Mike jerks his head toward Sean.
“Right,” Daniel says with a grimace. “Sorry ’bout your nose, kid. Don’t even know my own strength sometimes, wouldn’t you believe that.”
“It’s fine,” Sean says.
“Do you want to hit him back?” Mike asks. “Even it up a little?”
Daniel’s eyes widen. “Now wait just a damn minute—”
Sean rolls his eyes, but he’s starting to smile and that’s all Mike wants. “Nah. I think we’re pretty okay here, big guy.”
“Yeah, see?” Daniel’s edging toward the door. “Everything is pretty okay. The kid’s good, George is good, no need to get your feathers ruffled there, Giganto.”
“George,” Mike says, ignoring Daniel. “You’ll tell me if you don’t get paid, won’t you?”
“Sure, Mike. Right away.”
“Good,” Mike says. “That’s real good.”
Daniel pales slightly, sputters a little bit more, and is out the door, the little bell ringing overhead as he hurries down the sidewalk.
“Thanks, Mike,” George says. “Sorry about this whole mess.”
“It’s okay,” Mike says. “He’s a shifty little bastard.”
George barks out a laugh. “I tried to get it from him, but he kept skipping out on me.”
“Next time, you come to me first.”
“Yeah, okay, Mike.”
“You got a few moments this week? That sliding door is sticking again.”
“Oh sure. Be out there tomorrow if that’s all right with you. I’ll fix it right as rain.”
“I know,” Mike says.
“Sorry about the ruckus,” George says to Walter, but Walter waves him off with a “Don’t worry about it.”
People go back to their breakfasts as Walter pours George another cup of coffee. Mike sighs and sees the photos on the ground. He’s about to start cleaning it up when he sees Sean watching him with a strange look on his face.
“You okay?” Mike asks, concerned.
“You just….” Sean shakes his head. “You don’t see it, do you?”
“See what?”
Sean is moving toward Mike even before he can get the words out, and there’s a low heat curling in his stomach at the sight of him. His face is bloodied and his nose is bright red, but Sean’s got this look in his eyes, something Mike can’t quite place. It’s hot and fiery and Mike’s never seen him like this before, hips rolling like he’s slinking instead of walking.
He stops right in front of Mike, leaving a hairsbreadth of distance between them. Mike’s hands twitch at his sides, wanting to reach out and touch, but he doesn’t, because he can’t quite be sure he’ll stop if he starts.
When Sean speaks, his voice is low, his words for Mike only. “You come in here. You deal with all of this like you do. Like it’s nothing. You make things better wherever you go. You always do. Three years I waited for you. I told myself to take it at your pace. That you needed it. That it was the right thing to do. But I swear to god, Mike, had you done something like that three years ago, I wouldn’t have been responsible for my actions, however improper they might have been. You catch my drift?”
Yeah, Mike’s catching his drift, all right. It makes his skin buzz and his heart thud. “That something you like?” Mike says, wondering how he made his voice sound gravelly.
Sean’s eyes darken. “Taking charge like you did?” He laughs, a husky thing that Mike wants to swallow down. “Yeah,” and he’s mocking Mike again, but in that sweet way he does.
“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” Mike says, gaze darting over Sean’s face.