20. Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Chuck
The longer Chuck stood around alone at the market, the tighter his chest got and the higher up his shoulders drew. He knew he was early. That was part of the plan, to make sure Robinson wasn’t stuck wandering around looking for him or anything. But he was out there with the sun heading down, wearing a blue gingham button-up that he hadn’t pulled out in way too long, and trying not to exclusively think about his house catching on fire. He trusted the boys, sure, but he was still leaving them alone when he didn’t have to, in a house that was actively being worked on. It didn’t help that Aras had gone into some kind of panic and turned off all the power in the house. Fixed…something to do with the lights. Chuck wasn’t anything close to an expert, but it was apparently bad enough that Aras literally ran to repair it, and how he’d left them alone to go hang out with a plumber in a death trap.
He was trying not to think about all that. Didn’t mean he was succeeding.
Chuck glanced down at his phone again when he saw someone approaching. When he lifted his head, his breath caught, and his mind did finally stop digging for worst case scenarios. It stopped doing much of anything, actually.
Robinson had worn a satiny green overshirt with a black tee that hugged to his frame. The sleeves were rolled up, which really showed off the muscles in his arms. More than usual, it seemed. His jeans also showed off more than usual, with a much tighter fit and a paler color. Were those acid-washed? Distressed? Even if Chuck’s brain had been properly functional, he wouldn’t have known. He just knew they were pale denim and out of nowhere, Robinson had some nice thighs on him.
He smiled when he got up to Chuck. “Hey. I found you.” He raised his arm and massaged the back of his neck, grimacing. “Sorry. I’m officially old, it turns out. Kinked my neck taking a shower.”
Chuck finally drew in a breath and did his best to ensure it wasn’t a super noticeable gasp. “I once got a charley horse from putting on socks that were slightly too tall.”
“I look forward to that development.” He finally stopped rubbing his neck, then sighed as he looked around. “This is cute.”
“Yeah. I like it here.” Chuck hadn’t been in quite a while, but he wasn’t going to open that door. Talking endlessly about his dead husband wasn’t exactly the best way to behave on a date. Half as distraction, and half because he just wanted some human contact, Chuck held out his hand. “I know it’s late, but coffee? My treat.”
“Your treat? Can’t take that.” Robinson did take his hand, though, and his fingers and palm were gloriously rough. Not uncomfortable, but hard, and pressed in deeper by a nice, strong grip. “Best I can do is going Dutch.”
Chuck whistled low. “Wow. I thought that kind of slang might have been too old to still be in use.”
“Oh, didn’t I mention? I’m actually a vampire. Three-hundred years old. I’m robbing the cradle.”
“Or maybe I’m just robbing the grave.” Chuck put a little pressure on Robinson’s hand and started them on the way to the coffee stand, and Robinson followed right along next to him. The market was quiet, but that didn’t mean it was totally empty, so it only took one group of people moving in the opposite direction for Robinson to pull in closer, almost rubbing shoulders with Chuck.
Objectively, it should have made him uncomfortable…but it didn’t. It was almost like Robinson had some kind of privilege about him, where he could pass through Chuck’s walls and be fine while no one else seemingly could. Not without a ton of discomfort, anyway.
They got to the coffee stand and there was one hell of a line, considering how few people were actually out and about. Even when they stopped, though, Robinson stayed close, and when he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. “Let me know if anything I do is uncomfortable, okay? I don’t know the vibes around here, and I don’t want to make things awkward.”
Chuck nodded. “Chapel Hill is pretty good about gay stuff. It’s why we moved here.” He suppressed his cringe, hopefully well enough that Robinson didn’t notice it. “It’s why I moved here.”
“Well, you and Andrew, right?”
“Yeah, but we don’t need to talk about that.”
Robinson chuckled low, and they were so close, Chuck swore he could feel the vibrations. Which was utterly ridiculous, but his brain insisted nonetheless.
“If you don’t want to talk about him because it hurts, that’s fine. But I feel like you want to avoid talking about him to spare my feelings or something.” Robinson squeezed his hand a little harder. “You don’t need to worry about that. We’re both well aware that…this isn’t the most serious date in the world. Maybe nothing comes of it. Probably nothing comes of it. We live in different states. I just asked you out because I don’t really have a lot of fun with guys very often.”
“What about your crew.”
“I mean, yeah, them. But that’s different. If I somehow ended up moving to North Carolina or something, I could actually see pursuing something with you, you know? Not with any of them. That would be like making out with my brother or something.”
Chuck knew what he was saying, even if it was…weird. There was definitely something between the two of them. Just because the logistics didn’t make sense, that didn’t mean the spark was absent. “I still don’t think I should regale you with stories about my dead hubby.”
Robinson shrugged and wrapped his free hand around Chuck’s, holding tighter. “You do what makes you most comfortable, but don’t feel like you need to pretend Andrew never existed or something. We’re not exactly coming at this from a traditional ‘first date’ angle anyway, right? I wouldn’t typically lead with my time behind bars and my meth addiction any more than you would probably lead with your stuff.”
Chuck smiled. “I suppose.” A wave of calm passed through him and he moved half a step closer to Robinson. It was no longer an almost-touching situation. They were pressed into each other. “Then I guess I should tell you, Andrew’s the one who turned me onto this place. I grew up a few hours away. Little town called Blowing Rock. He was from the suburbs here.” Chuck couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone into any of this story, but it came off his tongue like it was nothing to recall it all.
And Robinson never once acted like he was bored to listen, even when Chuck knew he was just rambling and going well beyond the scope of where they started.