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“You live there your whole life?” Garrett took his time wandering around the table and evaluating the layout. Maybe he didn’t want it to be such a quick game either.
“Most of it.” Maxwell bit his lip and distracted himself by applying more chalk to his cue. “I only left after Kurt’s ship went down. Needed to get out and finally could.”
Garrett paused his circling. “Something wrong with Jute?”
“No.” Maxwell shook his head quickly. “No, not at all. It’s a lovely town. I just”—he swallowed—“needed to leave the memories behind.”
He’d never told anyone that. He’d never told anyone anything about Kurt or what life had been like for him in the years they were together. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted to get into the details, but it felt nice to break off a few pieces of his past and show them to Garrett.
Garrett resumed his circling but squeezed Maxwell’s hand as he passed. “I understand that.”
Maxwell let out a breath and rolled his shoulders back, shaking off some of the melancholy. “Where are you from? You’ve never said.”
Garrett quirked his lips as he lined up a shot and parroted Maxwell back at him. “Never came up.”
Maxwell watched Garrett’s shot bounce away from the hole he’d aimed at and wondered if Garrett had decided to go easy on him. “Well, it’s coming up now.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure.” Garrett grimaced down at his missed shot, but Maxwell didn’t think that’s what had put the look on his face. “Did you talk to Joan yet?”
“What?” Maxwell frowned. Deflection was his thing, not Garrett’s. “No.”
“Right.” Garrett tossed his head at Maxwell’s beer. “Can I?”
“Sure.”
Garrett took a swig of the beer and set it back on the table with a sigh. “She got a distress beacon from the mines at Thule. You and I are heading down there tomorrow morning on another rescue.”
“Ah.” Maxwell fingered his pool cue as he watched Garrett closely. “You’re from Thule.”
“Yup.” Garrett scraped at an encrusted piece of food on the table with this thumbnail. “Lived there all my life until I ‘needed to leave the memories behind’ too. I followed Leon out of there and haven’t been back since.”
Maxwell gave in to the overwhelming urge to touch and stepped in close enough to Garrett for their sides to press together. “I’m sure someone else can go. You aren’t the only person that can run rescue operations.”
Garrett scowled and looked up from his picking. “I’m not going leave anyone down there or send someone else on my job because going back to my hometown makes me a little sad.”
No, of course he wasn’t.
Maxwell had a feeling that the thought of Thule, and certainly of going back to Thule, did more to Garrett than make him a little sad, but he knew it wouldn’t give Garrett pause. Not if Garrett had a duty and not if there were people to protect. He had too much pride and self-sacrifice in him. He took Garrett’s hand and ran his thumb over Garrett’s knuckles.
Garrett quirked a smile at him, hiding or dispersing the pain, Maxwell didn’t know, then jerked his head back at the pool table. “Come on, it’s your shot.”
Maxwell glanced back at the table and let a sly smile of his own spread across his lips. “Maybe you can give me those pointers you were talking about? I’m a little uncertain about my stance.”
As expected, Garrett’s face lit up, and the cloud that had descended over him lifted. “I’d be happy to help.”
Maxwell hid his grin as he picked his spot at the table and pointed at one of the striped balls. “I’m aiming for that one.”
“A good choice.” Garrett’s voice came from directly behind him, and Maxwell’s breath caught. Garrett’s huge hands grabbed his hips gently and nudged him to the left. “You want to be standing more over here then. The angle’s better.”
“Alright.” Maxwell inhaled through his nose as he let Garrett guide him into position. Garrett had showered, and he didn’t smell like oil and sweat anymore, which meant all that filled Maxwell’s nostrils was Garrett’s own unique musk and the slight tang of alcohol.
Garrett leaned forward until his lips were just beside Maxwell’s ear, but they didn’t touch. That would have been a step too far in such a public setting, and Garrett didn’t cross that line. “Bend over.”
A shiver went down Maxwell’s spine, and he licked his lips. “Garrett.”
“Sorry.” Garrett’s hands disappeared from around his hips. “Too much?”
“No.” Maxwell shook his head sharply and bent down over the pool table so that his hips pressed back into Garrett’s. His lower belly clenched when he felt an unmistakable ridge against his ass. “Not at all.”
