Chapter Twenty
Lulu
“Howdy there, strangers,” had been the diner owner’s welcoming salute, and she hadn’t stopped talking ever since.
Even Lulu was overwhelmed, to put it mildly, his head spinning from concentrating during the long drive in the snow and Tilly’s constant stream of words.
By now they knew Tilly’s was named after Tilly, that her husband Vernon was king of the kitchen but not the house, and that today’s special was something called Runzas stuffed with ground beef and cabbage and the dessert of the day was Tin Roof Sundaes because it was Saturday and ‘everyone oughta have somethin’ sweet on a Saturday,’ and ‘why not a sundae,’ and ‘a little ice cream never hurt nobody.’
They were quickly invited to hang their jackets on a coat rack, which, upon closer inspection, was a row of brass catfish, their tails acting as hangers.
Then Tilly shooed them kindly to a table facing what Lulu suspected was not just the main street but also the only street in Hayley’s Peak.
The red faux-leather booths were marked by decades of wear and tear, but everything was clean and carefully chosen, it seemed, to provide a homely ambience, such as the red-and-white checkered tablecloths and the soft notes of classic country music spilling from the jukebox in a corner.
They ordered the Runzas, which turned out to be like Joe’s mom’s Empanadas Cubanas and extremely tasty, although a whole lot heavier.
When it was time for dessert, they were both stuffed to the brim, and Xavi looked just about ready to pass out, tiny drops of sweat that Lulu just wanted to lick away, beating across his forehead.
Lulu was feeling the building exhaustion too.
Every limb in his body screamed at him for a place to lie down and rest, with Xavi’s beefy arms wrapped safely around him, as he cocooned Lulu from behind, until sleep finally swept him away.
“But it’s homemade vanilla ice cream with chocolate fudge sauce and salty Spanish peanuts.
” Tilly looked at them, crestfallen when they patted their bloated bellies, trying to tell her there was no room for dessert, let alone a sundae.
Then, eyeing them knowingly, she suddenly perked up, clasping her hands together.
“I’ll get you one to share! You don’t mind sharing with your sweetheart, do you now?
” She winked at Lulu, who gulped down the rest of his iced tea, stunned out of his mind.
“Tin Roofs are perfect for sharing. Makes the sweet all the sweeter if you know what I mean.” She winked at Xavi.
Oh, Lulu had a feeling he knew what Tilly was referring to, and Xavi probably did too, because he grunted something unintelligible as he looked around the diner.
No one seemed to care about the two strangers anymore, though, too engulfed in their own meal or an intimate conversation with another patron.
Sweethearts. No one used that term anymore, at least not in Buffalo. It was quaint and outdated, but somehow it was also very sweet and innocent, and Lulu’s stomach did a weird flip. Was Xavi his sweetheart? And how could Tilly tell?
Tilly chuckled, then waved a finger at them.
“Now, don’t tell me you two handsome youngsters ain’t a couple.
” She blushed adorably, the fine lines around her pale eyes crinkling with genuine kindness.
“I’ve seen the way your fella looks at you.
” She nodded at Xavi. “Like you hung the moon and then went to Saturn to get that ol’ planet for him too.
Like my Vernon back in the day when he couldn’t get an honest day’s work in, too busy runnin’ around, tryin’ to steal a kiss from me.
” Tilly sighed longingly as her cheeks pinkened even more.
“We’re no—” Xavi started, but Tilly seemed to be on a roll now.
“Now don’t you worry about the folks here in Hayley’s. They may be church-going people, sometimes set in their ways, but they ain’t got no issue with people like you boys.”
People like you. Lulu knew Tilly didn’t mean anything by it. People like him, like Xavi. Like Joe and Noah. They were different. He knew they were. Especially here in a small town like this, they stood out. And still, no one seemed to care. It was not what Lulu had expected. Not at all.
“See, we might be smallies and old-fashioned, but love is love if you ask me and most folks around here. It don’t matter as long as you don’t cause no trouble.
” Xavi snorted at that, and Lulu dug his elbow into Xavi’s side, pulling a grunt from him.
“Heck, we’ve got our own gay couple in town.
Well, two maybe…” Tilly looked like she had a lot more to say on the topic, but instead, she just reached for their plates and smiled.
“Now, I’ll just pop back with these, and then I’ll bring you your sundae and two spoons. Don’t that sound nice, boys?”
Lulu’s back was starting to ache from sitting down all day and neglecting his stretches, but it did in fact sound nice, and he found himself nodding and smiling.
It sounded fucking phenomenal sharing a Tin Roof Sundae with Xavi, his sweetheart, the guy he loved.
It sounded as close to heaven as a gay guy could probably get.
“Holy shit,” Xavi laughed in that deep, sexy way of his once Tilly was out of earshot.
“I know,” Lulu gasped. “A gay couple in town. Or was it two? It sounded like there were two, didn’t it? Oooh, maybe there’s a gay bar, too.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t bet on it. Besides, don’t you think it’s weird going around sharing stuff like that with strangers?
” Xavi frowned, playing with his napkin, and Lulu’s skin itched with longing, as he imagined those fingers playing him, making him shiver and pant and melt.
Pushing back the building arousal, he shook his head.
“Ah, she meant nothing by it, mano. You could tell she had no problem with it. Shit, it sounded almost like she…”
“Like she what?”
“I don’t know. Like it was nor—”
“Don’t say it. We are. We are fucking normal, mano.”
“I know. You know I think that. But a big part of this country still thinks that we ain’t. That there’s something wrong with us. But Tilly didn’t act like that.”
Xavi nodded, then wiped at his face. “Still, you never know. No need to flaunt it.”
Lulu nodded, wanting to say that there was a fat chance they could hide it even if they wanted to with the way they—or at least Lulu—were dressed, but he gathered now was not the time.
Before the silence between them could reach an uncomfortable level, their hostess was back with a sundae that looked not only mouthwateringly delicious but also big enough to make even Noah break a sweat.
“Holy fuc—”
“Here we go, my lovelies!” Tilly singsonged as she placed the large glass between them, then a long spoon on each side.
Leaning in conspiratorially, she whispered, “Mixed in a little homemade walnut brandy with the sauce. Reckoned you fellas could need a little extra warmth from being crammed into that sardine tin all day. Ain’t no weather for them fancy European cars.
” She shook her head. “You boys get yourselves a Ford. Or a Jeep.” She frowned, biting her coral-painted bottom lip.
“I’ll get our town mechanic to give you a run over before ya leave.
Don’t want you boys stuck on the road somewhere.
” She shuddered. “Wouldn’t be able to sleep at night thinkin’ about that. Now eat!”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Xavi had enough courtesy to say as Tilly rushed off to the kitchen.
“Here.” He held out a spoon in front of Lulu.
The tips of their fingers brushed as Lulu reached out and accepted it, a delicious zing shooting through his body.
Fuck dessert, he wanted to say. I’ll be your fucking sundae, mano.
I’ll be your fucking cherry on top, too.
Images of Xavi licking him from top to toe washed over him, demanding fingers kneading Lulu’s skin, Xavi’s tongue making a meal out of Lulu’s famished hole.
Fuck, he hoped he could one day convince Xavi to fuck him.
He knew it would be fucking earth-shatteringly epic, that fat cock tearing him wide open, splitting him in two, then Xavi’s sweet, sweet cum gluing Lulu back together again.
“Eat,”—Xavi nudged his shoulder—“so we can get outta here,” he added, ill-disguised heat flashing in his coffee eyes amidst the tiredness.
As if in a trance, Lulu nodded, then dipped the spoon into the chocolate-y vanilla ice cream, gathering a generous spoonful, making sure there were some of the salty peanuts on it too.
Lifting the spoon to his lips, Lulu licked at the mixture, then swallowed carefully as sweet cream and salty nuts exploded on his tongue.