“We haven’t gotten that far,” Landon said sheepishly, turning a questioning look his direction. Robert had nothing to say, not understanding what Tapworks was and if he should agree or not.
“Is that food in the suitcase?” Shelly asked, staring down at the various containers yet to be put away.
“Yeah, he spoils me.” Landon smiled over at him. “Robert’s a chef. He, or we I guess, just bought a restaurant. His family’s restaurant,” Landon explained and bent back to the case, gathering several containers to place in the freezer. “These are his recipes. He brought ’em for me to try.”
“Lucky,” Norris said, bending over the suitcase to draw one container up.
“Stop looking at my food, Norris,” Landon quipped, snatching the container from his hand.
“Shelly brought me a cake. I’ll share if you do.”
Landon stayed quiet, eyeing Norris while gathering the rest of the dishes. “We’ll talk, but slice for slice. You don’t get a whole meal every time I get a piece of cake.”
“You two are funny,” Shelly said, shaking her head. “Are you guys coming with?”
Landon shut the refrigerator door before looking over his shoulder at Robert. “It’s a bar with pool tables and darts. They serve grill type foods. Not a lot you would eat there, except they have an avocado wrap you might like,” Landon explained.
“I could play some pool,” Robert said, pleased that Landon had scoped out the menu on his behalf. Landon did those sweet things all the time. He loved his man and would enjoy a night out. It would be fun.
“Of course you could, because you cheat!” A moment of uncertainty passed across Norris’s and Shelly’s faces at Landon’s sudden spurt of self-indignation. Robert burst out laughing, because he knew exactly where Landon’s mind had gone.
“I don’t cheat, per se,” he tried to explain to the two sets of eyes trained on him.
“Yeah,” Landon countered, giving him a look he interpreted to mean he should try telling another lie. “Get a table and give us fifteen minutes. He just got here.”
“Sure thing,” Norris said and ushered Shelly out the door.
Happy with this turn of events, Robert went for his suitcase. He needed to find something else to wear. Landon had been generous with the lube. It had to be all over his slacks.
“You sure you’re really good with this?” Landon called out from the kitchen, putting the rest of the food away.
“Very. I’ve gotta clean up. I tried to stay facing them.” He went for the bathroom and showered and dressed in record time.
Chapter 37
“You’re the best-looking guy here,” Landon whispered, running his palm up Robert’s back and across his shoulder as he scooted past him for a turn at the dart board. “I’m glad you’re here with me,” Landon said a little louder.
“He’s sweet-talking me because I’m winning.” Robert hadn’t allowed Landon’s win-at-all-cost strategy to get inside his head. This wasn’t the first or second time he’d played a game with his husband. All bets were off for Landon when it came to winning. Currently, Robert held the lead by a decent margin and that made his husband a little crazed. Landon was very competitive. Years now of the give and take of game playing told the truth. Landon didn’t like the current score at all, no matter how relaxed he seemed.
“You’re only winning because of those new-math skills you have,” Landon quipped, making both Shelly and Norris softly chuckle, but Robert laughed straight out loud. The volume of his laugh was designed to startle Landon just as he took his shot, and it did. It also drew every eye in the bar toward him. Landon missed the dartboard completely. Before the dart even struck the wall, Landon cut his gaze to Robert, giving his most unapproving glare which Robert totally laughed off.
If truth be told, Robert was happy tonight. This trip had already been made better with the inclusion of Norris and his wife who sat with them at the small, round table. Norris played along in the battle of the dartboard. To be in Landon’s world like this canceled another of Landon’s relationship obstacles. It didn’t matter that Robert had figured out Norris was a safe bet. Besides being Landon’s study partner, Norris’s little brother was gay, but the rest of the bar was filled with soldiers, and they had been nothing but personable and accepting.
“Got something to say about my math skills?” Robert asked as Landon came toward him. Norris scooted off his seat.
“You know, I’m an elementary school teacher. I think Robert’s correct. He’s winning,” Shelly added for good measure. Landon gave one of his dramatic eye rolls, landing on the stool beside Robert before draining his bottle of beer. Robert reached across the table for a high five for Shelly’s remarks.
“He’s a doctor. You two would get along great with all your education.”