Bo limited his speech to “right” and “left” and “right here” until they pulled up at a café that, while not exactly sleazy, had probably seen its share of late-night folks sporting the freshly fucked look. The ghosts of greasy burgers hung heavy in the air.
Lucky’s kind of place.
They settled away from the door and ordered breakfast for dinner, then took turns cleaning up in the tiny one-stall bathroom.
Oh. So that was why Bo wore a condom. Easier cleanup.
Bo settled against the tattered backrest of their booth. “Now.” He locked gazes with Lucky. “You’re going to tell me what’s wrong, start to finish, and leave nothing out.”
“Bo, there’s noth—”
Chin up, eyes narrowed. Bo in full inquisitor mode. “That wasn’t a question or a request. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on. You’re hurting, and I have a feeling from more than just Walter’s sudden illness.”
Lucky hung his head. Hard keeping secrets from someone who saw right through him. “I don’t want to drag you into this.”
Bo reached across the table and clasped Lucky’s hand. “I love you. Whatever it is, I’m already initup to my ass.”
“And what a nice ass it is.” Lucky attempted a smirk and probably missed by a mile.
Bo’s left eyebrow arched up toward his hairline, and he drummed the fingers of his free hand on the table. “You’re trying to distract me.”
“Is it working?”
“Not at all.”
“Damn.”
“Stop stalling, or you’re showering alone for a month.”
Lucky’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, not fair. You fight dirty.”
With a leer and a shrug, Bo replied, “I do what I have to.”
Lucky could have hugged the waiter who showed up with their meals, even if he did purse his lips and give Lucky the hairy eyeball about what was left of his shirt. The moment the man left Lucky tucked into scrambled eggs. Hey, no talking with his mouth full, right?
Bo stirred blueberries into his oatmeal. Oatmeal. Yuck. Not without a court order.
Lucky finished the eggs, bringing an end to his excuse not to answer. “If you just wanted to talk, why go through all this trouble?”
Bo ticked off points on his fingers. “One. I love you and want to make sure you don’t forget. Two. You get freaked out by any hint of intimacy when your nephews are within a mile of the house. Three. I thought you’d be more likely to talk if I fucked you stupid first.”
Lucky paused a moment to consider. True, true, and very true. “Okay, I’ll give you those.”
“Now, talk.”
“It’s not your problem, it’s mine.”
“And whenever you do something asinine, well, Lucky, Loretta always tells me you’re my problem. So, if my problem has a problem, it’s my problem too.” Bo scrunched his face. “That didn’t sound half as good coming out of my mouth as it did in my brain. I don’t think of you as a problem.”
“Oh, really?”
Bo frowned and considered Lucky. “Okay. Occasionally. Maybe.”
“That’s what I love about you. So decisive.” Lucky pasted on a winning smile.
To which Bo rolled his eyes. “T-Rex, I’m so close to coming over this table and shaking you until you talk.”
“You’re like a dog on a bone, you know that?”
