Arlo #2
There was nothing to really say that hadn’t already been said.
I tried to keep out of my siblings’ business.
They were grown adults who didn’t need my interference, and while I tried to emphasize that I wanted the same courtesy.
..well, again, I had to accept that other people just didn’t operate the same way I did.
Not that they were terribly intrusive, they had accepted over the years that they wouldn’t get much information about my personal life unless I felt the urge to share it.
Or they operated like Dom, who wanted to know some things, even things I didn’t necessarily want to share, but once he had that information, he was content to leave me in peace.
That was an approach I could accept without too much complaining.
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug after a few minutes’ silence. “Honestly? There’s just...no one that’s really caught my attention. I’ve been on several dates and met women all over the place, but no one...I don’t know.”
“You don’t see a future with them?”
“Shit, I don’t see anything past one night with most of them.
And lately, I haven’t even had that much.
At first, I still went through with it, you know, sleeping with them.
But then I just...stopped. It feels like the more time passes, the less interested I am in sleeping with anyone,” he said, a frown creasing his forehead.
“I don’t understand it. Nothing changed. It just...started happening.”
Ward appeared around the corner with a yawn. “That’s the point.”
Dom jerked. “Jesus, do you have to be as quiet as Arlo here? Fuck me.”
“I would offer, but I’m fairly certain I might be on my way to being claimed by someone else,” Ward said with a grin in my direction.
“Eavesdropping is considered rude,” I reminded him, even as I felt a happy little flutter in my gut at his words. We hadn’t exactly spoken about where everything between us was going, but it was nice to hear that he was thinking in a similar direction as I was.
“It’s not eavesdropping when I just walk out and overhear the conversation by accident,” he said with a snort. “Unless you think I should have shoved my fingers in my ears and hummed.”
“That would have been one way to ensure I didn’t get jump scared,” Dom muttered.
Ward blinked at the counter and pointed. “Coffee?”
“Help yourself, are you two hungry?” I asked as I walked to the fridge.
“I could eat,” Ward said as he poured himself a cup, adding sugar and cream. “Though I thought you couldn’t cook?”
“Not well,” I emphasized. “I have, however, learned to cook simple breakfast food.”
“Don’t expect anything fancy,” Dom warned as he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. “Nothing you’re used to anyway.”
Ward shrugged. “I’m not so fussy that I require my eggs with creme fraiche, caviar, and expertly cut chives.
There’s a fantastic diner just around the corner from my building that I always go to, and it’s the definition of a greasy spoon.
So long as he doesn’t burn everything to a crisp, I will soldier through whatever he makes. ”
“What a rousing endorsement from the two of you,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“So,” Ward said as I began pulling things out. “Do you want to hear what I had to say, or shall I shut up and mind my own business?”
Dom eyed him, and I thought he was probably warring between his need to keep his personal life.
..well, personal, and his burning curiosity to know what Ward’s perspective was.
I knew which one would win, considering how much Dom seemed to struggle with the unexpected change, and I waited patiently until he sighed. “What?”
“Well, like I said, that’s the point. Or I should say, you already touched on the truth,” Ward explained, leaning back against the counter.
“Take it from someone who has been around the block more than a few times. When you’re doing the same things at the same times with the same people, it’s going to wear itself down. ”
“It’s not the same people,” Dom protested as I started heating the pan, pulling bread out of the cabinet.
“It might as well be. Technically, it’s not the same people, but I bet you find them in the same places.
You only want to do the same thing repeatedly if you’re trying to hone a skill, not squeeze some enjoyment and pleasure out of life.
Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in a rut, and those aren’t easy to get out of,” Ward said, sipping his coffee and wrinkling his nose before adding more sugar.
“And before anyone makes a smart comment, the coffee isn’t too inferior for my tastes. ”
“No,” Dom said with a laugh. “I get it. Arlo makes it so strong it’s a miracle he doesn’t go around all day with his hair standing upright.”
“You might as well just snort a line in the morning,” Ward said with a rapid blink after another sip and another dose of sugar with creamer thrown in for good measure. “Anyway, my point is, it sounds like you need something new in your life.”
“It’s not like I hit the same bars or go to the same functions.”
“Not the exact same, I’m sure, but if you’re always hitting the bars and clubs, you’re always finding the same people. What you need is a change.”
“Any suggestions?”
“Mmm, I feel like the suggestions I would give to most people would get me into trouble,” Ward said with a chuckle, and I felt his eyes on me as I carefully put the bacon into the pan.
“His coaches would probably frown on any drugs,” I pointed out as I eyed the sizzling pan.
“Er,” Dom began slowly, almost nervously. “Drugs aren’t really my thing anyway.”
“This is why I said it would probably get me into trouble,” Ward huffed. “Look, if you’re not going to add variety to what you’re doing, maybe it’s time to start thinking about doing something different.”
“You could try getting to know these women, maybe go on an actual date, telling yourself to wait to sleep with them,” I told him with a shrug. “That would be different.”
“Do I need to point out the hypocrisy and irony of you saying that to me?” Dom asked dryly.
“It would be more ironic coming from Ward,” I said with a shrug. “This isn’t a common thing for me.”
“He just called me a whore without calling me a whore, didn’t he?” Ward asked Dom.
Dom grunted. “You get used to it.”
“Are you telling me he does that thing where he says something that sounds like judgment, but doesn’t have the tone to fit it to everyone?”
“Yes, yes, he does. Like I said, you’ll get used to it. After this long, I’m almost sure he’s not secretly been judging everyone for years. He doesn’t know how to say something, just puts it bluntly.”
“At least I’m not the only one,” Ward said with a chuckle. “And I’m not sure if I should be comforted or concerned.”
“You get used to it,” Dom said with a smirk when he saw me glaring at them. “What?”
“I am not judging either of you for your sexual habits or appetites,” I told them with a roll of my eyes. “What you get up to in your bedrooms or...otherwise, is completely and absolutely your business and not mine. If you make it my business, we’ll have to talk.”
“And here I was thinking my business had become yours,” Ward said with a smirk. “Or are we not there yet?”
I stared at him before raising a brow. “And if I said your business had become mine?”
His eyes flickered for a moment, but his grin remained. “And what if you did?”
I thought that perhaps he would be equally overjoyed and unnerved by the thought.
As far as I could tell, Ward was interested in more between us, but he was also unnerved by the entire thing.
At least, that was the only explanation I had for his hot and cold behavior.
In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had gotten up today and decided to head home rather than linger.
After a moment, he let out a scoff. “Fine, fine, I get it.”
“I’m glad you do,” Dom said, looking curiously between us.
I flipped the bacon and eyed him. “The bigger question is, what have you been doing in my back yard?”
“Getting that tree stump that’s been out there forever out of the ground,” he said, gesturing toward the yard. “You kept talking about getting someone to do it and never have. Well, guess what? I had a couple of hours, an ax, a shovel, and some pent-up energy to take out on it. So it’s gone.”
“Oh...well, thank you,” I said, feeling a twinge of guilt that I hadn’t taken care of it myself. It had been over a year since I said I was going to have the stump taken care of, and I felt bad that Dom had done it. “You didn’t have to.”
“Yeah, well. You let me stay here whenever I want without making me pitch in; it’s the least I could do.”
“Not requiring you to pitch in also covers not being required to guilt yourself into doing my yard work.”
“Who said anything about guilt? It needed to be done, and I was able to do it, simple.”
“And I appreciate it.”
“Good, then shut the hell up. You, uh, want me to fill in the hole?”
“Um,” I began, unsure if I should be worried about the damage he might have done to the yard or just curious where that was going. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I did have to go pretty deep and out a bit,” he admitted, rubbing his neck in a nervous gesture I knew. “But I know you’ve also talked about having a better fire pit than that crappy metal one.”
Ward chuckled. “Now there’s some good thinking. Take the mess you made to help create something else. I’m actually impressed.”
“It’s...not that impressive,” Dom said, looking away from Ward, his lips thinning.
“Don’t worry, he’s not hitting on you,” I said, making Dom give me a dirty look. We both knew he was acting strange about the compliment, not because he was worried Ward was trying to get into his pants.
“Hitting on you in front of Arlo would be in exceptionally poor taste,” Ward said brightly. “Fine me later.”
Dom stared at him with a blank expression. “I don’t do dudes...usually.”