Before he could comment on Draco’s overprotective ways, Pearl jumped up from her position on the floor and ran to the front door. Draco scowled, obviously torn between going to see what had drawn her attention and the still-bleeding cut on Sawyer’s hand.
“Go. I got this. It’s not bad.”
Draco glanced at the wound, and obviously agreeing with Sawyer’s assessment, followed the dog through the house to the front door.
Sawyer didn’t want to miss the excitement if some rookie salesman dared to knock on Draco’s door, so he snagged a wad of paper towels and quickly wrapped it around his finger before racing after him to the door.
He couldn’t have been more surprised to find both his neighbor and his dog standing on the front porch watching an obnoxiously large bus try to maneuver its way into the driveway of the McMansion.
“Oh my God,” Sawyer gasped. “Someone famous is moving in. That’s why the house went up so fast. They’re throwing money around left and right, making everyone work double or triple time to get the house up as quickly as possible and--”
“Your imagination is running away with you again.”
Sawyer scoffed. “You tell me how that house went up so fast then. Go on. I’m waiting. Moneybags McDuck is throwing wads of cash around and making everyone jump to his whims. There’s probably a solid gold toilet in there.”
Draco smirked and looked away from the bus to meet Sawyer’s look. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“My brain is a smorgasbord of knowledge and valuable insight.”
Draco huffed and turned his attention back to the bus, which had finally managed to make the turn into the driveway. “Those buses are incredibly expensive.”
“I know. Remember when we looked at renting an RV and making a road trip?”
“I would not haverentedan RV. I wanted to buy one.”
It was Sawyer’s turn to scoff. “Right. Like I was letting you spend your inheritance on something you might have hated. That makes sense. Renting first was the logical choice.”
Draco’s lip curled in disgust. “One, it’s a trust fund. Two, I wouldn’t sleep in someone else’s…” he stopped and shivered in disgust. “And three,letme?”
Sawyer waved his hand in the air, attempting to dismiss his poor word choice with the gesture. He turned his attention back to the bus, which had made it to the top of the hill. The way it sat blocked the door from their view. But… if he…
“Don’t even think about it.”
Sawyer looked up at Draco with a grin. “What?”
“You’re thinking about taking Pearl for a little stroll to try to catch a glimpse of the new neighbors.”
The man did know him well. “Yeah, and?”
“Andat least let them settle in first. We’ll meet them another day.”
Sawyer sighed and leaned against the porch railing. “You’re no fun.”
“I know. You remind me daily. Now I’m going to go put the chicken on the grill. Put a glove on and finish chopping vegetables.”
Sawyer snickered and followed Draco back into the kitchen. The poor guy hated germs and constantly worried that Sawyer was going to catch the plague. It was cute, mostly. “But… what if I already got something on the tomato. Imighthave forgotten to wash my hands before—”
“Stop.” Draco gulped and looked at the tomato. “Don’t touch anything else. I’ll handle the salad. Go… disinfect yourself.”
Sawyer grinned and went down the hall to the bathroom where Draco kept a well-stocked first aid kit. As much fun as he had teasing Draco, he wasn’t completely heartless. After unwrapping the paper towels from his finger and throwing them away, he washed his hands thoroughly before pouring some disinfectant over the small cut. Once he’d dabbed some ointment on it and covered it with a Band-Aid, he tugged on one of the hospital style blue gloves Draco kept stocked in the house and returned to the kitchen.
He tossed the tomato in the trash, put the cutting board and knife in the dishwasher, and then started over again with a clean knife and board. Luckily for them, Draco stocked up on produce at the farmer’s market so they had another tomato ready and waiting for the salad. He wouldn’t even pretend it was the same one to try to gross Draco out. Because he was a good friend like that.
Draco came back inside with a now empty platter and eyed Sawyer’s set up suspiciously. He only swallowed nervously once, a personal record, then rinsed the platter and loaded it into the dishwasher as well. He disinfected the sink and his hands before moving to Sawyer’s side.
“Yes, I’m clean. Yes, everything else is clean, too. I promise.”
Draco nodded and squeezed Sawyer’s shoulder in thanks. It took everything in him not to turn into Draco’s arms and wrap him up in a hug. He’d tried a few times to initiate a little more touch between them but Draco had shied away each time.
