“Sit down, Levi,” Linda said, somewhat scolding Levi’s annoyed behavior after a moment of weird silence. Thane busied himself with his silverware and napkin, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing at the absurdity of this unexpected situation. Levi slowly made his way toward his chair, pulling it as far back as he could before scooting in, making sure to put as much distance as possible between the two of them.
“So, where did you get the idea of bacon everything?” Luke asked, scooting his chair over to accommodate Levi’s need for space.
Thane turned toward the kid. “I confess it wasn’t my idea, but when the owner put the business up for sale, it was three locations and one of my first ventures into buying restaurants. Everyone thought I was crazy. Hell, I thought I was crazy. Now there’s a dozen or so of these locations and they’re some of my most popular places,” Thane explained. He didn’t even have to lean forward to see Luke because Levi had seated himself a good twelve inches away from the table.
“The guys online talk about this place all the time. I think I’m trying the flamin’ hot burger,” Luke informed him, lifting the menu as if Thane could see his selection.
“Solid choice. My favorite’s the beer cheese chili burger.”
“Is that good?” Logan asked, drawing his attention from Luke. Of course, Thane noticed when Levi finally scraped the chair across the stained concrete floor to move closer to the table, still keeping a noticeable distance from him.
“It’s one of my favorite burgers. There’s a spicy burger in Texas that’s like Luke’s choice tonight, but they don’t play around with the flaming part. I tried it on my last trip. I’m a little gun-shy now,” he said, winking at Luke. That bit of information seemed to take Luke’s excitement to the next level. With Luke, he had a feeling they could talk food for hours and never get bored. The waitress was back with a glass of water for him and the appetizers that had to have been prepared in record time. Good. This family deserved the VIP treatment.
When the waitress finished taking their order, the manager came to the table. “Mr. Walker, I’m James.” With the limited space they had, Thane was forced to stand, stretch across the table to shake the guy’s hand, but that also allowed him to reposition his chair closer to Levi, and out of nothing more than the need to touch Levi, he immediately rested his arm across the back of Levi’s chair. He only managed the briefest of touches before Levi’s body jerked, his spine going ramrod straight, forcing his upper body closer to the table. “We reserved a table for you this evening.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’m good right here,” he said happily, giving in to the urge to counter Levi’s move, placing his hand on Levi’s back. Thane never looked to see Levi’s response. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the manager, but when his palm made contact with Levi’s back, he could feel the immediate ripple of muscle. “You can give my table up. I’ll be dining here tonight. They’ve invited me to join them.” Thane looked around the table. “Are we here for any specific reason?”
“Just having dinner out,” Luke answered.
“We’re glad to have you tonight, Mr. Walker. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do.” Thane nodded and sat back as the waitress did her thing. By the time she finished and refilled all the drinks, Thane decided to give the cheese fries appetizer a try and was astounded to find them already gone. Those must have been Logan’s favorite with the way the dish was pulled closest to him. Neither boy seemed too concerned about saving any food for anyone else. He remembered those years of being a human food vacuum.
Levi’s family was an open and hospitable group. After those initial few minutes, Thane found he didn’t have to say much more; he felt included. He just listened as Logan, Luke, and Linda all kept the conversation going. Levi remained the only sore spot in an otherwise nice dinner. He didn’t say a word; his face still held that passive expression, but his body was rigid, and he sat at such an awkward angle that Thane was absolutely certain the guy was going to have sore muscles from it. Thane grinned, thinking about offering the wound-up man his solution for that back pain later. He’d happily rub out any of the strain Levi had, especially if that meant he got some time to worship Levi’s ass.
~~~
As out of sorts as he was, his hamburger shouldn’t taste like the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. Levi swallowed the last bite, tempted to use his fingertip to gather up all the remaining crumbs. He resisted the urge, no matter how badly he wanted to, because every time he moved, he was reminded Thane Walker was currently pressed shamelessly against the side of his body, engaged in an active, animated conversation with his brothers and had even drawn Linda and Alison into the discussion. Getting Alison talking was kind of a feat in itself. She was incredibly shy or at least she’d been with him, but clearly not with Thane.