“Always,” Aaron laughed.
“Go,” Justin ordered over his shoulder.
Keith stood up and dusted the grass and dirt off the back of his legs.
“I’ll have another beer,” Micah said.
Keith nodded and went into the house, returning with a beer for Micah and a plate with marinated chicken breasts on it. He set the beer on the table, dipped his head, then went to the grill and began to cook the meat.
Landon opened his mouth, painfully curious about the dynamic between Justin, Micah, and Keith. He knew Justin and Micah had just had their collaring ceremony at the club a month before, but he didn’t remember seeing Keith, and he knew for sure Keith hadn’t been a part of things.
“No.” The word left Gregory’s mouth with as much command as Landon had ever heard. He looked at Gregory with his eyebrows raised and was met with a stern face. “It’s not our business.”
He looked at Justin then tilted his head to the side and added, “Yet.”
“Yet,” Justin agreed.
“You’ve gotta tell me, Landon. Which do you like better—New York or LA?” Micah interjected, sipping his beer and effectively changing the subject.
“It’s hard to say. It’s funny because everyone who lives in LA thinks it’s such acitykind of place, but it’s not even close when you’ve seen what a real city looks like.”
Gregory snorted.
“I love having Rapture, and I like being in LA most of the time. I grew up here. But I really miss New York sometimes. I think there’s always a part of me that’s going to think of it as my home.” He shrugged and rubbed his bottom lip between his teeth.
Landon could feel Gregory’s eyes on him and he made the deliberate choice to not look to his right.
“What about you guys? Where are you from?” he asked instead.
“I’m from San Diego,” Justin shared, “and Micah is from Seattle.”
“That’s cool. What about you, Aaron?” Landon pressed.
“My dad was in the military. We moved around a lot.”
Keith returned to the table and placed a serving platter of chicken in the center, then passed out plates and silverware. Justin sliced two pieces off one of the breasts and dropped them onto a plate, then handed the plate to Keith.
“Thank you, Sir,” Keith mumbled before turning his back to the table and re-assuming his previous spot on the ground.
Landon’s lip twitched and he speared a breast from the platter and shook it loose onto his plate.
“I’ll take one, also,” Gregory said beside him.
Landon licked his teeth and pushed the plate with the breast on it toward Gregory, then stabbed another one for himself. Domestic servitude hadn’t ever been to his liking, but he wasn’t about to make an issue of it now. Besides, it seemed to suit Keith just fine, and Landon didn’t want to offend.
“Cut it, boy.”
Landon bristled at Gregory, but forced a smile. He sliced into Gregory’s chicken breast, doling it out into bite sized pieces then resting the fork and knife on the edge of the plate.
“Anything else, Sir?” he gritted.
Gregory smirked at him. “No. You may eat now.”
Landon chose not to thank Gregory for that, and cut into his own meal, observing that even with Keith and Micah right there, Justin cut his own goddamn chicken.
Aaron picked that moment to start telling a story about him, Gregory and a bottle of Febreze that distracted Landon from any rage feelings that had begun to bubble inside him over the requested chicken-cutting. The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur of laughter and booze, and Landon walked away feeling like he’d gained three new friends. Four, if he counted Keith, but he couldn’t really count Keith because he hadn’t joined them.
As soon as they were back in the car, Landon turned to Gregory with wide eyes.
