“Way too long.” Conner looked around Reno to where Luka half hid behind him. “What do you want to drink? You can feel free to take the booth around back.”
Reno hooked his hand around Luka’s elbow and leaned over to whisper, “What do you want?”
“Whiskey.”
“Conner, this is Luka. He’ll have a whiskey—Wait, do you want anything with that or just neat?”
Luka blinked a few times. “I don’t know. Um.”
“Oh, American?” Conner asked and Luka nodded. He gave them both a smile before busying himself behind the bar. When he caught Reno and Luka still standing there Conner waved them away saying, “I’ll bring over something for you both in a bit, it’s slow tonight," and Reno tugged Luka to the booth.
They sank into the same side, pleasing Reno because he was finding it more challenging by the moment to keep his hands off of Luka. He rested his hand on Luka’s thigh and swept his eyes over the interior of the pub, which was thankfully pretty quiet since it was a weeknight. The booth they had taken was out of eye line from the door, and with the windows frosted to almost a pure white, Reno felt himself relax marginally. Luka seemed tense beside him, but Reno figured he’d unwind as the night moved on.
“Here you go." Conner dropped off their drinks, some kind of lovely caramel-colored cocktail with a leafy garnish for Luka and his typical elderberry gin for Reno. He pulled his drink toward himself and asked Conner to bring Luka a menu.
“Taste okay?” Reno asked once Conner was out of earshot and Luka took a tentative sip of his drink.
“It’s sweet.” Luka huffed a little. “Maybe I should have been specific.”
“Want me to get you something else?”
“No," Luka flushed, looking uncomfortable. “It’s really okay. You don’t have to…”
When he didn’t finish, Reno leaned an elbow on the table and watched as Conner brought the menu over. He thanked him, then handed it to Luka. “Yes, I do.”
Luka looked over at him with a frown. “You don’t. I’m okay. Will you pick me something to eat, though? I think I’m tapped out on choices for the day.”
“Of course.” Reno’s chest warmed, knowing Luka would trust him with something even as simple as picking his food for him. “Do you want something British or something good?”
“You said it, not me.” Luka cracked a smile and Reno felt like he was winning.
“Yorkshire pudding then, yes?”
“Wait," Luka balked, “That soundsveryBritish. Do they eat pudding for dinner here?”
Reno laughed, delighted, “No, but they love calling things strange names that they are not. It is a type of bread they like to put in gravy.”
“Sounds horrible.”
“It’s not much different than soufflé.”
Luka sighed. “Okay, so not too horrible.” He took another drink and winced. “I don’t trust the bartender here.”
“Get up, let me go order for you.” Reno tapped Luka’s hip to get him out of the booth so he could get to the bar.
“How was your tour?” Conner asked once Reno was there, his elbows resting on the dark oak.
Reno shrugged. “Good, busy. Happy to be home. You know I love playing all over but there's nothing like my own bed.”
“Got someone to share it with?” Conner peeked over Reno’s shoulder in the direction of the booth.
Reno hummed. “We’ll see. He’s had a long day. I don’t want to wear him out too badly.”
“Christ, man," Conner laughed, “You don’t hear yourself half the time, do you?” He finished a pour and brought it over to another neighbor of Reno’s that he didn’t know by name. When Conner came back he asked, “Someone you met on the road?”
“Yeah, actually. Been talking for a few months now.”
“You’re blushing, mate.”
