Page 31 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

She sighed. “I know. I just…. He was really nice.”

Tommy kissed the top of her head. “He still is. Give him a chance, see what he says.”

Nodding, Colleen asked, “You taking your own advice for once?”

He took the last sip from his shake and looked at her for a minute before answering. “We’re going to the lake tomorrow with my new cop boyfriend. I think that answers your question, don’t it?”

Colleen laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. “Guess so.”

Chapter Seven

The balmy spring turned into a raging summer. The lush green grass had turned brittle and brown. It poked bare feet and left dust trails with every step. No breezes, no break from a soaring heat, just humidity that choked the breath out of Tommy every time he stepped away from the small window air conditioner Mikey had found and Davey fixed. This time it really was a find, sitting on the side of the road waiting to be picked up by the garbage collectors. Tommy didn’t know where Davey had gotten his parts for the repair, but he decided not to ask.

They’d all cleaned up their acts a little. Tommy even turned Kelly down a few times when she asked him if he wanted in on a deal. They still had to nick a few things here and there to get by, but he tried to keep in the range of misdemeanor rather than felony offense.

Bobby was becoming a permanent fixture in their lives, and Tommy was fighting the urge to feel secure in their relationship. Not because he didn’t want it, deep down in the pit of his stomach, but because he couldn’t imagine anything so good and so right ever happening to him… happening to them.

The kids were out of school and doing whatever odd jobs they could. Mike and Davey were mowing lawns, and Collin weeded yards for extra cash. Colleen worked full time at the diner, and Tommy left for work at the pub right as she got home at night. There weren’t going to be any family vacations or trips to the beach, but everyone was fed, the bills were paid, and their nickels and dimes were adding up to a healthy emergency fund stashed under the kitchen sink. That was more than Tommy usually let himself hope for, so he thought things were going pretty damned good.

Cal and Cheryl had been MIA for nearly three weeks, which always made things better. He knew they’d turn up again soon, knew they’d need a free place to crash when their dope or their money ran out, when whoever they were scamming wised up and kicked them to the curb. But for the moment, Tommy was happy. Or as close to happy as he ever got, and that was good enough for him.

“How about pizza tonight?” Bobby asked, sneaking up behind Tommy at the kitchen sink.

He slipped his arms around Tommy’s waist and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. Tommy thought he’d never get used to that feeling, the warm rush of breath against his skin that made his skin tingle and pulse race.

He tipped his head to the side and said what he figured Bobby knew he was going to say. “Can’t afford it, but I picked up some chicken on the cheap and we’ve got potatoes.”

Bobby let out a small, frustrated sound and shook his head even as he was tightening his arms around Tommy. “My treat. Just this once.”

“I can feed my kids, Bobby.”

Bobby’s arms dropped from around Tommy’s waist and he took a step back. “You say that like it’s news.”

“Yeah, well….” Tommy was muttering more to himself than to Bobby as he turned the water off and wiped his hands on a ratty dishtowel, but he turned to meet Bobby’s eyes. “Sometimes you act like it’s news to you.”

He could see Bobby bristle and knew they were headed for a fight.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think I forget for one second that you’re not a charity case and don’t need anything from me if I’m not sucking your dick?”

Tommy decided to let that comment go for the moment. “Maybe you forget that we don’t need pizza and dessert and trips to the lake. We don’t need any goddamn handouts from anyone!”

Bobby shook his head and let out a disgusted sound, something close to a laugh, but it lacked any sign of amusement. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just want pizza? Or maybe I’m being a selfish prick because I wanna spend time with you tonight and not watch you cook and clean before you leave for work? Maybe I wanna sit around under the fan and watch movies instead of turning this place into a goddamn oven. Did you ever think it was maybe about me and not you?”

“Well, okay! You don’t gotta yell!” Tommy threw the towel down on the countertop and crossed his arms over his chest, but he could feel the tension between them break. Bobby was on the verge of laughter and Tommy couldn’t blame him. “I guess the heat is starting to get to us, huh, copper?”

Bobby took a step closer to Tommy. The smile playing at the corners of his mouth told Tommy he was in for some teasing.

“Might be the heat,” he said slowly, reaching a hand for Tommy, pulling him away from the counter he was leaning against. “Or maybe your pigheaded, self-righteous attitude about pizza and ice cream.”

Tommy let himself be pulled in, but he didn’t drop his arms from his chest. “Maybe I just don’t want you to think I’m easy to live with. Wouldn’t be fair to mislead ya or anything.”

Bobby grinned then, leaning closer until the tips of their noses touched. “Or maybe you’re just an asshole.”

“That too,” Tommy said with a small laugh. He relaxed against Bobby and wrapped his arms around him. “That was a pretty shitty thing you said.”

“Which part? That you’re an asshole? Because no one that’s met you can claim otherwise….”

Tommy sobered, and he chewed the inside of his cheek as he decided if he should say what he was thinking. He tipped his head back far enough that he could see Bobby’s face and said seriously, “That I’ve only got use for you if you’re sucking my dick.”

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