“Come on.” Saul led him past a huge, brightly tiled fireplace and out through one of the patio doors into a gorgeous night. The sky was hinting at evening and the sun would be going down soon.
Damn, it was pretty out here, even if it would get chilly as the night fell.
“Do y’all stay open in the winter? At the bike shop, I mean?”
Saul was leading him back toward Spruce Street. “We do. It’s slower, but people give bikes as gifts and stuff, and Emma started building snow bikes last winter too. Neither of us work the hours we do this time of year though, and we close for a month after the holidays. Sometimes I get work in one of the ski shops.”
“It’s good to get a couple of weeks to rest, to get your head together.” He was all over that. He liked to go on a cruise once a year, to get on the ocean and be anonymous and free.
“I usually go camping up in the mountains, sometimes I take my bike, sometimes I don’t. I always like the idea of going by myself when I leave but then I come home when I’m sick of being alone.” Saul snorted. “Which takes about three days. One year I pushed it to five, but I slept one whole day away.”
“I go up about once a month and go fishing, but I come back to my own bed at night.”
“You don’t camp? Do you not like it?” Saul led him back into the parking garage and they headed for the car.
“I used to go constantly, but it’s a lot of work for one person.” And he wasn’t interested in being cold and lonely in the dark.
“It is, right? And honestly? I get bored alone.” Saul opened the car door for him.
“Thank you, sir. You have a lot of family?” Lots of people who got bored alone had all sorts of brothers and sisters.
“Yeah. I’m the youngest of four, and I grew up around cousins and all kinds of craziness.” Saul climbed in his side. “They’ve scattered all over the place now, but we used to be pretty tight.”
Saul pulled out of the parking space but went the wrong way. Instead of driving down toward the exit, they drove up.
Troy kept his questions to himself. Saul wanted to surprise him; it was up to him to allow it to happen.
They got to the top level and Saul parked in one corner. “One time in college I came up here to smoke up with some friends, just for the view.” Saul got out of the car. “Come on.”
“Coming.” He slid out of the car and stretched. Too bad he wasn’t still smoking.
Saul met him and steered him over to the low wall along the edge of the garage. “It turned out to be an awesome place to watch the sunset.”
It was getting to be that time, too, and he realized that Saul had carefully orchestrated this, planned to be right here as the sun went down.
How damn wonderful was that? Thoughtful too. He settled, eyes on the Rockies and the pinks and oranges that colored everything.
Saul stood close for a long while, silently watching over his shoulder until the colors were deep and saturated and the sky started turning purple.
A gentle, steady hand rested on his hip. “Will you tell me about your ink?”
His mouth went dry, but he nodded. He wasn’t ashamed—either of his need or his art. “What would you like to know?”
“Well, for starters, I don’t want to assume, so tell me what the triskelion symbol means to you.” Saul was close enough he could feel the warmth building between them.
“Balance, for the most part. Beauty. Need. The guys were there for the first one.” He remembered that so clearly—safe, sane, and consensual, drilled into his skin. That was the beginning. Now, each one meant different things.
“Beauty. I love that. Like the sunset, it’s a promise. The sun will rise, the sun will set, and your Dom will take care of you.” Saul’s hand left his hip and one settled on each of his shoulders, weighty and warm. “Why so many?”
Because nothing since Arnie had died let him sink into his subspace, and he needed it bad. “Isn’t that what happens when your bud is an artist? I let him use me as a canvas.” And I use Geoff as a way to soar.
“So they’re all his designs? Or yours? Do you talk about each one before he does it? After?” Gentle fingers kneaded his shoulders.
“We don’t talk about it much anymore; Geoff does his thing. Usually I sleep in the shop after so I don’t have to get myself home.”
Troy had a cot in the office. It was his whenever he needed it.
The sky was going from purple to deep blue as darkness fell around them. “That sounds great. I assume that’s your outlet without a regular Dom? It’s good you have that.”
“It is.” And it was good to be heard, to be understood. It felt… amazing, to be honest.
They both fell quiet after that, Saul’s fingers working into his muscle without making anything awkward or too forward, just… kind. Friendly.
Caring.
“I should get you home, huh? I know you have to work early, so you need your rest.”
“I do. Five to two.” He liked opening the diner. It offered him an hour of peace before the regulars hit.
“Did you like the sunset? Isn’t it crazy watching it from here?” Saul gave his shoulders one last squeeze.
“It was absolutely gorgeous.” He checked his watch. “You interested in a cup of coffee? I’ve got a little while before my curfew.”
He could just make out Saul’s smile in the shadow of the garage lighting. “Yeah. That would be great.”
“Excellent. I think so too.” He leaned a little bit, then straightened. “Come on, I’ll introduce you the best hazelnut caramel latte in Boulder.”
“Are we walking or driving?” Saul hesitated by the car.
“Let’s walk it. It’s not far at all.” And he was feeling pretty damned mellow for a guy on his first date ever.
“I’m in.” Saul stepped in beside him, offered him an arm, and raised an eyebrow.
He grinned. Such chivalry. He loved that, dorky as it was. The only thing more dorky was Saul’s adorable smile as he took the kid’s arm.
“I’d have figured you for more of a macchiato kind of guy.”
“I try new flavors all the time. Sue even invents stuff for me.” He went three times a week—Monday night, Wednesday night, and Friday night, just like clockwork.
“Sue.” Saul laughed. “Does Sue work Friday nights?”
“She does. Her daughter Alissa owns the place, and Sue works the weekday closing shift.” Alissa and Brett came in with the baby a couple of times a week—veggie omelet and two eggs over easy with crispy bacon and home fries.
“Well, I look forward to meeting her.” Saul tucked his hand in closer and let him lead the way.
“I’ve been here a lot of years. Believe it or not Alissa was in kindergarten when I moved here. She was a server at the diner through high school.” He really did have an extended family here.
Saul looked at him. “That’s… crazy. Wow. So she’s… well, my age. Or thereabouts.”
“Yeah. I’m old enough to be your father, no question about that.” Okay, so that was a craptastic thought.
Saul sighed. “If you were wondering, I’m cool with that.”
He wasn’t sure he understood what Saul found intriguing about him, but this was their night, so he’d stress over that later. Right now he was going to enjoy their date. “Good deal.”