Dylan looked up from his conversation and a slow, wide smile spread across his face that warmed Apollo all the way to his toes. He couldn’t help but smile back. And when Dylan waved, he waved back, just like the girls. Like a loon.
“That your other kid? I heard they were bringing in someone new for this game. Fresh blood. Should be a good game.” The purple-haired woman next to Apollo gave him a toothy grin.
“No. Not my kid.” Apollo didn’t blush. Ever. Hell, the military had drummed the ability to feel embarrassment out of him. And despite all that, he still felt his cheeks heat as his throat tightened.
“Oh. Oh.” The woman’s eyes went wide. “My bad. Boyfriend? He’s a cutie—”
“Just a family friend. He watches my kids.” Apollo forced his voice to be firm, chasing away any hint of nervous stammer by tightening his jaw.
“That’s cool.” The woman’s tone said she didn’t quite believe him. And that was okay. Apollo didn’t quite believe himself.
“What’s a boyfriend?” Sophia left Chloe by the fence to come crawl into Apollo’s lap. Oof. He bit back a groan as she settled against him. These bleachers weren’t doing his back any favors.
“Well...” Interrogation training hadn’t prepared him for this. “When you really like someone—”
“Oh! Like married!” She clapped her hands together. “You and Daddy were boyfriends?”
“Before we got married, yeah.” Apollo’s sinuses burned. Damn. Reminders of Neal weren’t supposed to still sting after all this time.
“Are you and Dylan boyfriends?” Her face tilted up to stare at him, dark eyes intent. “Because then you could get married!”
“No.” He shut that line of thought down with a firm shake of his head. “We’re not boyfriends. Just regular friends.”
Maybe if he repeated the line enough, he’d start to believe it.
“That means no kissing,” Sophia said sagely.
“Yup.” Apollo tried to ignore the twinge in his side. It wasn’t a lie precisely. They hadn’t kissed in days.
On the field, Dylan deftly passed the ball to another player for an easy goal. He punched the air before high-fiving the other player. Apollo and Sophia joined the cheers from the crowd at the first point of the game. On his way back down the field, Dylan threw a glance their direction, eyes meeting Apollo’s for a fraction of a second. And in that moment, Apollo shared his joy and wanted more of that electric energy. No kissing. Why the hell was that such a hard rule to keep to where Dylan was concerned? Why couldn’t Dylan stay put in the neat little box labeled “family friend” instead of turning Apollo’s life on edge and giving him hard questions at every turn?
*
“Ready for this week to be over?” Allie smiled from the doorway to the storage room where Dylan was shelving art supplies.
“Yeah.” Dylan lined up boxes of markers. Truth be told, it had been a very weird week. He and Apollo had traded off with the girls, watched their TV show together, and went to bed alone. They’d both pulled back from anything more than some sleepy touches on the couch, and Dylan still wasn’t sure what to make of that. Their last encounter had been so full of...potential that it had been almost scary in its intensity. He couldn’t speak for Apollo, but it had made Dylan wary of getting his feelings trampled on if they continued to hook up on the regular. So yeah, maybe it was good that they hadn’t had a repeat yet.
“Well, you’ve certainly been in a funk lately.” Allie flipped her hair over one shoulder. “But I’ve got news for you that will make you smile.”
“Oh?”
“The Logan Heights Boys and Girls Club just posted a listing for an assistant branch manager. And word is that their branch manager will be retiring in the next year or so. This could be an inside track to that job.”
“Wow.” That was pretty much Dylan’s dream job situation. But Logan Heights wasn’t terribly far from Apollo’s neighborhood. As in a ten-minute drive versus all the way back in Oregon, where he’d been saying he was headed.
“Any luck finding anything around Eugene or Portland?” Allie was surprisingly good at reading his thoughts. “Because if not, you really should think about this. It would be so good to have you stick around, and hey, I’m sure a winter without rain would be cool too.”
“Stick around.” Dylan rolled the words around in his mouth, testing them out. Apollo surely wasn’t going to like the sound of that. Dylan knew full well he never would have screwed around with him if Dylan hadn’t made it clear that this was a limited-time deal.
“I could help you find a roommate situation. I’m sure the salary’s ridiculously low, but you could make it work.” Allie looked at him with beseeching eyes. “Just apply. If I didn’t have another year of school, I’d be all over the job listing myself.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to put my resumé in,” Dylan said slowly. He didn’t want Apollo thinking that he was sticking around like a lovesick puppy, but maybe he could just keep this on the down low until he had something worth sharing. Because maybe Apollo wouldn’t care one way or another. Dylan’s hands clenched around a box of markers. That was exactly what he was worried about. Hell, even Apollo being upset would be better than him being indifferent.
After finishing the cleanup with Allie, he had her look over his cover letter. With all the resumés he’d been sending out, he had everything ready to go, and he hit Send before the doubt crows fluttering in his stomach could stop him.
Back at the house, he walked into the heady aroma of tomatoes and cheese and the happy sound of the girls playing in the living room. He snuck by them and headed to the kitchen where Apollo was chopping vegetables for a salad. In the oven, a casserole bubbled away.
“Just in time.” Apollo had changed from his uniform into shorts and a T-shirt, and his long feet were bare. Why the contrast between Apollo-the-dad and Apollo-the-lieutenant turned him on so much he had no idea. Bare feet and ropey forearms sticking out of faded T-shirts shouldn’t be a kink for him, but they totally turned his crank.
“Smells great.” Dylan tried to cover his blatant ogling of Apollo by sniffing the air.
“Yeah.” Apollo gave Dylan a tight smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Dylan crossed the kitchen in quick strides to come stand beside him behind the island.
“Nothing.” Apollo shrugged, then winced.
“Your back again?” Dylan cast a glance at the empty doorway before putting his hands on Apollo’s shoulders and starting a deep rub.
“No. Ahhh—” Apollo groaned as he leaned into the touch. “I mean no more than usual.”
“Which means it’s still bad, but you’re being stubborn. Made that doctor’s appointment yet?” Dylan dug his fingers into a knot of muscles at the back of Apollo’s neck.