“What’s got your brow pinched like that?” Marcus knocked him in the shoulder with a wink. “Fraid I’m gonna embarrass you?”
Marcus would never.
“Look, I haven’t asked him to the formal yet.” Because he’s not out. “Don’t say anything about it, okay?”
“You guys seem locked at the hip. What are you waiting for?”
“The right moment.”
Marcus waggled his brows. “My lips are sealed.”
* * *
Pulling the silver door open, Marcus let Jack go in first. “Seriously, you’re taking me to your date place?”
The guy knew how to press his buttons. “No, this is just where we went after we exchanged phones. Our date places are off-limits to you.”
When he turned back, he found Marcus engrossed in the posters lining the walls. Perfect. He left his brother to get a table. This early, there was no wait, and a waitress walked them to a booth. After taking their drink orders, she left them alone.
Marcus drummed his fingers lightly on the table. “I ran into that annoying chick again last night.”
Staring out the window hoping to see Ed’s truck, Jack almost missed the point. “Annoying… oh, you mean the hot girl from the café? The one you keep tripping so you can catch her.”
Marcus snorted, rolling his eyes. “A) she is not hot and b) I do not keep tripping her. She’s a klutz and never watches where she’s going.”
“Dude, you do dump your bag wherever.” He caught a glimpse of red drive by truck. Ed. A smile worked at the edges of his mouth. He repressed it and focused on Marcus. “I don’t think you can blame her for that.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “Whose side are you on?”
“I didn’t know there were sides.” He swiveled in time to see Ed get out of his truck.
“There aren’t. She’s irritating and hard to get along with.”
“And calling her annoying, irritating, Loch Ness, and worst of all, a ‘chick’ isn’t going to make you any friends. Not with her or any other girl who hears you talk about her like that.”
Marcus flopped to the left. His lips parted in protest—
“Hey, Jack.” Ed’s smooth voice ended their conversation.
Jack lurched up and thanked the stars the tables were bolted into the floor or it would have tipped with his enthusiasm. As it was, only his thighs might be bruised. He chuckled and hurriedly sat down. Standing was too much. And Marcus was giving him one ultra-arched brow. “Glad you made it.”
Sliding over, he made room, and Ed settled in next to him. Close, but not too obvious. Ed subtly snuck his hand over the bench and squeezed Jack’s. Reassuring and cool from being outside.
Jack soaked in the sensation as he made introductions. “Ed, this is my brother, Marcus Reynolds.”
Marcus leaned over the table, extending his right hand. “Nice to meet you, Ed.”
The waitress arrived with their drinks.
“Sorry, hon, didn’t see you walk in. You mind sharing a menu with your friend?”
Ed waved off the menu Jack was sliding his way. “I don’t need to look. I know what I want.”
She took their order, collected their menus, and was gone in less than a minute. When no one spoke, a knot tightened in Jack’s gut.
Ed broke the silence. “Jack tells me you two like motorcycles.” Thank you, Ed!
Marcus’s face split into a wide grin. “Yeah. Been something of a pipe dream for us both. Mom and Dad aren’t about to let us get one before we’re fifty.”
Ed’s lips tipped up in a smile. He leaned forward with a sneaky wink at Jack. “You don’t have to get one to ride one, you know?”
* * *
Wednesday lunch, Jack met Ed at the Barnes and Noble café. Finding time to be together was an art, apparently.
Ed all but collapsed into the seat opposite. “Stick a fork in me, I’m done.”
Jack passed Ed the coffee he’d ordered for him. “Drink up. Then we’ll take a romantic walk to the ‘How To’ section. It holds a fond place in my heart.”
Ed’s smirk played peekaboo with the rim of his coffee cup. “Swear to God you stole my breath that day.”
“And a few days since, one hopes.”
“I fear for my health.”
Jack’s turn to hide a grin behind his mocha. “How’s work?”
“Slow. Boring. Pays the bills. How’s classes?”
“Been a bit distracted these last weeks. Can’t think why….”
Ed shifted in his chair, foot bumping casually against Jack’s inner ankle. “If only there were something I could do.”
Jack subtly repositioned himself. “If only there were someplace you could take me. I could stick a… fork in you and check just how done you are.”
Coffee burst out of Ed’s mouth as he simultaneously laughed and choked. He flushed as he grabbed napkins and mopped up the area.
Jack tutted. “That’s twice you’ve made a mess in here.”
“And three times with you.”
They grinned at each other. Ed rubbed his ear. “About last Sunday.”