The guitar was on the seat next to him, ready to be played when Luis finished. It was a sort of barter with himself so he wouldn’t put off booking the movers.
“Evening,” Luis said.
“Mind company?” Karim asked, with an eye toward the guitar. “Just wanted to cut some flowers before starting dinner.”
“Yeah, of course, go ahead,” Luis said.
Karim walked out into the garden. He was barefoot, dressed for the night but hair still wild from sleep. Luis finished on his phone and set it aside, picking up his guitar while Karim wandered the garden.
Could he play, unprompted, while Karim was here? Luis slid his fingers over the cords, daring himself to.
Instead of playing his usual warm up, Luis started with an AC/DC song.
He knew the moment Karim recognized it, because his head swiveled from the roses to Luis. Luis’s nerves shot up, but he ducked his head and kept playing.
Eventually Karim turned back to his task, and Luis lifted his head to watch. With a small pair of shears, Karim went through the white rose bushes, before choosing one and clipping it free. Then he moved to the yellow roses. They were more plentiful right now than the white, and before long Karim had a whole bouquet of them.
Luis wound down his playing as Karim made his way back to the deck.
“I’m making hachis parmentier for dinner,” Karim said, stepping back onto the stone. He hedged closer, watching Luis like he was uncertain of his welcome.
“Okay,” Luis said with a smile to show he wasn’t upset that Karim was there.
“It’ll be ready in about an hour.” Then Karim was close enough that he bent and kissed Luis’s cheek.
“Oh, okay,” Luis sputtered, blushing at the unexpected affection.
Karim’s lips quirked, then he turned and disappeared back inside with his bouquet of roses.
After he was gone, Luis’s thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to last night.
He’d never seen Julien like that before, the sharp, cool confidence rolling off him as he took the situation literally in hand. For all of Karim’s challenging snipes, he’d listened when commanded, stayed in the chair even when it was obvious he would’ve much rather been on the bed with them.
And the way Luis had felt through it…
He’d never experienced anything like it. There’d been a freedom in it, the way he’d yielded to Julien’s control. The anxiety and worry had faded away until he’d just feltgood.
They were going to discuss it after dinner, Julien had been clear on that.
And Luis was both nervous and excited about the conversation.
He didn’t understand what spell Julien had woven, but he wanted more of it. Wanted more of both of them.
##
Hachis parmentier, as it turned out, was French.
“Oh, you made my favorite,” Julien said with a delighted smile when his small plate came out. He caught Karim’s hand and dropped a kiss on the back.
The bouquet of yellow roses had ended up in a vase on the table, an eye-catching centerpiece against the darker colors of the dining room.
They ate, Luis finishing his full plate while the two vampires picked at their smaller ones. There was idle conversation on soft topics, clearly a choice on Julien’s part. Julien got through his meal especially slowly tonight, as if savoring each bite.
When dinner was done, by unspoken agreement, they moved to the living room. Luis went with Julien while Karim cleaned up.
“I booked the movers,” Luis said when they sat down. They’d just been discussing work shipments, and it had reminded Luis.
“Oh, good,” Julien smiled. “From the place Karim recommended?”
