Chapter Two #2
“You want to hear about the time someone tried to pay their tab in chickens?”
“In what?”
“Chickens. Live ones. Three of them.” Ash leaned back in his chair, watching Danny’s eyes go wide. “Guy walks in, orders a burger and four beers, then pulls out this crate from under his coat like it’s totally normal.”
“What did you do?” Danny leaned in closer, eyes wide.
“Took the chickens. They were good chickens.” Ash shrugged. “Named them Luke, Leia, and Han Solo. They live with my neighbor now.”
Danny was laughing. Full-on laughing, shoulders shaking, one hand pressed over his mouth like he was trying to hold it in.
There you are.
The sound hit Ash somewhere soft, somewhere he hadn’t let anyone near in a long time.
“Weirdest thing that’s happened at the grocery store.” Ash speared a piece of asparagus, his gaze lingering on his mate’s gorgeous smile.
“There was the lady who insisted the bananas were talking to her. Wanted them removed from the store immediately because they were, and I quote, ‘plotting something.’”
Barking out a laugh, Ash nearly dropped the piece of potato he’d scooped up with his fork.
“Got another one.” Danny’s whole posture changed, shoulders dropping as he leaned back in the chair. “Last month this guy comes in first thing in the morning. He’s buying nothing but cottage cheese. Like, forty containers of cottage cheese.”
“That’s serial killer behavior.”
“That’s what I said! But, no, turns out he was making some kind of sculpture for an art show. A bust of Elvis made entirely from dairy products.” Danny’s hands moved as he spoke, beer bottle painting arcs in the air. “He showed me pictures on his phone. It was horrifying.”
Ash watched him talk, watched the way his eyes lit up, the way he tucked his hair behind his ear. “Please tell me you have photos.”
“I wish. My manager said he could purchase up to ten because ‘we’re not in the business of supporting lactose-based delinquency.’”
“Your manager sounds like a treat.”
Danny’s expression darkened for just a moment before he caught himself. “Mr. Pike’s... particular about things.”
Like the nail polish. Ash had caught that whole interaction earlier. He’d wanted to tell that bald prick exactly where he could shove his dress code. But Danny was here now, relaxed and actually talking, and that was what mattered.
They ate in comfortable quiet for a while, just the clink of forks on plates and the distant sound of someone’s music drifting over from a few houses down.
Danny had curled sideways in his chair, feet tucked under him, looking younger and softer in the golden light.
A moth fluttered between them, drawn to the string lights, and Danny watched it with an expression Ash couldn't quite read.
“This is nice,” Danny said quietly, almost to himself.
Ash nudged his mate’s chair with his foot. “Just wait until you see what I’ve got planned for dessert. Hope you like chocolate lava cake, because I might have gone overboard at the store.”
His mate’s smile was small but real, aimed down at his nearly empty plate. “I like chocolate anything.”
“Good answer.” Ash stood, gathering plates. “Come on, help me clear this stuff and we can start the movie. Fair warning. I’m one of those people who quotes along with the whole thing.”
“You’re not.”
“Oh, I absolutely am. Ask anyone. I’ve been banned from the town movie nights.” Ash headed for the back door, pleased when he heard Danny’s footsteps following. “Twice.”
They deposited their dishes in the sink, Ash’s gaze sweeping over his mate.
Pink crept up Danny’s neck. He ducked his head, hair falling forward to half hide his face, and Ash’s fingers itched to brush it back. To tilt that chin up and—
“Is the movie really as long as everyone says it is?” Danny asked.
“Two and a half hours of pure magic.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
But Danny was smiling as he said it, real and unforced, and Ash would sit through a dozen Harry Potter movies if it kept that expression on his face.
* * * *
The movie wasn’t even halfway over when Ash felt the warm weight of Danny against his side. He’d started in the middle of the couch but had drifted sideways, his head now nestled against Ash’s shoulder, body curled into the protective curve of his arm like he belonged there.
The movie played on, forgotten. Ash couldn’t tear his eyes away from Danny's face in sleep—the gentle arch of his eyebrows and the fan of dark lashes against his cheeks. Ash breathed in his scent, clean like summer rain dripping off honeydew after a thunderstorm.
Ash’s fingers twitched with the urge to carry Danny to bed and tuck him between sheets, which would smell like both of them by morning. But the last thing he wanted was Danny waking disoriented in a strange bedroom.
His phone vibrated on the side table. Aiden’s name lit up the screen. Ash snatched it before the buzzing could disturb his mate.
“Yeah?” he whispered.
“Why are we using our library voices?” Aiden asked softly. “Someone die?”
Ash almost snorted. His brothers never asked if he had company.
They knew better. Ash’s house had always been off-limits to hookups and short terms. Too many exes and one-nighters had proven themselves unhinged once the night was over or the cupcake phase wore off.
He didn’t need anyone waltzing into his backyard unannounced, trying to make themselves at home.
That wasn’t a hyperbole. It’d happened more than once, by more than one guy.
“Is there a point to this call, or are you just bored?” Ash murmured, stroking Danny’s side when his mate stirred.
“Touchy,” Aiden grunted then lowered his voice to a growl. “Do not tell me you’re with Henry. Dude, crazy sex can’t be that addictive…can it?”
Swear to god, Ash was not related to him. “I’m hanging up now,” he breathed, voice barely audible to human ears but just loud enough for Aiden’s enhanced hearing.
Aiden's voice dropped to a stage whisper. “Dude, I’m outside your place. Came for that Nirvana vinyl. There’s some ancient Honda in your driveway that looks like it survived the apocalypse. You buy that thing?”
Shit. His brother was outside right now. Perfect timing, as always. The album Aiden had been bugging him about for weeks. Naturally he’d pick tonight to grab it.
Ash glanced down at Danny. He hadn’t even seen what his mate drove here. His car was that bad?
“Just come in quiet, grab it, and bounce,” Ash murmured, his hand instinctively tightening when Danny made a small noise in his sleep. His mate’s breathing stayed deep and steady. He must’ve been dreaming.
“You’re acting weird. You hiding a body or something? Wait. Are you in trouble? Blink twice if you need help.”
“Over the phone? Genius plan.” Despite himself, Ash’s mouth twitched. His brother was an idiot, but a funny one.
“Good point. I’ll ninja my way in.”
Considering his sheer size, Aiden was about as capable of stealth as a drunk elephant.
Ash hung up as the front door creaked open. Instinctively, his hand flattened against Danny, a low rumble building in his chest that he swallowed back.
Despite knowing it was his brother, hearing someone creeping inside while his mate was tucked into his side made his bear feral.
Aiden rounded the couch and stopped dead, eyebrows shooting to his hairline at the sight of Danny curled against Ash.
Who’s that? he mouthed, pointing.
Rolling his eyes, Ash jerked his chin toward the shelf with the vinyl.
Aiden kept staring at Danny like he was a sleeping goth twink curled into his brother like a housecat.
Ash pointed insistently at the shelf.
Jesus Christ. Aiden threw his hands up, shaking his head with this ridiculous “what the hell?” expression. He gestured at Danny again with a “seriously, who is this guy?” look.
This could not be happening. Ash was seconds away from mauling the dumbass. It wasn’t until he bared his canines that Aiden finally got the hint, snatching the record off the shelf.
His brother kept throwing bewildered glances over his shoulder. Ash might not have invited men to his home, but it wasn’t that damn weird. His brother was looking as if Ash had an alien tucked into his side.
Out, Ash mouthed, pointing at the door. Now.
With one last shake of his head, Aiden slipped out the door.
Once they were alone again, Ash yawned and settled deeper into the cushions, his arm curling around his mate. The movie droned on, but Ash was already drifting off.