Chapter 23 #2
“Hey.” He stood, struggling for a moment with Abby’s harness and its handle. “I came to take you to lunch.”
“No shit? Well, I’m off for the afternoon. So where did you want to go?”
“There’s a place called Jack’s Brews. It’s in an old firehouse, and it’s like a block off the square. They say they have all sorts of fried goodness, as well as burgers and wings.”
“Oh, shit. I’m in.” Sloan touched his arm, then helped him tuck his hand into the crook of Sloan’s arm. “Off we go. How’d you do getting here?”
“Okay. I had some help once I got inside here. It echoes, which is a little bit disorienting.”
“I bet. Down in the lobby especially.”
“Have a good day, sir!” Jim called to him.
“Thanks, Jim.” He chuckled. “That’s the security guard who brought me up on the elevator.”
“Nice.” He had a feeling Sloan waved at the guy in thanks. They got back on the elevator, and the ride seemed so much shorter with Sloan. They stepped outside, the air so much fresher out here, and Sloan paused. “Steps or ramp?”
“Shit, there’s a ramp? ”
“Yeah. It’s kind of tucked back on one side, though, not right by the stairs.”
“Ramp, then. So much easier on Abby, and maybe that will help her understand her choices. That’s part of her training. Picking ramps rather than stairs.”
“Neat.” Sloan led him around his elbow to get to his ass, which seemed nuts, but the ramp was nice. Not too steep and only a little bendy.
“Okay, babe. In front of the courthouse facing into the square. Which way do I go?”
“Um. Left.” He had to visualize the map in his mind. Thankfully it had been optimized for vision-impaired with voice-readable descriptions. “Then left at the end of the block and across the square.”
“On it.” Sloan led him that way, and he navigated Sloan right to the restaurant, the smell of fried food and burgers strong.
“Ta-da,” Lance murmured.
“Well done, honey.” Sloan took him inside, and conversation lulled for a moment. But then it came back, bright and brittle. That was okay. They’d been pretty quick to get over the shock.
“Anywhere you like, folks. I’ll get menus.”
“Thanks,” Sloan said, leading him to a— He felt around the edge. “A table, not a booth, right?”
“Got it in one. That’s easier for Abby, right?”
“It is.” He got a chair out and sat without falling on his ass. Victory. “That way she can really tuck in and be out of the way.”
“I thought so.”
“Here we go, guys. Did you need any help with the menu, honey? We don’t have any vision-impaired ones.”
“No, no, Mr. Sloan here will help me.”
“Good deal. We have a first responder discount, sir.” Ah right, Sloan was uniform. “And a military one, sir, if you have a veteran ID card.”
“I do.”
“Thank you for your service,” she said. “What can I get y’all to drink? We have coffee and tea, Coke products, juice…”
“A Dr Pepper?” Lance asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll take the same,” Sloan said, and the air moved as she left.
“So, what looks good, babe?” Lance asked.
“You.”
His cheeks heated, and a smile spread over his face. “You’re a flatterer.”
“Nope. You look amazing, and I’m so proud of you.”
He had to duck his head. “Thanks.”
“Now, on the menu, they have fried everything from pickles to shrimp, wings, burgers, chicken sammies, and salads.”
“Oh, man. I’ll take fried shrimp.”
“Cool. I’m going to get the catfish and some wings. Court always makes me ravenous.”
“I’ll share those with you.”
“Boneless honey barbecue.”
“Hell, yes.” Lance grinned, waiting for the server to take their order before asking how court went.
Sloan grunted.
“That good, huh? Damn.” Lance grinned, hoping he was facing the right way.
“You know, it’s my favorite part.” He felt Sloan groan and kind of wiggle and then heard the chair creak. “I have to tell you though, it was nice seeing you when I walked out those doors.”
“I wanted to surprise you. I think I did pretty good.”
“I think you did way better than pretty good, babe. I think you rocked it. I mean, you knew right where the restaurant was, even.” The pride rang from Sloan’s voice.
“I looked it up on the computer, and they had a map. I downloaded the step-by-step instructions. I mean, I have my phone, so I could always get voice directions if I got turned round. But I found the restaurant and the menu. It had good reviews.” He felt Sloan’s approval, and he let it make his spine a little bit taller, a little bit straighter.
“Yeah, but you didn’t,” Sloan said. “I mean, you didn’t get turned around at all, and now we have a whole afternoon together. You’re the best reward for going to court ever.”
Flatterer. Lance liked it, though. It suited him to the bone. “If you weren’t in your uniform, I’d say let’s go out to the lake. Go take a walk.”
He was feeling brave.
And hungry.
“Well, we can run home and change, and then come back out this way. If you want to, I mean.”
Lance chuckled. It was a great idea, except that they both knew if they went home after having a nice big lunch that they’d get naked, fool around a little bit, and then just lie down long enough to cool off.
Then they’d sleep for the afternoon, which actually, was not the worst plan on the earth.
He thought he would take it. “Sounds good.”
“Maybe this time we won’t fall asleep.”
“Maybe.”
Not like it mattered. Long naked nap or walk by the lake—it was gonna be a good day.