The Last Thing He Needs (14 page)

Bobby cut him off by putting both hands on his face and pulling him into a kiss so strong and so hard it sucked the air out of Tommy’s lungs.

After a moment, Bobby let him go, his expression intent as he pulled back.

Tommy asked, “Was that good-bye, thanks for last night, asshole? Or was that you sticking around?”

Bobby’s lips curved into a smile. “Guess.”

“All right, smartass.” Tommy laughed. “You coming in, or…?”

“Did your folks leave?”

“Nah, they’re passed out.”

“I think I’ll head home, then.” Bobby looked regretful for a beat and then added, “How about I swing by early and we take the kids down to the lake or something?”

“You haven’t had your fill of us yet?”

“Not even close.” Bobby smiled before he glanced up at the house and then laughed.

Tommy turned and saw all the kids upstairs, their faces pressed to the windows. Bobby waved at them, and all but Carrie and Colleen jumped and ran away. Carrie smiled and waved back, and Colleen gave him a thumbs-up.

“I bet you loved the circus when you were a kid.” Amused, Tommy turned his attention back to Bobby.

Bobby arched a brow in response. “How’d you know?”

“If you’re not comin’ in, go home.” Tommy pulled back, but he didn’t go far. “My feet are cold.”

Bobby glanced down and then back up to catch Tommy’s eye. “One of these days I’m gonna get you alone for more than three hours.”

“That a promise, copper?”

“Yes.” Heat was rising between them, but there was no way they could do anything about it tonight. “Now go inside and eat your food before it gets cold.”

“That’s what the microwave is for.” Tommy thought about opening the car door and pushing Bobby in, taking him right there in front of the house, but he decided against it. Instead he leaned in and brushed their lips together. It was a tender kiss, and it warmed Tommy up inside. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Anytime, Tom.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Bobby echoed Tommy’s words from weeks earlier. “Not if I see you first.”

“Ass.”

“Takes one to know one.” With that, Bobby pushed him back with a boyish shove, laughing. “I’ll call you later.”

T
OMMY
SETTLED
down on the couch with his cold burger and melted milk shake. He was hungry enough it still tasted like the best thing he’d ever eaten.

Colleen plopped down next to him, looking exhausted. “Kids are all tucked away.” She reached for the television remote and clicked it on.

“I can’t believe you’re still up.”

She turned to him with a tired smile on her face. “Just need to unwind a little.”

Tommy understood. He was ragged around the edges, but he wasn’t ready to go to bed yet either. “Bobby wants us all to go down to the lake tomorrow with him.”

“Sounds nice. Weather should be warm enough….”

“Wanna see if Wyatt wants to come along?” he asked, nudging her shoulder.

“I don’t know.” She chewed her lip and glanced at Tommy. “I thought maybe I should give him some space after what happened.”

“None of that was your fault. If he’s got a problem with it, he’s not worth your time, Col.”

She sighed. “I know. I just…. He was really nice.”

Tommy kissed the top of her head. “He still is. Give him a chance, see what he says.”

Nodding, Colleen asked, “You taking your own advice for once?”

He took the last sip from his shake and looked at her for a minute before answering. “We’re going to the lake tomorrow with my new cop boyfriend. I think that answers your question, don’t it?”

Colleen laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. “Guess so.”

T
HE
BALMY
spring turned into a raging summer. The lush green grass had turned brittle and brown. It poked bare feet and left dust trails with every step. No breezes, no break from a soaring heat, just humidity that choked the breath out of Tommy every time he stepped away from the small window air conditioner Mikey had found and Davey fixed. This time it really was a find, sitting on the side of the road waiting to be picked up by the garbage collectors. Tommy didn’t know where Davey had gotten his parts for the repair, but he decided not to ask.

They’d all cleaned up their acts a little. Tommy even turned Kelly down a few times when she asked him if he wanted in on a deal. They still had to nick a few things here and there to get by, but he tried to keep in the range of misdemeanor rather than felony offense.

Bobby was becoming a permanent fixture in their lives, and Tommy was fighting the urge to feel secure in their relationship. Not because he didn’t want it, deep down in the pit of his stomach, but because he couldn’t imagine anything so good and so right ever happening to him… happening to them.

The kids were out of school and doing whatever odd jobs they could. Mike and Davey were mowing lawns, and Collin weeded yards for extra cash. Colleen worked full time at the diner, and Tommy left for work at the pub right as she got home at night. There weren’t going to be any family vacations or trips to the beach, but everyone was fed, the bills were paid, and their nickels and dimes were adding up to a healthy emergency fund stashed under the kitchen sink. That was more than Tommy usually let himself hope for, so he thought things were going pretty damned good.

Cal and Cheryl had been MIA for nearly three weeks, which always made things better. He knew they’d turn up again soon, knew they’d need a free place to crash when their dope or their money ran out, when whoever they were scamming wised up and kicked them to the curb. But for the moment, Tommy was happy. Or as close to happy as he ever got, and that was good enough for him.

“How about pizza tonight?” Bobby asked, sneaking up behind Tommy at the kitchen sink.

He slipped his arms around Tommy’s waist and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. Tommy thought he’d never get used to that feeling, the warm rush of breath against his skin that made his skin tingle and pulse race.

He tipped his head to the side and said what he figured Bobby knew he was going to say. “Can’t afford it, but I picked up some chicken on the cheap and we’ve got potatoes.”

Bobby let out a small, frustrated sound and shook his head even as he was tightening his arms around Tommy. “My treat. Just this once.”

“I can feed my kids, Bobby.”

Bobby’s arms dropped from around Tommy’s waist and he took a step back. “You say that like it’s news.”

“Yeah, well….” Tommy was muttering more to himself than to Bobby as he turned the water off and wiped his hands on a ratty dishtowel, but he turned to meet Bobby’s eyes. “Sometimes you act like it’s news to you.”

He could see Bobby bristle and knew they were headed for a fight.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think I forget for one second that you’re not a charity case and don’t need anything from me if I’m not sucking your dick?”

Tommy decided to let that comment go for the moment. “Maybe you forget that we don’t need pizza and dessert and trips to the lake. We don’t need any goddamn handouts from anyone!”

Bobby shook his head and let out a disgusted sound, something close to a laugh, but it lacked any sign of amusement. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just
want
pizza? Or maybe I’m being a selfish prick because I wanna spend time with you tonight and not watch you cook and clean before you leave for work? Maybe I wanna sit around under the fan and watch movies instead of turning this place into a goddamn oven. Did you ever think it was maybe about
me
and not
you
?”

“Well, okay! You don’t gotta yell!” Tommy threw the towel down on the countertop and crossed his arms over his chest, but he could feel the tension between them break. Bobby was on the verge of laughter and Tommy couldn’t blame him. “I guess the heat is starting to get to us, huh, copper?”

Bobby took a step closer to Tommy. The smile playing at the corners of his mouth told Tommy he was in for some teasing.

“Might be the heat,” he said slowly, reaching a hand for Tommy, pulling him away from the counter he was leaning against. “Or maybe your pigheaded, self-righteous attitude about pizza and ice cream.”

Tommy let himself be pulled in, but he didn’t drop his arms from his chest. “Maybe I just don’t want you to think I’m easy to live with. Wouldn’t be fair to mislead ya or anything.”

Bobby grinned then, leaning closer until the tips of their noses touched. “Or maybe you’re just an asshole.”

“That too,” Tommy said with a small laugh. He relaxed against Bobby and wrapped his arms around him. “That was a pretty shitty thing you said.”

“Which part? That you’re an asshole? Because no one that’s met you can claim otherwise….”

Tommy sobered, and he chewed the inside of his cheek as he decided if he should say what he was thinking. He tipped his head back far enough that he could see Bobby’s face and said seriously, “That I’ve only got use for you if you’re sucking my dick.”

For a split second, Tommy thought Bobby might make a joke, tell him he had a use for him if his ass was in the air too. Instead, Tommy saw the look of recognition in Bobby’s eyes, chased away quickly by a look of deep regret.

“Christ, Tom,” he whispered, dropping his forehead to Tommy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I said that.”

Tommy slid his hand up Bobby’s back and ran his fingers through Bobby’s short blond hair. He let his eyes fall shut as he whispered, “I’m sorry if I ever make you feel like that.”

He wasn’t sure if Bobby had heard him at first. His words were so soft and so quiet, so unwilling to be spoken aloud. But when Bobby lifted his head and looked him in the eye, he knew Bobby had caught every one.

“You do.” Bobby whispered, a tender admission, and it looked to Tommy he felt guilty for even saying it. “Not always, but sometimes. And I know it’s just because… you’re
you
.”

That left a whole world for them to talk about. An ugly world full of Tommy’s demons and Bobby’s optimism. A world full of regret and pain and missed opportunities and that malicious bitch everyone called Hope. It was too much for Tommy to think about. It might always be too much, so instead of prying the lid off Pandora’s box and letting all the evil of his world fly into Bobby’s face again, Tommy gave him a slow smile. “Now who’s the asshole?”

“Still you.”

While Bobby made the call to order three large pizzas, breadsticks, and a couple of two-liters of soda, Tommy sent Mike down to the corner store for some ice cream. Bobby quirked his brow and gave him a crooked smile. He covered the phone with his palm and whispered, “You can’t even let me buy the ice cream?”

Tommy knew it was ridiculous. He knew he was being stupid and, just as Bobby had said, pigheaded, but no, he couldn’t let him. “If you pay, you get to pick the flavor.” Tommy knew it was a thin excuse at best.

“And I always pick chocolate peanut butter,” Bobby replied, adding with a smug grin, “Your favorite.” Tommy didn’t get a chance to respond because Bobby turned his attention back to the phone call. “Yeah, I’m still here.”

D
INNER
ARRIVED
just as Colleen got home from work. She looked haggard, starting to fray and tatter like the shirt she wore. Tommy felt the same stab of guilt he always did when he looked at her after a long shift. No seventeen-year-old should ever look like a middle-aged single mother with dull hair and bags under her eyes. He hated it.

She practically collapsed into the chair across from Tommy as she reached for a slice of pizza. “Rocky told me he could use me down at the bowling alley on my days off. He had two people quit this week, and Rhonda is gonna drop her baby any day now. He’s pretty desperate, told me he’d start me off at twelve an hour.”

Tommy thought about it for a minute. No way could he let her take a second job. Things were okay. No room for extras, but everything was covered. “That’s a lot more than your hourly down at the diner. You could just quit and work for Rocky full time.”

Colleen shrugged and finished her bite of pizza before she answered. “I did the math. When ya factor in my tips and the free food I get from the diner, it’s about the same. Maybe less.” She kicked off her sneakers with a sigh of relief before she went on. “But picking up a few shifts down there would be nice, ya know? Maybe even have a real Christmas this year or something.”

Collin heard her words and his face lit up, and Tommy could tell Carrie was trying not to look hopeful at the idea of more than one present under a Christmas tree they didn’t have to steal. Bobby was doing his best to keep his mouth shut about the whole subject, and Tommy had to give him credit. It was probably killing him not to offer any input.