by Andrew Grey
A server handed him a menu. Robin wasn’t super hungry, but the pesto sounded good. He sat and waited for the food to arrive, wishing he had someone to sit with.
“Are you alone?” a man asked in perfect American English.
Robin waved to the other chair, and the young man, probably a student judging from the old backpack he had slung over his back, sat down. “Robin.”
“Spencer.” He smiled and set his pack next to his chair. “I’m on my study year abroad and wanted to take some time to see the country before I started classes in a month or so.”
Robin remembered his college years, but he hadn’t gotten to study abroad because of his health. Thankfully his family spoke German, and he had plenty of people to practice on. “I’m a tour guide.” He smiled. “I’m leading a group of tourists through the country, and today they have lunch on their own, so I have some time to myself.”
“How much time?” Spencer grinned a bright, full smile, his eyes catching the light as he leaned forward. “You’re really cute….”
Robin chuckled. “Thank you. But I have a sort-of boyfriend, and, well….” Damn, it was nice to be flirted with like that. Hell, it was a definite come-on, and that was ego-boosting. Heat spread from deep inside, a fluttering excitement that Robin hadn’t felt before—not for the man sitting across the table, but for the one back at the bus, waiting for him. “I have to have lunch and then get back to my group.”
Spencer shrugged. “Dang it, I had to take a shot.” He sat back, and the server took his order when she returned with Robin’s drink.
They made small talk as they ate. The lunch was comfortable and nice, with little continuing innuendo, though Robin got the idea that Spencer was hoping he’d change his mind. That wasn’t going to happen. After they paid their bills, Robin said goodbye and walked back in the direction of the bus, smiling to himself.
“Who was the cutie?” Mason quizzed as he approached Robin.
“Spencer? Just a stranger who shared my table.” Robin turned away from Mason and continued on his way. Who he had lunch with was none of his business anyway.
“It didn’t look that way from what I saw,” Mason pressed, and Robin paused.
“The tables were full, so he asked if he could sit down. It’s what Europeans do, and accepting someone else at the table was nice. I didn’t sit alone, and we had a nice conversation.” He shook his head. “Only you would make someone sitting down with me seem dirty and unseemly.” Robin noticed that Mason’s pack seemed a lot lighter again. It had been full that morning. “Why don’t you mind your own business?” He stepped closer. “I don’t think you’d want me or Johan taking a huge interest in yours.”
Mason flinched.
“Don’t be late. You don’t want to get left.” Robin had to take the dig at him because it was too good to resist, and not turning to see his reaction was the best satisfaction of all. Mason needed to get the hell out of his life once and for all. Robin was ready to move on, and his ex being around had been a millstone around his neck for days, but that weight was gone. Robin owed Mason nothing at all and didn’t give a damn what he thought or how he reacted about anything. Mason was his past. His future, or what he hoped might be his future, waited for him back at the bus.
Robin stopped at a stand on the way back and got some sausage rolls for Johan, then carried them back to the bus and handed Johan the to-go bag. He pulled a bottle of water from his messenger bag and handed that to him as well.
“That damn pack of his is emptying once again,” Robin reported. He leaned down to kiss Johan and then sat right behind him. “We need to find out what the hell is going on.” He didn’t care what Albert or anyone said. If Mason was up to something illegal, they needed to know and put a stop to it.
“There have been people watching the bus,” Johan explained, turning toward him, eating the sausage roll with a grin. “They’re trying not to be obvious about it, but the men at the edge of the yard have been smoking and talking for nearly an hour, and one of them keeps watching, I can feel it.” Johan was clearly on edge, and Robin placed his hands on his shoulders, rubbing gently as Johan continued eating.
“I don’t like this at all.” Robin’s own anxiety shot upward. “And I hate that he’s on the tour. The guy is a real weasel, and I can’t figure out why I didn’t see it before.” He really should have. Robin grew quiet, rubbing Johan’s shoulders, the contact reassuring him while Johan continued eating.
“We need to play dumb and not let on that we know anything about him. We can still watch, and maybe we will have a chance to look through that pack while he’s busy.” Johan smiled, tugging Robin down for a kiss. He tasted like the spice from the sausage and the butter in the roll. “If those men are watching the bus, let’s give them something to look at.” He kissed Robin hard, sending a wave of desire running through him, his skin heating and his pulse running faster.
Robin pulled back a little. “A college student ate lunch with me.” He swallowed. “The café was full and I was alone, so Spencer asked if he could sit with me. He was younger and nice, and….” Robin bit his lower lip. “He made a pass at me.” Damn it all, he could feel his cheeks heating. “I told him no, that I had a sort-of boyfriend….” God, he hoped Johan understood what he was trying to say.
“Sort-of boyfriend?” Johan asked, his eyes darkening.
“Well, I didn’t know what we were, but I wanted him to know that I wasn’t free and had no intention of going off with him.” Robin stammered a little.
“That you think of me as your sort-of boyfriend? You think that would be okay with me?” Johan asked, and Robin sighed as he realized Johan was teasing him.
“Don’t be mean to me,” Robin countered, and Johan chuckled.
“How about we say that, yes, you are my boyfriend. That way there is none of this ‘sort-of’ about it.” He kissed Robin once again, then ate the last of his lunch and put the bag and the empty water bottle in the trash.
“Okay…,” Robin said. “Mason saw me with Spencer and was being nasty about it. I told him that he wouldn’t like it if I stuck my nose in his business. He paled instantly. I turned away as though the line was a throwaway, but I think I might have made him a little nervous.”
Johan mused a minute. “That may be good. Let him be nervous and on edge. We will watch.”
A knock on the bus door had Robin pulling away. Oliver and Javier climbed on when Johan opened it. The others returned as well, with Mason bringing up the rear. His backpack appeared the same as the last time Robin had seen him.
Robin avoided eye contact with Mason and got to work. “I hope you all had a good lunch.” He smiled as they settled in their seats and Johan pulled out of his parking space. “I have a few interesting facts for you. The Porta Nigra contains no mortar. The blocks are held together with iron pegs, which is pretty cool. Right now, we are heading to the Basilica of Constantine. It’s also of Roman origin and is one of the largest expanses from that era still under roof. It’s a wonderful place to look around and get some pictures. I’d like to take one of our entire group there.” He held on to the back of a seat, standing so everyone could hear. “Does anyone have any questions?”
“What are we doing after this?” Billy asked as he rummaged through his pack.
“Tomorrow we will travel up the Mosel River to visit the best-preserved medieval castle in Europe. Burg Eltz is all original and is still in the family, as it has been for nearly nine hundred years. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. There’s armor and weapons, as well as original kitchen wares and all the things of daily life. The following day we will travel to the Rhine. Instead of the bus, we’ll take a boat south.” Robin smiled. “The Rhine flows north, so we’ll be going against the current, and there are a ton of castles along the way. It’s a wonderful, relaxing day on the water.”
“What if the weather is bad?” Lily asked.
“The boat has an interior, so if it rains, you can sit inside and watch through the window
s,” Robin answered.
“It’s supposed to be nice,” Grant said quietly, and Robin relayed the information.
“Are there any other questions I can answer for you?” Robin asked.
“Yes,” Mason said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Will there be any more shopping stops?” He fussed with his pack and then slid it out of sight on the floor in front of him.
“Does that interest anyone else?” Robin asked, and a few people raised their hands. “Then what Johan can do after we get back from Burg Eltz is drive us back to the pedestrian zone of Trier for any last shopping. After that, it will be the day on the boat, then travel back to Frankfurt for the last-night celebration.” He didn’t want to disappoint anyone, but if they didn’t have every souvenir possible by now, they were a little out of luck.
Johan pulled to a stop near the basilica, and Robin walked everyone over. Almost instantly they grew quiet as they entered the still-active church. He explained a little about the building and let people wander on their own. He always felt it important to let people discover things themselves.
“Be back in about twenty minutes,” he added quietly, and waited while they looked around, then gathered everyone on the steps of the basilica. Johan joined them and took the pictures. A couple visiting the basilica was kind enough to take some pictures that included Johan. Then Robin led the group back to the bus.
They continued back to town and their hotel. Robin was never so happy to see the inside of a quiet room.
“I’m sorry you won’t be with us on the boat trip,” Robin said when Johan closed the hotel room door.
“It is the way it is. I will drive and meet you all in Koblenz.” He seemed just as let down as Robin felt. “Have you given any thought to what will happen after this tour?”
Robin nodded. “I’m going to ask Albert if he will make you my permanent driver. And….” He bit his lower lip. “I want you to come home with me when I visit my mom and dad.” That was a huge step. “I want them to meet you and get to know you.” He could feel the shackles falling away from his heart and his resolve. “That is, if you want to.”
Johan sat next to him. “How long will you stay there?”
“You won’t come?” Robin asked when he heard Johan’s phrasing of the question.
Johan nodded. “Yes, I will come, but I have to come back. I cannot stay. I can visit, but nothing more. I am not a citizen. You are and can come and go as you please.”
“How about we go for a few weeks and then come back here? See how things work between us through Christmas before making final decisions?” Robin was going to need to find some other kind of work. He could probably lead some holiday tours, but the tourist season would largely be done by Oktoberfest. “Maybe Albert can use me to help set up the tours for next year.”
“So you’ll stay?” Johan’s grin split his face, his white teeth shining as they lit up the room.
“Yes. I have to get my medications filled when I get home and take copies of my prescriptions so I can get them refilled here. I’ll also have to see my doctors and probably reassure my mother a million times, but I’m excited to have my own life.” He had thought he’d be able to have one with Mason, and after that heartbreak, didn’t think he’d ever be able to love again. Maybe that was the right decision and the one he’d made with Johan was stupid and ridiculous, but he wanted a life and a chance with Johan. If he were honest, what surprised Robin most was that Johan wanted to take a chance on him.
Johan engulfed him in a hug, holding him tightly. “I’m so happy.” He kissed him, and Robin chuckled under his breath, returning his hug and pulling him down on the bed.
Robin blinked up at him, almost wondering how they’d gotten to this so quickly. Not that he was disappointed in any way.
“You have to know something. It’s important that we all be happy, and I will take you lighting up my life for four days, four months, four years, or forty years.” Johan swallowed hard, and Robin felt the beginning of tears prickling the edges of his eyes. “Whatever time we have together is precious.”
Robin gulped, trying to pull oxygen into his lungs and failing for a few seconds. “You know that there is little possibility for forty years. We will never be able to grow old together.”
Johan placed his hand flat on Robin’s cheek, instantly heating the skin under it. “You and I don’t know what the future will bring. But I do know I want you in mine.” Johan slowly closed the distance between them. “So stop worrying about tomorrow. None of us knows what will happen.”
“But I have to. I know I don’t have that many tomorrows, and… if you set your heart on me, you will get hurt.” Robin knew he’d explained this before, but Johan had to understand what he was getting into.
“You stress way too much,” Johan told him with a wry curve to his lips. “Worry less, love more.”
Robin had no argument to that, and Johan kissed away any potential protest as he slowly divested Robin of his clothes.
They came together with Robin on his back, watching as Johan’s powerful chest heaved, small beads of sweat glistening on his golden skin as they made love. Johan’s lips sent shivers of delight through him as they kissed and then as he found magical places Robin never knew existed until Johan touched them, adding to the exquisite pleasure of their joining. It was all Robin could do to hold on to Johan, using him as a rock, clinging to him to keep from flying into a million pieces, the excitement too great for one person to bear alone. Johan slowly, deliberately drove him to magnificent heights, the likes of which most people only dreamed were possible, and then light burst through him as their release broke like an epic, perfect wave bathing them in warmth.
Robin didn’t dare move for a second. There was no way he wanted this spell to pop, but life outside the hotel room continued.
He jumped at the sharp knocks on the door, and Johan got off the bed with a sigh and tossed him a towel before grabbing his clothes and heading to the bathroom. He closed the door as Robin pulled on his pants and T-shirt, then went to answer the knocking.
“Billy,” Robin said gently, but he wanted to scream and tell him to go away.
“Oh God,” Billy said, his hand slapping over his mouth as his eyes flitted into the room. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to….” He seemed rooted on the spot, stammering. “I didn’t know… I….”
Robin turned and got a clear view of the very messy bed, pillows askew, a sock hanging off the edge of the bedside table. He sighed. “It’s all right. Give me a few minutes.” Robin figured he probably had some kind of just-fucked glow, and really… it wasn’t that he cared. He felt amazing and wasn’t going to apologize for it. Still, he quickly cleaned up, then stepped out of the room and closed the door. Billy seemed more at ease and led the way down the hall. He opened the door to his room, and they joined Kyle inside.
“I saw him today,” Billy said. “I saw Mason in a jewelry store. The one on the corner. He was looking at rings, and I heard him say he was getting married and needed an engagement ring. He said he wanted something more European. It was a load of—”
“I get the idea.”
Kyle stood next to Billy, putting an arm around him. “It’s okay. Take a deep breath and tell him what happened.”
“Well, Mason was looking at this set of rings, and he asked to see some others. He was still looking at them, and the salesgirl brought out additional ones. He looked at those and told her he was going to have to think on it. She put them away and he left. After he left, I looked at the case, and three of the spots in one of the cases were empty.”
“Did Mason know you were in the store?” Robin asked.
“I think so. I wasn’t trying to hide, and he came in after me. I was looking at a watch.” Billy’s gaze shifted to the floor. “They were too expensive and I can’t get one, but everything was so pretty that I wanted to look around.”
“Do you think Mason took them?” Even as Robin asked, he was afraid he already knew the answer.
“I didn’t see him do it, but then I suppose if I had, he wouldn’t be a very good thief. Anyway, I suspect that they have cameras and things, so when they discover the things missing, they’ll look and figure out that it’s him.”
“Yeah, and tomorrow we’ll be out of town, and the day after that, on a boat and well away from here among a group of ever-changing tourists.” Robin met Billy’s and Kyle’s gaze as he thought. “Tonight at dinner, you sit with Mason and keep him busy.”
“Are you going to see what you can find in his room?” Kyle whispered, as though Mason could hear through the walls.
“Don’t worry about what I’m doing. Just keep Mason there as long as you can. Buy him a drink if you have to, just try to get me some time.” This whole situation was maddening, and he needed to do something about it. Robin didn’t have any proof. He could call the police based on their suspicions, but then if they found nothing, he’d feel like a fool. No, he had to know what was going on and then he could take action from there.
“We’ll do our best,” Billy agreed, and thankfully didn’t ask any more questions.
Robin left the room and returned to his own, where Johan waited for him, sitting on the edge of the bed, his leg bouncing nervously.
“What are you up to?” Johan asked as soon as Robin closed the door. “Something is not right.” Johan patted the bed next to him, turning his attention to the wall to the adjoining room, which happened to be Mason’s.
“Billy and Kyle are going to sit with Mason at dinner and keep him busy. I’m going to figure out a way to get into his room and see what he has in that pack of his. Billy might have seen him stealing again today, and we have to know. This entire thing is getting out of hand. If he is a thief, then we’ll call the police, and they can take care of him.” He was so tired of Mason causing trouble in his life, and now for the nice people on his tour.