Page 22 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Tommy grunted in understanding, but he was working out the details of an overnight trip to Bobby’s and thinking of what all they could do to each other with that much privacy and that much time together. It wasn’t doing much for the state of his erection, which was growing harder with every mental image he conjured.

They were still working on their clothes when Colleen popped her head in through the open door. She blushed and glanced away from Bobby, who hadn’t managed to find his pants yet.

“Breakfast is ready,” she said. “If you two are hungry, ya better get in there. Davey got us some bacon, and they’re about to riot over it.”

“Let ’em eat their fill. I’ll settle for toast,” Tommy told her as he opened the door farther. “Where’d Davey get the bacon?”

Colleen gave him a look before she said, “The less we know, the better off we all are. He probably found it on the back of a delivery truck, if I had to guess.” She cut her eyes to Bobby then, a look of panic on her face.

Bobby laughed and put up a hand. “I’m off duty. Hear no evil and all that.”

Colleen seemed to relax at Bobby’s words, but Tommy still had a knot in his stomach. Bobby must have caught the expression of dread on his face because he leaned close and whispered in Tommy’s ear, “If you’re gonna ask me to trust you, Tom, you’ve gotta trust me a little too.”

Tommy nodded his head. Colleen had slipped away down the hall again, probably to give them some privacy. “I’m trying.” Tommy had never learned how to bend and not break, and this was new territory for him. His sigh was weighted, heavy with all the things he wished he could have and all the things he knew he shouldn’t even bother wanting.

Bobby smiled, leaning in and catching a quick kiss. “Good enough.” Before he stepped out into the hall he added, “For now.”

The smell of Colleen’s cooking greeted them before they made it down the stairs. Tommy had to weave through the living room to keep from tripping over the toys and books littering the floor. It appeared the kids had abandoned everything and made a run for it when the food was ready. It wasn’t like they never ate, but breakfast was usually just oatmeal or cereal and an egg if they had time.

Bobby was on his heels and nearly bumped into him when Tommy stopped as he swung the kitchen door open. French toast and scrambled eggs, fruit and bacon, even orange juice, had been set out on the table. “The hell?” He looked over at Davey who was sitting on the far side of the room. “I know you didn’t just find all this.”

It was one thing to look the other way when Davey lifted something they needed or maybe one little luxury every now and again, but there was no need for him to pinch so much just so they could have a big meal they didn’t need.

“Relax, Tommy.” Colleen stepped away from the stove with a big skillet in her hand, starting to serve eggs onto the plates. “I worked yesterday, remember? Ryan gave me the bread because it was too stale to serve customers, and I bought the strawberries and stuff with some of my tips.”

“All right.” Tommy pulled down two mugs for coffee. He poured a cup for himself and one for Bobby, adding cream to his and two sugars to Bobby’s. He rolled his eyes at himself when he realized what he was doing. He’d fucked Bobby McAlister last night, and now he was making his coffee just the way Bobby liked it. It should have been him in the kitchen making breakfast instead of Colleen. The idea put him in a bad mood. He grumbled, “Still shouldn’t waste your money on stuff like this. We don’t need to eat half this much for breakfast.”

Colleen narrowed her eyes at him but she didn’t comment.

He thought someone would have noticed Bobby was there by now, but then he remembered Bobby had become a frequent presence around the house.

Collin looked to Tommy with a hopeful expression and asked, “Since the twins could choke on the bacon, can I have theirs?”

“Don’t be greedy.” Tommy shot his brother a stern look. “We got company for breakfast, and Colleen and Mike worked their tails off to cook this for you, so if anyone gets extra, it should be them.”

He heard Davey mutter over his glass of juice, “I’m the one that found it.”

Bobby stepped over to Tommy and took his coffee mug with a smile. No one paid any attention to anyone else after that. All eyes were on Bobby.

Carrie grinned at him. “You can sit by me, Bobby.” She patted the rickety wooden chair next to her.

Bobby beamed. “Thanks, peanut.” After he put his coffee cup on the table, he tugged her ponytail and sat down. Zoe reached for him as soon as she spotted him, until Colleen distracted her with a scoop of eggs on her tray.

“When did you get here?” Collin asked, already digging in to his food even though Colleen was still passing it out.

“I, uh….” Bobby looked pointedly at Tommy.

Right. His house, his family. He was supposed to take the lead here. “He stayed the night,” Tommy said casually, leaning against the sink and taking a sip of his coffee.

Tommy watched their faces. Carrie didn’t think anything of it, or at least she didn’t let on if she did. Collin shrugged and went back to his food. He should’ve known Davey would be the one to catch where the story veered off course. “Where?”

Clearing his throat and squaring his shoulders, Tommy said, “My room.”

Mike snorted a laugh. “You woulda been better off on the couch, Bobby.”

Bobby looked embarrassed as hell. Even his ears were turning pink, but he managed a smile at Mike before he avoided conversation by taking a bite of his breakfast.

Mike looked from Tommy to Bobby and then back again. Recognition seemed to dawn on him then. “Wait, so, are you guys like—”

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