“If you teach me how to play like that,” Tucker said to him. “How did you learn to play like that, anyway?”
“My dad. Word to the wise, never play against him. He’s a fucking shark. When I was a kid, I lost my allowance every week playing him.”
“Your family scares me,” Tucker said to him. “I’m serious. A mother who’s hell-bent on adopting everyone. A father who is a silent killer and a pool shark. And I won’t even talk about you and your brothers.”
“Never be afraid of us, Tuck. Just do everything we tell you to do, and all will be right with the world.”
“See, that right there is why I’m scared. It’s a wonder none of you ran for president.”
“How did you know that was in my plan to take over the world?” Lucas kept a straight face, but it was killing him not to laugh out loud.
“Please, tell me you’re kidding?”
The squeak of Tucker’s voice was adorable. They stared at each other and Lucas couldn’t hold it in anymore. He burst out into laughter holding his stomach. “You should see your face, right now.”
“Shit, I really thought you were serious.”
Lucas stood and dabbed at his eyes. “Dude, seriously, me as president, I would have to give up the work I’m doing with Hamilton Enterprise.”
“Thank goodness. I kept thinking how was I going to keep you safe. You have a way with words, not a compliment by the way.”
“Hey, I’m a nice guy,” Lucas defended.
“Not to people who know you.”
“So, now you think you know me?” Lucas smiled, not offended by Tucker’s words in the least.
“Yeah, I’m learning,” Tucker said with a smile.
They were staring at each other with silly smiles on their faces. Clearing his throat, Lucas looked away. “Want to play again? I can show you all my moves.”
Maybe it was his imagination, but Tucker’s eyes looked up and down his body and licked his lips. “Moves huh, so you have more bags of tricks up your sleeves that you want to show me?”
“Now I’m not so sure if I want to show you all of my tricks. You might not be able to handle them.”
“I can handle anything you throw at me, Hamilton.”
“We’ll see, Stevens, we’ll see.”
“You’re such a fucking smart-ass.”
“You better believe it.” Lucas smiled. “So are we playing another game or what?”
“I know I’m going to lose, but why not.”
Lucas was enjoying their playful banter. He’d never seen this side of Tucker before. Maybe they could do this again, he thought as he went about setting up for another game.
Lucas wasn’t sure how many games they played, but he was suddenly aware of Tucker. Aware of how he smelled, how he looked when he was concentrating, and aware of his gorgeous smile. He had used getting a beer as an excuse to try to figure out what the hell was going on with him. But he couldn’t answer his own question.
They’d moved from playing pool to actually watching the game. Lucas was having fun, despite his confusion with his thoughts. It had been a while since he’d been able to relax like he was now.
He’d spent time with his brothers and father playing a game or two, but it usually ended up with them annoying him by asking when was he going to start dating. Lucas was glad Tucker never once asked why he hadn’t started dating yet. Maybe one day he would be ready. Back in the day, Lucas was carefree and careless with his life. He’d used being part of Seekers to be careless with his life.
There was nothing wrong with saving people'slives. It was certainly not something to scoff at. It was one part of the job he had enjoyed greatly. But thinking about it, Lucas cared more about the glory and the romanticism of the job than anything else.
He was like a kid that needed to grow up. Lucas was the oldest of three boys, and although his parents instilled a sense of responsibility in him and his brothers and gave them all the freedom they needed to grow, Lucas still felt as if he needed to live life more freely and did what came naturally to him.
When Asher, his father, brought up the prospect of workingwith the Seekers organization to him and his twin brother, Tyler, Lucas remembered that he’d jumped at the chance before Tyler gave his answer. He didn’t even take time to think about it. He’d always gone with his gut whenever something sounded good to him. Lucas also knew that Tyler only agreed to work with Seekers to watch his back. At times, Lucas would act before thinking of the consequences.
