Scratching behind his neck, Apollo let his top teeth graze his bottom lip. “I’m sure if you ask, you’ll find it’s reserved for Titus Haverland,” he said.
This time it was Titus who chuckled. “No queuing for you, is there? Let’s go and ask. They’d better have steak on the menu.”
“Four kinds.” Apollo had checked. “And they have a lovely mushroom pasta for me.”
“Have you picked out our drink orders, too?” Titus held the door open for him.
“House red for me, and they have a wide range of locally made brews for you to try. What?” he added as Titus looked at him. “Don’t you like beer? I wanted to be sure you’d have a good time.”
“You’re absolutely amazing, did you know that?”
Leaning closer as they made their way to the hostess station, Apollo whispered, “You haven’t seen me scratch my balls yet or leave crumbs in the bed.”
“Next time those balls need scratching, let me know and I’ll do it for you.” Titus put a hand on the hostess station. “Good evening, I understand you have a booking for Titus Haverland, party of two, for an outside table?”
Checking her booking sheet, the woman looked up and smiled. “Of course, Mr. Haverland. You were lucky to get an outside table. Most of those are booked up weeks in advance.”
She picked up two menus and what was probably a drinks menu - just the one - tucking them under her arm. “If you and your dinner companion could follow me.”
“Did you kick two people out of a reservation they’d been looking forward to for maybe a week or more, just so you could sit outside to eat?” Titus hissed as they followed the hostess outside.
“Of course not. Oh, ye of little faith.” Apollo bumped his mate’s shoulder with his own. “That lovely couple had just found out they’ve won a week’s cruise in the Mediterranean, all expenses paid, complete with a flight that leaves in less than an hour. They don’t have time to go out for dinner. We’re doing them a favor by taking their spot.”
“Not allowed to interfere in mortal affairs, my ass.” Titus snorted. Apollo just smiled at the hostess as she showed him to his seat. Right on the corner of the small fenced-off area, it had a lovely view of what people were doing in the festively lit square.This is so much fun, and exactly what I needed.
Chapter Sixteen
Titus realized he was actually having a good time. It wasn’t that he was going through motions with a fixed goal in mind. He didn’t have to put on the act necessary to get someone into bed, and Apollo wasn’t a man trying to sell him a deal or a collaboration.When was the last time I just enjoyed a meal out before meeting Apollo?Whenever that was, it was too far back for Titus to care or remember.
The meal had finished, and he was enjoying a bottle of locally made beer, which, as Apollo had suggested, he did appreciate. But Titus was getting more pleasure out of watching Apollo’s people watching.
Apollo was very discreet about it. It wasn’t like he was leaning on the table, glaring at people, or turning his head and tracking people as they went past. Instead, he was sitting back in his chair, his one leg folded across the other as he sipped quietly on a glass of red wine. He was just watching – a part of the festivities, but apart as well.
Occasionally he would smile at people if they happened to catch his eye, but he made no effort to involve them in any conversation. It was as if he was content to just be out as one of the crowd.He truly does enjoy this. Titus could tell from the contented buzz coming through their bond.
For Titus, that was a weird realization. He had been born as part of a pack. Being around people was easy for him because he’d grown up that way. But he had to wonder what that would feel like for a god. Titus got the impression, from the few things Apollo had said, that he didn’t even grow up as such – he came into being and lived his life surrounded by different people at different times, and spent a lot of time alone.
Apparently, that was one of the reasons Apollo had gone into business with Artemis. “I wanted to be a part of something, even though I have no idea what my sister is doing.” But Apollo had also made a point of letting Titus know that Artemis knew nothing about his volunteering at the youth center or the other art projects he’d flitted in and out of over the years.
“You heard her,” Apollo had said the night before. “Artemis doesn’t care about mortals or about fitting in with them. For me, fitting in is something that brings me joy, even if it’s just for an hour.”
He looks like he fits in now,Titus thought approvingly. His mate was wearing a pair of smart gray pants and an open-necked pale pink shirt. He had thrown on a suit jacket, just like Titus had, simply because the night air could get a little chilly, and while Titus didn’t feel the cold, he did know how to fit in with others who didn’t have an animal side keeping them warm.
Apollo’s look wasn’t fancy in any way. There was nothing about him that people might look at him and think, “That’s an ancient god.” And yet, by the same token, Titus could see how Apollo still stood apart from everyone else. He wasn’t overly tall, and he wasn’t overly big.Unlike me, Titus thought. Apollo was definitely a stunning man, but Titus realized he was attracted to that air of calm Apollo had about him, even as his eyes twinkled and a small smile hovered around his lips.
Could I do this sort of thing forevermore?Titus wondered as he tipped his bottle back and took another swig from it. Why make a glass dirty when it was just as easy to drink out of the bottle? Living a life of ease with Apollo was so tempting, and yet there was a tiny part of Titus that held back from taking that leap.I’ve worked so hard, pushed for so long...
Titus thought about the two trucks that Apollo had mentioned he’d sold in the past. That was a business deal that went completely wrong, and one of Titus’s most epic failures. He really hoped Apollo would never be interested in learning the details about that one.
He’d been a cocky, “everything I touch is gold” type at the time.And I got scammed big time.What basically happened was akin to putting money down on a real estate deal when the land didn’t even exist. He and Regis had been in Las Vegas. Regis hadn’t been keen on the deal, but the dealer had offered Titus a few “incentives” that Titus had enjoyed to the point of ignoring the fact that he couldn’t scent any lies because of the man’s overuse of cologne.I was such a fool back then.
Titus learned from that, and he built his business back up again, even though Regis had teased him for years over the needs of his dick costing him two trucks. But seeing how happy Apollo was now, enjoying a simple meal with him, just having fun being out –that means more to me than my business, and a lot more pleasurable than spending all my time guarding against people taking advantage of me or my company.Titus didn’t have to prove anything to his mate. Apollo was happy simply being in his company, and he let that be known in a dozen little ways.
He gave a passing thought to Cassius. Yes, Titus had always loved the idea of having a son.I bet he’d love a trip like this,he thought idly. The only reason Titus knew Lorna traveled was that every year the picture he received had been taken in a different location, and any legal communications came from lawyers in different countries.
The boy had always been small and pale, and Titus figured that was because of the vampire side of his genetics, but now he’d never know for sure.Because he’s not mine.There was still a small part of him, for all his talk about lawyers and DNA, thatwas quietly sad that that part of his life had effectively been cut off.Maybe I’ll have a chance to have an actual son with my mate one day. One, I can help to raise and be a part of his day-to-day.
Titus mentally shook himself. He’d been made a fool of more than once in his past, and he wasn’t keen to continue the tradition. Stopping the payments to Lorna was about the principle of the thing. When he believed Cassius was his blood, he would’ve kept paying out until the child became an adult. But now he knew that wasn’t the case…
