“So we celebrate at your place.” Rain kept his tone light, flirty but not pushy. “I have some ideas.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” Garrick groaned as he stood and slid into the passenger seat. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“Don’t be afraid. There’s no biting involved. Unless you ask very nicely.” Finished settling Cookie in the back seat, he stowed the wheelchair and headed to the driver’s side.
“And see, that’s what I’m afraid of right there.”
“That I make you want to ask?” Rain waggled his eyebrows at Garrick before backing out of the parking space.
“You make me crazy is what you do,” Garrick muttered.
“Come on. Tell me your ideal Friday night.” Rain tried another tactic, deciding that less was maybe more in getting what he wanted from Garrick, which was more time together. And very possibly more flirting. Both because it was fun and because he couldn’t seem to stop. “Grandma’s out with some fabric artist friends in Sisters. Don’t make me hunt down fun on my own.”
“You might have to. Right now, my ideal night is pizza and wings and my hot tub, but none of that’s happening. Honestly, I’ll probably just reheat something and work on my plan for your workouts next week.”
“Why isn’t it happening?” Seemed like a perfectly reasonable request to him. “Tub not operational?”
“No, it works. And Dad has helped me use it a couple of times now, but it’s a big hassle. I can’t do it on my own, that’s for damn sure.”
“Well, luckily I’m here. And I think I’ve already established that I’m stronger than I look. I hammered out the push-ups you assigned me this morning. I can help. And the pizza?”
“It’s hardly the most vegan-friendly food. And the place I really like in town doesn’t do delivery. I’ve asked them to get on one of those apps, but they haven’t yet.”
“So? Call it in. I’ll pick it up. These are minor inconveniences.”
“I feel like I’m making you do a lot of extra work just to hang out with me.” Garrick groaned. “Sorry. I’m not usually such a drag. Stephanie worked me extra hard in PT. I’m more sore than usual, and that’s making me cranky.”
“And then I dragged you into Bend. I’m sorry. I didn’t think to ask if you were up for it.”
“Because I wanted to be. Kinda like I’d like to be up for going out, but instead, even staying in like I want means needing a hand.”
“Which I am happy to give. Seriously. I won’t have to eat alone, and there’s a hot tub involved. Win. Also, I’ll get to see whatever this pizza place can do with crust and vegetables, and we just won’t tell my mom about the cheese.”
“Okay, okay. We are celebrating after all. Bring on the cheese. They do a nice vegetarian one with spinach and artichokes. I’ll eat that so we don’t have to make them split it down the middle. I don’t need meat if I’m getting the wings too.”
“Call it in,” Rain ordered in his best impression of Garrick’s take-charge tone, which got him laughing as intended.
They laughed their way back to Painter’s Ridge, Garrick giving him directions to the little hole-in-the-wall pizza joint, which also seemed to function as a pool hall and biker bar.
“This is the best pizza in the area?”
“You’ll love it. Come on, you Portland people will eat anything that falls off the back of a food truck if they call it a cute enough name. And it’s not as scary inside as it looks. Want me to come in with you?”
“Nah.” Rain waved away Garrick’s offer of two twenties as well. “My treat for the celebration. You rest up for the hot tub adventure.”
Garrick’s look that fell somewhere between apprehensive and speculative had exactly enough heat to have Rain whistling as he made fast work of collecting the food from a burly guy in a too-tight tie-dyed T-shirt that looked like one of Grandma’s early designs. Rain needed to find a job and fast, but he couldn’t let Garrick pay for everything. He’d been feeding him most mornings too.
Besides, he really was celebrating. Cookie got to stay and he was about to get into a hot tub with a super attractive, super nice guy. And he was already dreaming up ways to get Garrick to skinny-dip. Bring on the adventure, indeed.
Chapter Six
Garrick had had people interested in getting him undressed before, and hell, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he’d installed the hot tub in part because it made the road to consensual naked happy times that much more fun and easy. But few, if any, of those persons had been so downright gleeful as Rain at the prospect.
“I vote skinny-dipping. After we eat.” Rain toted the food into the house, almost bouncing at his idea, which he presented in the same tone Garrick’s younger self might have mentioned hot fudge sundaes.