by Andrew Grey
“All this new stuff—”
“I know, but it works, and Dad could show you how to use it. You and I could even FaceTime and talk using the camera. Then you could see me.” Maybe that would be enough of an incentive. “I have to go and get back to work. It’s later here than it is there. You have a good day, and I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay, I love you.” She sniffed, and Robin hesitated to let her go.
“I love you too, Mom.” Robin hung up and put his phone back in his pocket, and while he was thinking about it, he rummaged in his bag, pulled out a small bottle of water, and took his afternoon pills, then drank the rest of the water and threw the bottle in the recycling bin in the corner.
Oliver and Javier joined him in the lobby. “Is our room ready?” Oliver asked, looking a little worse for wear as he fanned himself.
Javier stood behind him. “You’re fine, Ollie. Just a little warm.”
Robin got his last bottle of water and handed it to Oliver, who grasped it gratefully and then downed it all.
“I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be so warm.”
Robin handed him his key. “Johan brought in the bags.” He motioned behind them. “You can get settled and relax if you’d like. Dinner is at seven in the same place we had lunch.” He smiled, and they left, with Javier loaded down with all the bags.
One by one, the others returned and hauled their luggage up the stairs. By the time everyone had checked in and he had answered half a million questions, Robin realized he only had an hour until dinner. He was tired already and feeling a little run-down.
“I got the bags,” Johan said, carrying both of them.
Robin led the way to their room. There were two beds, one double and a tiny cot that looked about as sturdy as a three-legged chair. Robin sighed and opened the window for fresh air as Johan set down the bags.
“Do you want me to see if there is a different room?”
“There isn’t,” Robin said. “The hotel is full.” He looked over at the cot and then at Johan. “Go ahead and take the bed. I’ll be fine.” He rolled his suitcase next to the cot and sat on the far side of the bed. God, he wanted to lie down and rest for fifteen minutes. At least their room had its own bathroom.
“Are you sure?” Johan asked.
“Yes.” There was nothing Robin could do about it. It wasn’t like he was going to ask one of his tourists to change rooms so one of them could sleep on the cot. “I’m going to clean up and get ready for dinner.”
AFTER DINNER, the group had taken a night tour of the town. Most of them had settled in a small café near the town center for coffee and dessert. Robin made sure they knew their way back to the hotel and then went back himself. He needed to try to get some sleep.
He unlocked the room and stepped in, just as Johan came out of the bathroom, a small towel around his waist that barely covered his bits and butt, leaving strong legs and sexy abs exposed to Robin’s hungry gaze. He turned away and went right to his bag, busying himself as Johan moved behind him, hopefully dressing.
“Are you going out?” Johan asked.
“No. Most of the group found a café. Billy and Kyle went off to find some nightlife.” Robin carefully sat on the cot, relieved when it didn’t collapse, though it definitely groaned. “I’m going to go over the things for tomorrow.”
Johan rolled his eyes, and Robin got up the courage to actually look up at him. Johan had pulled on a pair of jeans, but he was still bare-chested, and the temperature in the small room spiked at least ten degrees. A visual feast of golden skin, lean muscle but by no means muscle-bound, and a dusting of dark hair sent Robin’s pulse racing. He turned away again, because lusting after his coworker was so damn wrong on so many levels.
Robin’s brown curls—his mom called them shaggy—fell into his eyes, and he used them as cover to look a little more. Johan walked closer to the window, his belly at perfect eye level, a dark trail slipping into his pants, leading to… well, Robin’s imagination could certainly fill in any gaps, and it did in spectacular fashion.
“Maybe I will go out,” Robin said softly. Lord knew if Johan stayed in the room, especially like that, Robin wasn’t going to be able to breathe. Robin grabbed his messenger bag and hurried to the door, almost forgetting his key, before leaving the room and hurrying down the hall to the stairs.
Outside on the cobbled street, Robin took a deep breath and slowly walked toward town. There was a small convenience-type store a few blocks away, and it would be good if he got some more water and a few snacks.
“Robbie.”
Robin gritted his teeth and turned to find Johan striding toward him.
“You didn’t have to leave the room so quickly.” He fell into step with him.
“I’m Robin, not Robbie,” he said firmly. He hated that nickname.
“Okay. You still didn’t have to leave.” Johan looked at him with his big, almost-mysterious brown eyes for long enough that Robin felt heat rising at the base of his spine. “Are you one of those prudish Americans who keeps himself covered all the time?”
“I’m not prudish,” Robin said. “I just needed some fresh air and to get a few things.” He continued on his way, doing his best to keep his attention on the way ahead and not on Johan’s hotness.
“Do you not like guys? Is that it? You work for a gay tour company.” Johan walked faster as Robin sped up. He hadn’t meant to, but his legs just kept moving more quickly. “Maybe you’re one of those people who doesn’t like to be happy or something.”
Robin came to an abrupt stop, opening his mouth to give Johan a tongue lashing, but he realized he was standing in front of the café where half his tour group sat, watching them. Well, they were watching Johan. No one ever paid that much attention to him.
Robin whirled on his heels and continued toward town. How dare Johan try to get into his head. “For your information, yes, I like guys, and I’m not a prude. Though you seem to have exhibitionist tendencies. Is what you’ve got really worth making sure everyone sees it?” He turned to Johan and cocked his eyebrow.
Johan smiled and didn’t retort, which pissed Robin off a little more and actually raised his curiosity level. Damn it all to hell. Why was he doing this to himself? They had a job to do.
“Okay. So you’re gay and not a prude. Got it.” Johan continued walking behind him, and Robin did his best to ignore him. Maybe if he left the guy alone, he’d do the same for Robin. “But you are unhappy.”
Robin stopped. Johan had to be the most un-German German he had ever met. As a rule, Germans tended to be somewhat reserved… well, they also tended to think that the German way was the best way to do everything, so maybe Johan was just too German for words. Robin wasn’t sure, but he was pretty convinced that Johan was trying to drive him crazy.
“What makes you say that?” Robin paused just long enough to make the accusation and then turned away, seeing the store he wanted. They seemed about ready to close, so he ducked inside and got some water and a few snacks. Robin hoped Johan would go about his business, but Johan was waiting for him at the counter. Robin didn’t remember him being this big of a pain. Of course, he also didn’t remember him as anything other than a guy doing his best impression of the ape boy in a sideshow either.
Robin paid for his things and left the shop.
“You never smile.”
“I do too,” Robin countered while waiting for a car to pass. Then he purposefully headed back the way he’d come. At least he hoped it looked that way and not like he was trying like hell to run away.
“No, you don’t,” Johan said from farther behind him, but the tone, one Robin wasn’t so sure about, made him pause. Johan closed the distance between them. “You smile when you think you’re supposed to and when you don’t want to cause the tourists distress, but you never really smile, not for yourself.” He came even closer, sending heat racing through Robin, and Robin wondered if Johan was going to kiss him. They were certainly close enough. Johan’s breath was
fresh and smelled like minty sunshine. “You never smile with your eyes as well as your lips.” His rumbling voice sent ripples through Robin. “You need to find what makes you happy.”
“I’m happy. I like my life and what I do. I’m good at it and….” God, his protest sounded lame even to him. “I’m fine.”
Johan nodded, and Robin turned back toward the hotel once again. He could feel Johan’s gaze behind him every step of the way. At the café, he thought about stopping for a drink, but he needed to rest, so he waved and went to the hotel.
JOHAN HADN’T followed him all the way back. And Robin was tired. It had been a long day. The first day of a tour often was. After that, everyone usually fell into a routine and things became easier. God, he hoped so.
Robin used the bathroom, cleaned up, took his medications, and got into bed, the cot squeaking a little as he settled his weight. Robin hoped the damned thing didn’t crash to the floor under him. He tried to find a comfortable position and finally settled on his side. Facing the wall didn’t work, but lying on his other side was okay. He reminded himself that he only had two nights of this. He could muscle through.
Robin had just closed his eyes when the door to the hall opened, casting a slice of light through the room. He kept his eyes closed and tried to sleep. Johan was quiet, saying nothing as he used the bathroom and eventually climbed into bed. Robin cracked his eyes open as the lights turned out and got a flash of a perfect tight butt as Johan got under the covers. He bit his lower lip to stop the groan from knowing Johan was naked in the bed just a few feet away. Robin closed his eyes once again and tried to go to sleep. Somehow he managed to do it.
Chapter 2
ROBIN GROANED when he heard Johan getting out of bed. He cracked his eyes open and damned near got an eyeful as Johan closed the bathroom door. Robin knew he wasn’t going to get any more sleep. Every time he’d moved all danged night, the cot had squeaked and groaned under him. He needed a shower, and when Johan came out of the bathroom in a pair of clingy boxers, Robin did his best not to ogle—he was a gay man, after all. He passed Johan with a guten Morgen before closing the door.
The facilities consisted of a handheld shower on the tub, so he shaved and took his pills, then climbed in and got himself washed as efficiently as possible. Once clean, he used one of the towels, wishing to hell his mind had been working. He should have brought his clothes in with him. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he opened the door and barreled right into Johan. The man was like a proverbial brick wall of muscle… and heat. Robin managed to keep hold of his towel, stepped back, and hurried to his bag.
“What happened to you?” Johan asked in a tone Robin knew all too well and hated: pity.
“Lots of stuff,” Robin said as he turned his back to Johan and dressed quickly. He wasn’t pretty, and even his back had scars from all the procedures he’d had done over the years. Robin quickly pulled up his tan pants and shrugged on a white tour company polo shirt. Now that he was covered, he felt much better, not the center of attention. “Today we’re staying in town, so you have the day off.”
“I figured.” Johan pulled on his shoes.
“You can come with us, if you’d like. Before we left, I made sure Albert included some money in the tour budget for entrance fees for you. I always do that for the drivers. Either that, or you can have the day on your own.” Part of him wanted Johan to come along, but another part was nervous about spending the entire day with him.
Johan shrugged, which wasn’t helpful in the least.
Robin grabbed his bag and left the room, heading downstairs to breakfast. He was the last one to show up, excluding Johan. The ladies were seated at one table and the guys at another, all of them talking softly. Robin growled under his breath and stepped right to the ladies table and sat. “Did you all sleep well?” he asked as though nothing were niggling at the back of his mind.
“Yes,” Margaret answered, and the others nodded.
“Is something going on?” Robin asked as the young server offered him coffee. Robin declined in favor of orange juice, and she hurried away to get it for him. Lily shrugged, and the others suddenly found their plates extremely exciting. “Was something said?”
“No,” Margaret answered, looking over at the guys. “Lily isn’t comfortable around them, so we’ve been staying away, and….”
“Margaret, I’m fine,” Lily said. “Really. Yesterday was hard for me, but I’m not afraid of men or anything. You don’t have to shelter me.”
Robin hoped this tension was just one of those things and that it would dissipate as the group got to know one another. He got some food from the breakfast bar, and when he returned, Johan had taken the seat across from him and had his big hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, breathing in the steam. Robin set down his plate and turned to the rest of the group. “We’ll be leaving from in front of the hotel in about an hour. You have time to do a little shopping if you need to, and make sure you have on good walking shoes, because we’ll be on our feet for a lot of the day.”
Oliver groaned, but nothing else was said.
“Our guide will be from the local tourism board. She knows the town very well and can answer any questions you might have.” Robin sat back down and began eating. The conversation in the room ramped up a little. Robin sighed and drank his juice.
“What are you doing today?” Johan asked.
“I’ll be going on the tour, I suppose.” Robin hadn’t given it much thought. He didn’t need to go. The guide was more than capable of taking the group through the town and then up to the Prince-Bishop’s palace. She had done this tour at least six times for him alone.
“No.” Johan put down his mug.
“Excuse me?” Robin raised his eyebrows.
“You heard me. The tourists are going with the guide this morning. Lunch is on their own, and then they’ll visit the palace. So you get them started and turn them over to the guide, and I’ll show you some real fun.”
“And what if I wanted to go on the tour?” Robin pressed. He wasn’t going to give in to whatever Johan wanted just because he snapped his fingers.
Johan rolled his eyes. “You could give the tour yourself after being on it… how many times? It has to be as boring as… well, you.” The hint of a smile told Robin that Johan was teasing or else he’d have left the table and let the smartass sit there alone.
“Nice… really nice.”
“Go see them off, and once they’re gone, you’re in my hands.” Johan leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Completely.” His eyes sparkled in the sunlight pouring through the windows, and Robin found himself nodding.
Why not? What was the worst thing that could happen? Well, if he thought about it too much, his imagination would run away with him.
“You need to have some fun.”
“I see. And you’ve decided that you can help me with this.” He was having too good a time sparring with Johan to stop. This alone was fun.
“Definitely.” Johan finished his coffee and stood. “I think you need to see to the group. I am going to eat, and then when they are gone, we go.”
Robin sighed. Johan was right—he had things he needed to do, and he could decide later if he was going to take Johan up on his offer.
ROBIN SAW the group off on their tour. They seemed excited, and he knew it was a good tour, with time for shopping, a stop at the market for snacks, lunch, and then the palace. He was a little disappointed because he always loved seeing the frescoed ceiling, but truthfully, he was interested in finding out what Johan had in mind.
Once the group was on their way, Robin went inside and up to the room, where Johan was waiting for him with a bag on the bed. “What’s all this?”
“What we need for fun. Get your bathing suit and we go?” Johan said, and Robin shook his head.
He took a step back. “I don’t have one….” He was about to say that he didn’t go swimming.
Johan turned away and grabbed the bag. “I thought so. I have sw
im shorts for you. Come.” He took Robin’s hand and half tugged him out of the room, then locked the door. “Fun awaits.”
Robin had his doubts about just what kind of fun this was going to be.
They walked to the tram station, and after Johan paid for their tickets, they got on.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To have some fun.” He motioned to a seat and Robin sat down. “Nautiland.”
Robin snickered. “What exactly is this Naughty Land?” He had pictures of sex dungeons racing through his head and figured he’d get off the tram at the next stop.
“It’s a water park. There are slides, wave pools, bubble baths, and waterfalls.” Johan grinned like a kid in a candy store.
Robin shied away, looking at Johan as though he’d lost his mind. “You have to be kidding.” Robin slid onto the next seat to put some distance between them. “What are you trying to do? Scare half the population of Würzburg into thinking the Creature from the Black Lagoon has risen and taken up residence in their water park?” He shivered as he thought of all those people staring at him and his scars.
Johan shook his head. “No one is going to care. I saw them, remember? Did I run from the room screaming? No.” He rolled his eyes. “I think the only one with an issue about how you look is you.” Johan met his gaze with such intensity that Robin turned away. “You’re all hung up.”
“Fine.” Robin crossed his arms over his chest.
“I brought a sun shirt for you anyway. You are really pale and will burn in the sun.” Johan grinned at him, and Robin wanted to smack the man, but dang it, he was so cute.
“Then why did you let me go on?”
Johan shrugged. “You need to… how do you say? Vent? So I let you.”
Robin rolled his eyes.
“Come. Our stop is next, and fun awaits!”
Johan jumped up like a kid as soon as the tram stopped. They got off and walked the block or so to the huge water park. Johan paid their entrance fees, refusing when Robin offered to pay his way. They each got a locker key and a wristband, and then they were inside. Robin wasn’t surprised at the single locker room, and he changed into the shorts quickly, ignoring Johan and the old lady a row over as best he could. There were some things he never wanted to see, and there wasn’t enough eye bleach in the world to blot out the sight of naked old lady.
