Trevor cast him a quizzical look. Before they headed out, Connor filled himself a takeaway mug with coffee; he desperately needed the energy, especially if he had to deal with Austin for a few hours. As he walked to the car with everyone, he debated just saying that he and Austin weren’t friends and sparing himself an evening of trouble. It wasn’t like Austin could say anything to harm Connor at this point… could he?
At worst, he could say they dated.
Austin chatted to Laurence the entire way to the bowling alley; whenever Austin noticed Connor looking their way, he cast him a smile, like he was pleased with the attention, so Connor stopped looking their way. At first, Laurence was clearly on guard, but Austin’s charm gradually softened him up. During a corner, Austin grabbed Connor’s knee to balance himself, and that hand stayed in place as the road straightened. Austin slowly slipped his hand up Connor’s thigh. A few months ago, the same action would have driven Connor insane; to be fair, it still did. But it was a different kind of insane.
Connor smacked Austin’s hand away.
When they arrived at the bowling alley, Laurence had friends waiting there. The girl, Anna, that Connor had seen before, and two big guys. All of them cast curious looks in Connor’s direction; pretty much everyone in the bowling alley did when they realised who he was. It used to be that whenever he went out with Austin, everyone would stare at him, drawn in by his silvery hair and elfin features.
Trevor and Edith bowed out of the match, saying they would watch as they ate. Connor checked that Austin was talking to the group and not one-on-one with Laurence before approaching the food counter. Apparently, being irritated didn’t spoil his appetite, and after everything with Adonis—he was desperate for the energy.
“It’s your turn,” Laurence said as Connor sat down with a packed tray of food.
Connor unwrapped the burger and nodded at him. “Can you do it for me?”
Laurence glanced nervously at the scoreboard, where he was tied for last the first round through.
“Throw it in the gutter, Laurence.” Austin pipped up. “Connor’s stupid good at bowling.”
Connor ignored Austin, taking a bite of his burger.
Laurence double-checked that Connor wasn’t moving to get up before he picked up a bowling ball. It ended up in the gutter, and Laurence’s cheeks turned bright red. Connor repressed a grin. “On purpose, was it?” he teased.
Laurence’s neck turned red, too. Connor exhaled an amused breath. He patted the spot next to him, and Laurence happily trotted to his side. Nick shot them a glare, but Connor had stopped caring about Nick’s glares weeks ago.
“It…was on purpose,” Laurence said.
“I see,” Connor said, amused. “Do you want to go surfing this weekend?”
Laurence jerked his head to Connor, eyes brightening. “Really?”
“It’s meant to be sunny. There’s a big beach not too far down the coast that we can go to if Trevor doesn’t mind us taking his car,” Connor said.
Laurence twisted around in his seat, going onto his knees and leaning over the back of the chair. “Dad,” he called, getting Trevor’s attention from where he sat at a dining table with Edith. “Can we borrow your car on the weekend? Connor said he’d take me surfing.”
“I don’t have a problem with it… though you did promise to help me run our food truck at the docks.”
“Food truck?” Connor questioned.
“The Spring Festival is this weekend,” Trevor explained. “We were asked if we could run a food stand for it.”
Ah, Connor had forgotten about the festival. Summer was approaching fast.
“We’ll go in the morning,” Laurence said. “And Nick can help you until we’re back in the evening.”
Connor saw Nick’s expression change. Of course, he wouldn’t be on board with Connor and Laurence going off alone together.
“If you’re going, I’m going,” Nick said.
“Nick,” Laurence said, irritated. “You have to stay and help Dad.”
“Surfing sounds fun,” Austin remarked. “Could I join in, too?”
“As much as I would love to have you,” Connor said blandly, “I only have two surfboards.”
Austin met his gaze head-on. “You can’t take turns?”
“I don’t like sharing.”
