Cherry Sours

Okay.

Eggs. Juice. Cheese. Copy of the Advocate. Six-pack of Sam Adams. Go him with the plan for the evening. Omelet. Light reading. Catch a buzz.

Anything to forget the lubeless-reaming Betty had given him at the office. Christ, one client didn't like a design and it was all gloom and doom and dire predictions.

Cain rubbed the back of his neck, sighed, and stopped in front of the Brach's candies.

Oh. Cherry sours.

"Excuse me, please." The voice was low and deep, and belonged to a big buff dude in denim, with odd light gray eyes staring at him from under a widow's peak, and dark, shoulder length hair. "You're right in front of the Gummi Bears."

"Sorry." Cain stepped over to the right, and then realized that didn't help because that put big, tall, and muscled between him and the bags. Damn it.

"I like the red ones." The guy grabbed a bag in one big paw and the little scoop in the other, and started painstakingly using the scoop to pick out the red ones and put them in the bag.

He chuckled, walked around the big guy for a bag. Cherry sours and maybe something apple-y.

See him. See him not check out the guy's ass. Cain suddenly realized those odd eyes were on him, checking his ass out.

"Sours, eh?" the man asked. "You like it with a little kick."

"Yeah. I like to suck them. They make my mouth tingle." He did not just say that.

Big, tall, and muscled grinned and nodded. "Uh-huh. Knew you'd be a sucker. You've got the mouth for it."

His cheeks went hot-hot and he damn near dropped his candy. He. Uh. Damn. Yeah. Okay.

No, he hadn't.

He was more gay by intent than practice.

That grin got wider, and the bag of cherry sours was taken from his hand. "You look about ready to check out. Me, too."

"I… Yeah." Cain reached for the bag, feeling more than a little confused. "Gotta go home and make supper."

Mr. Buff kept the candies and nudged him toward the checkout line, glancing into his basket. "Looks like supper for one."

"Yeah..." Dude. Those were his. "Just a quick omelet."

"I'm eating alone as well." A package of thick steaks, a huge Vidalia onion, three potatoes, and a two-liter Coke went on the belt along with the Gummi Bears. His bag of sours followed and then his basket was taken from his fingers, his groceries taken out, and sent down the belt. "We should pool our resources."

"I -- I'm sorry?"