Chapter 9 #2
He wasn’t doing this. Mr. Kirk could be an asshole all he wanted, but he wasn’t going to put up with it.
He marched his ass to Dawson’s cabin and knocked on the door.
He had snuck a few things into a grocery sack along with the pretzels.
There had been some cherry Pop-Tarts and what was left of pizza Combos left in a bag.
He had a feeling those belonged to Christopher, who was not as into the probiotic Keto diet as Nick.
Dawson answered the door grinning at him, looking completely different than he did at work, in a pair of soft shorts and a really faded T-shirt, his feet bare. “Hey, man, how are you doing?”
He couldn’t help himself; he was staring a little bit. “Good. I’m good.”
“Cool, come on in. I’ll get you that beer.”
“Thanks. I got to tell you I’m really looking forward to it.” He really was hoping for at least a glimmer of interest on Dawson’s part.
“Not an ultra-light. Are you cleared for that by Nick?” Dawson led the way inside and headed to a kitchenette where he opened the refrigerator door.
“He pretty much said I could have a little bit of a splurge, probably not as much as I want to have.”
That made Dawson laugh again. “Well, here, have a Bud Light.”
“Cool.” He took it in hand and held the other up with the grocery bag. “I brought pretzels.”
“I like pretzels. You know what I got to put with the pretzels?” Dawson rummaged in the fridge some more, and came out with a triumphant, “Ah-ha! French onion dip.”
“Oh my God.” He looked at the container, which was the most popular name brand he could think of, and he knew it was packed full of things like MSG and salt, and his mouth watered. “That is the most perfect thing I have ever seen in my life.”
Dawson plunked it and his own beer down on the kitchen table. “That is a pretty sad statement on your dietary restrictions, man.”
“I know. Nick teased me by saying I could bring you a pizza, and I got all excited. Then he said the word cauliflower, and I threatened to kill him.” He pulled out a chair and sat because he wasn’t going to be awkward and weird and stand there until Dawson told him to.
“Ouch. Really? You threatened to kill him over cauliflower?” Dawson joined him, easing down a bit, as if he were sore, maybe.
He let his eyes go comically wide, his eyebrows up. “If you’ve never had to eat that cauliflower crust pizza shit, don’t judge me.”
“Fair enough.” Dawson nodded, those hazel eyes twinkling with a quiet humor. “Though, I used to date this guy who only ate chicken breast, salmon, and broccoli with no butter or salt. He’d make enough for two, and that was pretty rough.”
There was a lot of information in that sentence. Dawson dated. He didn’t like salmon or chicken breast or broccoli with nothing on it.
Dawson dated guys.
The urge to fist pump was immediate and huge.
Seamus took a moment to process that before he put out his next salvo.
“Ugh, that sounds horrid.” At least Nick gave him sauce and seasoning.
“You’re not kidding. However, if you want a pizza, we can order one.”
“No way. Does anybody deliver out here?” It would be brilliant if someone did. He would have one slice and leave the rest for Dawson to have as leftovers. But he didn’t buy it for a minute.
“I’ll have you know that the local pizza place has a high school kid on call who delivers almost anywhere within a twenty-minute drive, as long as the tip is good enough.
” Dawson leaned forward as if he was sharing a secret.
“I also have hamburgers in my fridge I could cook up.” He popped open the French onion dip, then grabbed the bag of pretzels out of the grocery bag, which was when Seamus realized that the condoms and lube Nick had given him were in there too.
“I—”
Well, he supposed that, with the full knowledge that never in his history had a floor opened to swallow him up when there wasn’t a special effects team involved, he was going to have to start out like he could hold out.
Dawson raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we hopeful?”
“We are prepared for any eventuality.” His cheeks were on fire, but he brazened it out because he meant it. He wanted to have sex with Dawson, and why should he be ashamed of that?
“Nice. I like a man who’s prepared. Not that I was really a very good scout. I wasn’t.”
He shrugged. He hadn’t been the scouting type. His sense of mischief prevented success in those sorts of things. “Yeah, well, it’s tough to belong to an organization that doesn’t really want you, huh?”
“Exactly.” Dawson winked at him. “But it’s good to know where I stand. So, chips and dip and pretzels? Or would you like me to make you that hamburger?”
He pondered which would be a better ask, the hamburger or the pizza.
If they got a pizza, he could do it half and half, let Dawson have whatever he wanted on his side and load the other half with vegetables.
That would probably get him in less trouble than having a hamburger with a bun, cheese, and bacon on it.
Also, fewer grease spattery burns, less work for Dawson, and they could sit on the sofa and possibly neck while the pizza was being made and delivered.
“Oh, let’s order a pizza. I’m so in.”
Dawson leaned back in his chair, and the man’s grin was pure Grinchy idea-level. “Possibly, or maybe I am. We’ll negotiate.”
His eyebrows raised, and this time it wasn’t planned. “I like negotiations.” Seamus scootched forward, put his elbows on the table. “I think you and I could have some intense negotiations.”
He held Dawson’s gaze, loving the mix of colors in those pretty eyes. “I’ll start. I’m very into kissing. I know some guys aren’t, and it’s not a deal-breaker, but I’m very into it.”
Dawson nodded once, then he smiled, the scar above his lip pulling just a little bit.
“I do like a good make-out session. I like it a lot. Now me? I can be a little loud when things get hot and heavy. Just so you know, I’m not the kind of guy who can get off silently in the bed next to somebody else I’m sharing a room with. ”
“Ah, mate, that sounds like experience.”
“You have no idea.”
Seamus chuckled. “No, but I really want to.”
“Well, that can be arranged.” Dawson’s cheeks pinked a tiny bit under his tan. “I’ll pitch or catch.”
“Good to know. I have also been known to both pitch and catch, so to speak. In fact, I would say I like both scenarios.” He tilted his head, licked his lips. “I’m also fairly oral, I think you should know.”
That hit its mark, he could tell, because he could literally see Dawson pulling in his gut and Dawes’s gaze was fastened on his mouth. “Are you now?”
He nodded. “Like you wouldn’t believe. It’s a thing.”
“Then I’m a lucky man.”
Seamus was pretty sure he’d derailed Dawson’s train though, because he just sat there watching him.
“So…”
Dawson shook his head like he was clearing it of cobwebs “Sorry. Pizza. And then I don’t suppose you’d like to move to the sofa for further negotiations?”
Oh yeah, today was going so well.
“Sounds like a plan.” Seamus did like it when someone was appreciative of his talents. “I’m in, mate.”
“Has anybody told you how adorable that is?”
“What’s that?” Seamus didn’t follow.
“How you sound like total Broadcaster L.A. in your accent, but every so often something incredibly Aussie comes out of you?”
He shrugged. “Well, you know, I did spend every winter there.”
“Like real winter?”
“Well summer here, winter there.”
“That had to suck because you never got to be on the beach in the summer time.” Dawes made a face, nose wrinkling.
Seamus chuckled and shook his head. “If I wanted to go home to L.A. and go to the beach or go to Mexico and go to the beach, I just asked, and if they weren’t on set, we’d go.
My people traveled a lot. My dad less so because he’s mostly local and on TV, but Australia is a big continent.
He was all over Sydney, Melbourne, Perth.
One year we literally were out in the outback because he was shooting some sort of weird reality show. ”
Dawson shook his head, and Seamus felt his shoulders creep up toward his ears. “What?”
“Well, I think it’s fascinating, because really what you do and what we do as far as travel goes? Isn’t that different. We spend a lot of time on the road in hotels, wandering around, exploring weird little places you’d never would have gotten to see otherwise.”
“Ah.” That relaxed him, because Dawson wasn’t saying he was weird.
“What do you want on the pizza? No cauli crust, but they have a great thin one, and I usually get the super veggie, no broccoli, and add a meat to it. The supreme has a bit too much grease.”
“I love the idea of super veggie, and I would take any kind of meat they have that’s not pepperoni or sausage.” He probably looked a little bit ashamed because really, those were the two best meats on pizza, weren’t they? But Nick would have a fit.
“I could get half sausage and half chicken. Would that work?”
“It would be perfect.” And he figured with thin crust and full veg he wouldn’t get sick eating a couple of slices.
“Cool.” Dawson waved him toward the couch and pulled out his phone to call the pizza place.
He listened to Dawson ramble on at the person on the other end of the line about delivery and half-and-half on thin crust and pleasantries about the day and calling people by name.
Seamus figured that was the way of small towns, right?
Get to know people, and they got to know you.
He’d never had that experience, not really.
Once Dawson hung up and joined him on the couch, though, he forgot all about that kind of thing, because Dawson moved right into his space, one hand coming up to rest on his neck, just below his jaw, thumb brushing across his ear and sending goosebumps all over his damn body.