Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(78)
At least Miles had promised to make himself scarce once they got home.
Mack was lingering outside the apartment door when they got to their floor, and the smile Mack threw his way was ten-thousand-watt. As if just the sight of Wes made his day better, and that had Wes’s heart beating harder in his chest. Seeing Mack again gave him a fluttery feeling behind his breastbone.
“Hey, you,” Wes said.
“Hey back.” Mack kissed him lightly on the lips. “You look good.”
“Good enough to eat?”
Mack’s eyes shined. “Oh yeah. After noodles.”
Miles opened the door and flipped on the lights. Mack took the white bag of takeout over to the dinette set and started unpacking it. Wes shucked his shoes, then went to the fridge for refreshments. He fetched a beer from a newly purchased six-pack for Mack and the open bottle of wine for himself. Miles puttered around long enough to make a sandwich and pour a glass of water, then he retreated to his room.
Wes found a bottle opener, then handed Mack the beer. “Surprise.”
Mack took it, his lips quirking up. “You bought beer for me?”
“Sure. You didn’t seem fond of wine, so I thought I’d get something you’d enjoy, and that would help you unwind.”
“Thank you.” Mack kissed him again, a little longer this time. “After the week I’ve had, this means a lot.”
Mack had texted a few times about some issues with the site, but hadn’t gone into any great detail. “Wanna talk about it? I’m a good listener if you want to vent,” Wes said as he poured himself a glass of wine.
“Just a lot of delays from the county over permits.” Mack opened up a carton of pad Thai. “We can’t break ground until we’ve got them all signed off, and no one will tell me why they haven’t been approved. Everything we submitted is to code, my foreman made sure of that.”
“That sucks ass,” Wes said as he sat in the other chair. He inspected one of the cartons and nearly came on the spot. “Drunken noodles? Oh my God, I love these! Did I ever tell you that?”
“I may have conspired with Miles to find out what you like,” Mack replied, unable to hide his joy at Wes’s reaction. “It was worth the extra effort.”
“You know, you don’t have to suck up in order to get laid tonight. I’m a sure thing.”
“Not sucking up. Think of it as me thanking you for Tuesday night.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that, but I’ll never turn down drunken noodles.” Wes dug in, stupidly excited over such a simple thing. “So how do you get your permits finalized?”
“Gonna have to go to the office on Monday and rattle some cages. Maybe if I make enough noise, they’ll tell me what I missed so I can fix it, or sign the damned things so we can move forward. Judson’s hired two new hands, so today was my last official day working for the ranch.”
“Oh wow. How do you feel about that?”
“I’m excited, to be honest. This project is... It feels right, you know?”
Wes loved hearing Mack talk about the restoration. His joy over the project shone in every word and gesture, and—wait. “Judson hired two hands?”
Mack swallowed the vegetables he was chewing. “Yeah. Arthur’s memory is slipping a bit more frequently on certain things, so Judson does the interviews now. Arthur still approves the hiring, of course, because those horses are his life. He just isn’t as hands-on in the process.”
Okay, that was so not what Wes meant, but the memory slip thing was interesting. “Did Colt quit the ranch?”
“He tried, but no. I may still be pissed at him, but I told Colt he could do the electrical, and I won’t go back on my word. So as of today, he’s temporarily my employee.”
“You think that’s going to be awkward?”
“Awkward as hell, but Colt’s a professional, and so am I. We can work together.” Mack sounded determined, so Wes let it go.
Wes helped himself to a Thai egg roll. They ate in companionable silence for a while, and Wes debated filling it by telling Mack about the film script. He’d gotten it on Thursday and read it quickly. The film had surprised him. Not only was it a well-written, apocalyptic zombie thriller, but both of the male leads were openly gay. And they both lived. And they fell in love!
He loved the character he was auditioning for. Paul was smart, funny, had quippy one-liners that had made Wes laugh out loud while reading, and even though Paul was the more effeminate of the two, he never once needed to be rescued by Michael, the bigger, more athletic lead.
It was the gay, zombie, anti-princess film Wes never knew he needed.
Miles had read it, too, and loved it for all of the stereotypes it broke. And then Miles had said that if Wes didn’t audition for this movie, Miles would.
But Mack was frustrated with his own project tonight, and Wes didn’t want to make their time together about him. After he called Tracey and booked the audition, he’d tell Mack. Because then it was actually a thing that was happening, instead of a distant maybe.
*
Mack hadn’t realized the exact thing he needed to calm the anxiety ball in his belly was to be near Wes again, doing something as simple as eating Thai food and talking. It was so domestic and easy, even though they were such different men. An actor versus a cop. A joyful spirit versus a cynical grump. But somehow they worked.