Chapter 21
Yesterday, Rob could have spent all afternoon staring at Julian on a sunny, autumn day. Then last night, he had dreamed about rolling naked in the leaves with Julian. The reality had been a little bit different, and Rob wished he hadn't run his mouth so much about his crappy love life. Julian was great about it though. That's why Rob could be himself around him, and why talking to him felt so good.
But since the night they fucked, the two of them hadn't done anything more than hug. There had to be more. Rob couldn't stand the thought of that night being his only time with Julian.
Right now, Julian was busy in his office while Mitch and Rico were getting ready to start making noise in the big office. Rob was going to take Danny and Lenny on a short drive, but at the moment, Danny was standing in the doorway between the two offices, curiously looking at what Mitch and Rico were doing. They weren't working yet. As Danny looked on, Mitch was putting work gloves on Rico, who was grinning at him.
Seeing how Danny was looking at them, Rico winked at him.
"He's helping you 'cause you don't know how?" Danny said to him.
"I know how," Rico said defensively.
Rob laughed while Julian explained, "Mitch is being extra nice to Rico because he likes him."
Danny seemed to understand that. Judging by the way Rico was beaming at his fiancé, he liked what he said too. Mitch was a little embarrassed, but the look of love in his eyes was unmistakable.
"He's always extra nice to me," Rico said.
"He likes you a lot," Danny said.
Mitch confirmed it as he gazed at Rico. "That kid knows what he's talking about."
Inwardly Rob grumbled. Yeah, he was jealous, dying to do all kinds of big and small things with Julian. Of course Julian trusted him with Danny, and that was a big deal. That should be his focus.
Rob offered Danny his hand. "Let's go practice driving in the car."
Danny took his hand then announced, "I'm not gonna be scared of cars any more. Rob is helping me."
"Listen to him. He's going to be driving in no time," Rico predicted, but Danny corrected him.
"No. I'm gonna sit in the back with Lenny."
"Have fun with Rob," Julian said and gave his little brother a hug.
"Tell Julian to hug Rob too," Rico called out.
Rob went to shut the door between the offices. "That will keep out the noise," he said, sending Rico one last dirty look through the door.
It was another sunny day, so Rob and Danny took full advantage, spending plenty of time outdoors. They were in and out all day, and that meant Rob didn't get to spend much time with Julian.
It was close to dinnertime when all three of them went into the kitchen to see what they could throw together from leftovers and frozen foods. Lenny followed them in and headed straight for his doggie dish and started munching on his food.
"I guess he's all set for dinner," Rob said.
After watching him for a while, Danny told him. "I'm gonna draw you a picture of a car, Lenny."
He got his drawing supplies and sat at the kitchen table. The drawing was just random lines, but Lenny wasn't going to complain.
Down the hall, Mitch and Rico were getting ready to leave. While Rob and Julian were debating which frozen things to heat up, they heard the front door and then Sam's voice coming closer. It turned out he was talking to Rico. They both came into the kitchen.
On seeing Sam, Danny asked him, "Did you bring us dinner?"
Sam smiled at that. "No. I just came in to say hi."
"I guess we do get takeout a lot," Julian said.
"He didn't bring you food. He came to get me," Rico told them. "Mitch has to go see another client for an estimate. Sam is here to take me to work the dinner shift at the café."
