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“Mind your own business,” Caleb fired back.
Bodhi had ducked his head, curling his arms around his knees to keep them close to his chest. For a wild moment, Caleb thought Bodhi was upset—and then he really was going to attempt to drown his brother—but then he realized his lover was laughing and he immediately softened.
“That’s a good look on you,” Wren signed in a small space at the front of his body where no one else could see.
Caleb nodded just once, then went back to pulling Bodhi close and keeping him protected from the cold, and from anything that could hurt him ever again.
Chapter21
“…andI fully believe that every single school should teach ASL. I don’t know why they don’t!” The woman’s voice was pitched just enough that Bodhi caught about seventy percent of what she was saying, and his brain easily filled in the rest.
Bodhi managed a dry smile at the woman at the counter, nodding before taking her credit card and swiping it in the machine. He turned the screen around and did what Wren had instructed—turning his gaze very obviously and deliberately away so he wouldn’t see whether or not she was leaving a tip.
When he glanced back, she was looking at him expectantly and he realized he was missing some important social clue. But he had no idea what it was.
“Thank you,” he signed.
She signed back, “You’re welcome.” It was incorrect, but he got the gist.
She still didn’t move.
He fidgeted. “Have a nice day,” he said with his voice.
“Thank you,” she signed back.
She still didn’t move. She didn’t need change. She knew her food and drink would be coming up on the other side of the counter. What the fuck did she want?
Bodhi felt panic rising up his spine and started to shift on his feet, his breathing hitching in his chest. The woman’s eyes widened slightly, but the crisis was shortly averted by Wren, who draped his arm over Bodhi’s shoulders and smiled at the customer.
“If I was taught ASL as a kid, I would have had a much easier time communicating,” Wren voiced. “Thank you for your support.”
The woman’s shoulders dropped, and she nodded. “Exactly. Someone should do something about it.”
She finally walked off and Wren grinned at Bodhi.Pah!
Bodhi answered with an eye-roll and a small smile.
Wren reached under the cash register and pulled out a large square piece of cardboard with small squares all over it. “I’ve almost got Bingo,” he signed with his hands below the counter.
Bodhi’s brow furrowed. “What?”
Wren laughed, then jerked his head toward the side station that was out of sight. Bodhi looked back at Luke who was at the espresso machine, and he shot Bodhi a thumb’s up. “I’ve got it,” he added.
Bodhi let Wren tug him into the little nook where he set the card down, and Bodhi leaned in close, squinting at the small writing in each square. Wren took a highlighter out of his pocket and colored in a square which read, ‘They should teach ASL in school,’ and one that read, ‘Someone should fix it.’
Wren tapped the second square. “What she said was close enough.”
It took Bodhi a second, but as he read the rest of the squares, he started to get it. Things customers said. Or, more accurately, things hearing customers said.
“Luke and I made this last year when we started noticing a pattern,” Wren explained. “I can make you one if you want to play.”
Bodhi laughed, shaking his head. “I don’t want to work the counter enough to play.”
Wren’s grin softened a little. “That’s fair. Thanks for covering for me. I think the repair guy was hitting on me because he just wouldn’t leave.”
Bodhi’s eyes widened. “Did you feel uncomfortable?”
Wren’s face scrunched up in confusion, then he quickly shook his head. “No, no. He was hot. I got his number. We’ll hook up later this week.”
