Chapter 76
Could he help it, if all his favorite ways to wake up involved his boyfriend? Scooter had alreadybeen about the best part of Andy’s mornings.
Dog slobber, that was noton Andy’s list of favorite ways to be woken.
“Ugh, Trick, stop, gross, get off,” he whined, pushing at the lump of fur that was panting hot dog breath into his face. Satisfied that Andy was awake, Trick jumped down off the bed. Andy shoved off the blankets and sat up, scratching at his neck where one of Scooter’s love-bites was healing and itchy. He leaned over to squint at the alarm clock. “Ughhh,” he complained again, and glared at the dog. “You’re awful.”
Trick’s tongue lolled out in a canine grin.
Andy sighed and climbed out of the bed. He didn’t bother with pants, just shuffled down the hall to the bathroom. Emptied his bladder, washed his hands, splashed his face. Checked out his reflection as he brushed his teeth. None of the previous night’s bites and hickeys were high enough that he’d need to borrow Kat’s concealer, at least. He grinned at them, and decided he could wait to shower and shave until after coffee.
Scooter was already in the tiny kitchen, humming and dancing as he cooked something. Andy dropped a smacking kiss on his shoulder before reaching for the full mug Scooter had left on the counter. “Morning,” he said into the first sip.
Instead of fidgeting impatiently by the front door, Trick was sitting at the entrance to the kitchen, watching Scooter with all the attention in the world, waiting for something to drop. “You already walked him?” Andy said in surprise. “Christ, how long have you been up? You do realize that we literally work until almost midnight most nights. We’re allowed to sleep past six in the morning.” Andy hid his smile in his mug. “What’ve we got planned—Wait, it’s the Fourth. Day off, hot damn.”
Scooter shrugged. “I just can’t anymore. Get twitchy if I lay around too long, an’ you were sleeping.” He flipped the pancakes onto a plate and moved the griddle off the burner. “Here, blueberry pancakes, bacon, and…well, it was going to be an omelet, but the dog nudged me at the wrong time, so scrambled eggs with some add-ins.”
Andy took the plate and stole a kiss. “Sleeping in and coffee andbreakfast? I think I’ll keep you.” He fished a fork out of the drawer and took his plate and coffee out to sit on the sofa to eat. Scooter had a little dinette table and chairs, but if Andy sat on the sofa, Scooter was more likely to come and sit next to him.
Scooter fried up one last batch of bacon and recovered his own plate from the oven where he’d been keeping it warm. “Wait, Trick,” he said, pushing at the dog. “It’s hot, you stupid mutt.” Trick sat back down, then heaved a great sigh and trotted over to give Andy great big sad eyes of starvation. “You’ll want to eat all that. Busy day today. An’ the food’s gonna be expensive. And not particularly good at that.”
“Captive audience food,” Andy agreed. He broke off a piece of bacon and tossed it for Trick, then dug in himself. “When’re we leaving?”
“Park opens at ten, so,” Scooter flicked his eyes at the clock. “Ninety minutes, give or take. Jason’ll be champing at the bit, but there’s this time delay between when the park opens and when the rides get started, a fact that after so many years you’d think he’d learn but oh, no…and he’ll get real loud in the park if he can’t get his vertigo on right away.” Scooter rolled his eyes. Jason was a champion rant-and-raver when he got going.
Andy laughed and shrugged. “It’s his party, he can bitch if he wants to?”
“Mmmmhmmm.” Scooter made a noise of agreement, rolling up one pancake and stuffing the whole thing in his mouth, returning his plate to an elevated state to keep it away from the dog. “Spoiled.” He handed his plate to Andy. “Guard that for a minute, would you?” He brushed crumbs off his shirt, which Trick promptly attacked. Scooter checked the bacon and dumped a few strips and some scrambled eggs into Trick’s bowl and sat it on the floor.
“There, greedy thing,” he said, patting the dog fondly. Scooter threw himself back down on the sofa and while he recovered his plate from Andy, he didn’t eat, just sort of watched Andy sidelong as he twiddled his fork in one hand.
“What?” Andy demanded after a bit. “Is my hair all sticking up again?” He shoved his fingers through it, trying to make it less fluffy.