
“It’s great.” Saul’s hand slipped into his. “Are you okay? How was work?”
“I’m good. It was all right. Weird. Busy. Exciting. Unnerving.” He held on tight.
Saul tugged his hand, slowing their pace. “Breathe, boy. Talk. I’m listening.”
“I’m okay. I just— I did it. I’m part-owner. I have keys.” Him. He had all the keys, and that was amazing. He wasn’t just a cook in a diner. He was part of something bigger.
Saul smiled at him and leaned over as they walked to kiss him on the cheek. “Congratulations. You deserve it. It’s like a promotion, about a decade late. You own a diner. Is that the unnerving part?”
“Yes? No? I— Yes.” Maybe. Mostly. Partially. God.
Saul laughed, but not at him. The sound was happy, free. “It’s an adventure! I’m so proud of you. It wasn’t that long ago that you were perfectly happy to watch me through the pass-through window and not even say hello. And now? Look at you.” Saul squeezed his hand hard. “You’re in a dress shirt and you own a goddamn diner.”
“Right? It was something else. I wanted to make sure Carter was absolutely ready, and he was.” And they had this new energy between them, something he didn’t quite know how to handle.
“What did you guys do? Divvy up responsibilities? Talk about salary? All that stuff? God, I can’t wait until Emma and I buy the bike shop. I have all these ideas.”
“I cooked, did orders. I’m going to stay with my current salary, but fewer hours right now.” He opened the door to the restaurant. “We talked about making some changes, things I’ve been thinking about a lot.”
“Oh. Greek. Great idea.” Saul went inside and then turned back to face him. “I love that Carter is listening to those things. Good for you.”
A hostess got their attention and seated them near a window. Saul opened a menu and was reading it but kept glancing up at him over the top.
Troy didn’t even look. All he needed was Saul. Stupid, maybe, but they were partners. He wanted his lover’s approval, his Master’s support.
Saul closed the menu and took his hand again. “So? There’s still something on your mind. What haven’t you told me? Was everything okay between you and Carter? Was it weird?”
Thank God Saul asked. “Yes, but not in a bad way. We didn’t know exactly how to interact.”
There was a spark that he wasn’t sure he should feel.
The server came over and Saul ordered lamb kefte and saffron rice and a big salad for them to share. His lover had an appetite and obviously wasn’t having the kind of issues he was. Saul seemed completely at ease.
“I guess you have to work out how to separate your working together from all the personal stuff, huh? That doesn’t seem simple, but you’ll figure it out… which parts of the relationship can come to work and what has to stay home.”
“Yes, and what that means. I mean, I’ve never thought of anything like this… thing… we’re thinking about.” He touched Saul’s knee under the table, connecting them.
“That’s the thing, baby. If it’s right, you won’t have to think too hard about it. You’re going to know. We just have to stay honest and keep communicating. The issues happen when you don’t talk.”
“Listen to you. You’re so calm.” Troy wasn’t. He felt all the butterflies. He was going to have to call Geoff and see what he felt.
“You’re nervous? Why? You’ve known these men forever. You trust them. If you’re going to torture yourself, do it with the things you want.” Saul leaned over the table, grinning and lowered his voice. “Like do you want to kiss Geoff?”