"Sam said hors d'oeuvres would be fine. I'll have a few things delivered," Julian told him.
"Delivered? That's not how a potluck works," Rico objected.
"I'm always willing to bring chips," Rob told him.
"You're one of those guys," Rico accused him, giving him a look of disgust.
"Yes, I am. I'll go get Danny ready," Rob said.
"It's enough that they're hosting the party, isn't it?" Mitch said.
"True," Rico said and smiled at his fiancé. He became so agreeable as soon as he fell under Mitch's influence. He practically melted for that man.
"We're collecting Danny so we can go Halloween shopping," Julian said as Rob brought him over, and Danny looked so happy at the news.
"What are we doing with Lenny?" Rob wondered.
"We can be your dog-sitters," Mitch volunteered.
When they explained to Danny that Lenny was staying home, he wasn't happy. "Lenny can't go?"
"We'll take good care of him," Mitch said and he got down to pet Lenny and show Danny how well they got along.
"Sammy will help us," Rico said. "We can bring her over here from preschool. She'll like that."
"Is that OK?" Mitch asked Julian.
"You can bring Sammy here any time," Julian told him.
Finding out that Sammy would be coming over reassured Danny that Lenny would be well taken care of. He got ready, and they were off.
In Ashbury, they bought a lot of decorations but nothing too scary. They got lunch at a pizza place to go. Danny and Rob got slices and Julian got a Caesar salad. That earned him a dirty look from Rob as they walked through the shopping plaza.
Sitting on the edge of a big fountain to eat, Danny finished first and then started counting the coins in the fountain. That involved counting to eleven then saying random numbers. Julian made him a paper boat out of the pizza place receipt, and Danny set it to float in the fountain.
Danny was occupied with that, leaving Rob and Julian to sit by themselves. Julian couldn't help thinking that it was almost like a date. But it wasn't. He needed to remember that. The shopping bags at their feet full of crazy decorations should have been enough of a reminder.
This was only OK because it wasn't a date. But now that he thought of it that way, his heart started beating too quickly, his hands became restless like he was dying to touch Rob, his mouth hungry for forbidden kisses and licks.
"I know we did a lot of running around, but this is restful and relaxing, right?" Rob asked, making him jump guiltily.
No, it was not relaxing to have to hold himself back from what he really wanted to be doing with Rob. But he realized that to Rob, this wasn't exactly the height of excitement. "You mean it's boring?" Julian challenged him.
Rob denied it. "No, I don't. I wanted you to get a chance to recharge since you didn't sleep last night."
"I appreciate that, but I'm all right," Julian said. He didn't want Rob to feel sorry for him or to think he was weak. Still, it wasn't a bad feeling to know that someone wanted to take care of him like this.
"Knowing you were up, I feel bad not keeping you company last night," Rob said.
The last thing Julian wanted was to keep him up too. But hearing the regret in his voice, Julian turned sideways so he could face him. "I know how it seemed last night, like I couldn't handle myself, but I'm OK. Just embarrassed that you saw me like that."
Julian should have been more than a little bit embarrassed. He should have been mortified to have Rob know that he went into a panic just because a light bulb went out. But Rob didn't judge him, just listened and did his best to understand. He really was an incredible guy. That didn't mean that Julian didn't feel bad about it. "It's such a childish fear."
"It's not. I have my own fears that come after me in the dark," Rob said. "That's why I stay up some nights. Remember that if you want company."
"Thanks," Julian said. He was touched but also uneasy at the thought of going to Rob in the middle of the night. As unseemly thoughts came to him about crawling into Rob's bed, he hurriedly looked away.
A woman pushed a stroller past them. All Julian saw of the kid inside was a small hand, but it reminded him of Danny losing his mom, being without family.
