Denny murmured something under his breath.
“Oh, and apparently he thought I was a bottom,” Josiah added, because there had never been shyness or taboo subjects between him and Denny.
Denny snorted with laughter. “How did he come to that conclusion in the first place? Wasn’t it like six months?”
Josiah did the seesaw motion with his hand. “Thereabouts. We were together a lot, outside of work. Or, in the Hare, you know.” He knew without looking that Denny would be nodding. “In the beginning, I basically gave into whatever he wanted because I wanted it too”—he heard Denny make an affronted sound—“but then, as I started to be less fun, we didn’t have as much sex and… you know. It started to fizzle out. When I tried to talk to him about it, he got pissed off, like if I had misled him somehow?”
“Didn’t you meet on an app?”
“Yeah. Where I clearly stated that I’m versatile.”
“Well I guess, in addition to being a general idiot, he also had problems with understanding written word.”
Josiah smiled. He could always count on Denny being on his side. Not that there was a reasonnotto be on his side with this.
Soon, Denny left the grill and went to get the foodstuffs from inside. Josiah lounged in his mildly uncomfortable spot, knowing that he should’ve gone and brought the deck chairs from the shed. He’d be paying for this sort of relaxation, but he still enjoyed the atmosphere and the sun too much.
Eventually, Denny came back.
“I’ve the steaks and some veggies I skewered,” he said as he started to clatter about.
“Sounds good. Need help?” Josiah asked, just to be polite.
“Nah. When you feel like it, get us drinks and plates from the inside maybe? There’s no rush.”
He hummed and let all the worries and the disappointments roll off his shoulders for the time being.
“I’m done in five minutes or so,” Denny warned.
Josiah sighed, pushed himself up and winced at how his back protested for having been resting against the edge of the table, and rolled his shoulders. “Okay. What do you want to drink?”
“Beer sounds good, leave the Scotch for later.” The way Denny didn’t turn to look at him let Josiah know that Dennywantedthe Scotch already, but he was putting it off because it was too early.
“Okay.”
Once inside, he used the bathroom and ignored himself in the mirror as he washed his hands. He knew how he’d appear; relaxed and happy, just because he’d been here in the peaceful quiet with Denny. It felt like rubbing salt into a very old wound, and he didn’t want to admit to that level of masochism.
He gathered the stuff they needed and made his way back down into the yard. They ate the tasty meal in silence, enjoying the flavors and their surroundings.
Another fish splashed in the river, making them both smile.
“They’re happy you fed them that worm,” Josiah teased.
Denny flushed lightly.
They ate until their bellies were full and then sat there at the table, groaning.
Josiah burst out laughing and had to hold onto his stuffed belly. “Oh my God, wearegetting old!”
Groan-chuckling, Denny seemed to agree. Once the laughter died down, Denny glanced toward the house. “How about we find the deck chairs and just settle down for a nap out here?”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll take all this stuff inside and you find them. I’ll bring the cushions from the closet if they’re not in the shed. I can’t remember where we left them.”
“Probably inside, since you put them away last.” Denny smiled.
Josiah got up and busied himself by cleaning the table. Denny was right. If Josiah was the one who had put the chairs away, then he would’ve taken the cushions up into the cabin’s storage closet so the moisture wouldn’t get to them. If he left stuff like that for Denny to do, he’d just chuck them into the shed after the chairs, and mold would happen.Hadhappened. Once. Years ago. Oh God when did he turn into that sort of exasperated spouse?
He managed to get everything up the stairs and put the bottles into the recycling and their paper plates into the trash. The cutlery he washed and put away.
