“Sure. I’m down. Unless you want to get finger food at some shop. Then we all look like fools and make a mess.”
“Maybe as a snack.” He would rather have something at the room, and the hotel was nice enough.
“Cool. I’ll read you the menu.”
“I want cow and potatoes.” He was going to learn how to eat a steak, dammit, without someone having to cut it up for him.
“Well, they just happen to have a sirloin or a ribeye.”
“Sirloin.” That way he didn’t have to do the minefield of fat. There was no good thing about crunching down on a boingy bit of gristle.
“Baked potato? Salad?”
“Baked. Do they have coleslaw?”
“They do.” The phone clacked as Bax picked it up and punched up room service. Lord, the hotels they stayed in these days were a far cry from the roadside motels they’d stayed in at the start of their careers.
And they were fixin’ to buy themselves a goddamn beach house. Wild.
He grinned, just feeling good in his bones. Even the broken ones. Jason knew he had to focus on the now, get the riding done. But he was so ready to be on to the next stage of life.
Was that fucking weird or what? Was this just being grown up? Or was this being in love and making a home?
Maybe it was both. There was no going back now. Him and Bax, they were an ‘us’.
“Dinner is on order, babe.” Bax sat next to him, kissing just below his ear, which made him shiver. “There’s smoke coming out of your ears. Whatcha pondering?”
“I just—” It felt silly to say it out loud. “I’m ready for this, and I never thought I would be—and that’s weird.”
“Yeah.” Bax took his hand, playing with his fingers. “You know, we think we’re invincible. Then we find out we ain’t. It’s tough.”
“Yeah. I— You stuck around. You didn’t have to, and you did.” And Jason wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve it.
“We’re a team. I pull your rope and always have.” Bax leaned on him. “Is it weird that I got a burger and a salad and carrot cake?”
“You and your cream cheese icing.” Nah, it wasn’t weird. It was Bax, so it was okay.
“Yeah. I need it. Doesn’t mean I won’t get ice cream later.” Bax maintained that ice cream was a thing at the beach, just like corn dogs were at the fair.
“I like that. Ice cream, I mean.” He chuckled softly. “It’s going to take a little while to figure out all the different stairs in the new house.”
“I know. I figure we’ll get us a system. Something on the railings where you know which set goes where.” Bax was always thinking. Dillon had taught him a lot about that in the last year or so, to think outside the box.
“Maybe a couple baby gates for the beginning. We’ll need them for dogs, too, right?”
“We will. They’ll need training.” Bax leaned on him, just humming a tuneless little ditty.
“Yeah. Yeah. I hope they take the offer.” Excitement and nerves warred with each other, making him a little queasy.
“Me too. Let’s distract ourselves.” Bax kissed him then—nothing hard or urgent, just, “let’s make out until the food comes.”
Normal shit.
Easy shit.
Everyday—
Bax’s phone rang.
