Yolks on You Box Set

Chapter 6-1

Chapter 6

When Dom returned with a box of eggs from the church—filled with biblical verses instead of monetary prizes, he was assured when he picked it up—it was very dark, and Kiko was over at one of the tables at one end of the shop. Dom set the box down by the basement door and crossed to the table only to find it set with what almost looked like a picnic—deviled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, potato salad. A beer sat across from a smaller glass of eggnog, and several egg-shaped truffles were set to the side.

“Kiko?” he asked and the man turned, flashing that smile that always seemed to reach his eyes.

“I promised you a meal,” he said. “I’m afraid it has to be what I have on hand here at Yolks on You. Go on, have a seat.”

There was no one else in the shop at the moment and Dom was hungry. He sat.

“Is it always like this, empty in here at night?” he asked. Kiko pushed the beer toward him.

“Business always dies down around mealtimes,” he said, shrugging and also sitting. “But since the explosions…it hasn’t been as good as normal, no.”

“S’not going to put you under, is it?” asked Dom, biting into the sandwich. Kiko sighed.

“Probably not.” He paused. “Thanks for all the help.”

Dom glanced at him, caught Kiko’s dark brown eyes for a moment that was much longer than normal. He couldn’t really decide how he felt toward him—he liked the look of Kiko, and his optimism was refreshing after Alec, but his excessive enthusiasm…Dom just couldn’t tell whether he despised it or found it endearing. He did find himself attracted to Kiko, but again he wasn’t sure whether that was because he’d just gotten out of a relationship with Alec.

“If you’re thinking what I’m thinking…” began Kiko, suddenly inches closer than he had been a moment ago.

“You’re not eating,” said Dom.

“You’re distracting me.”

Dom decided to meet his grin with one of his own.

“Why? I’ve got all my clothes on.”

Kiko opened his mouth to reply but a customer entered and he got to his feet instead, moving off to help them. Dom watched as he ate, staring at Kiko’s ass probably more than he should have, but he figured the man wouldn’t mind. When Kiko returned he’d finished the sandwich and was working on the potato salad, filled with huge chunks of hard-boiled eggs.

“Where were we?” asked Kiko as he sat. “Oh, yes, you were just offering to take your clothes off for me, I believe.”

“Don’t you normally wait until the third egg-themed date?”

“I may not look it, but I’m an incredibly impatient man,” said Kiko.

Dom smiled to himself, took a drink of the Goose Egg ale. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug about the entire situation. If only Alec knew how quickly he could move on, find someone better. They wouldn’t do anything in the store, certainly, but it was obvious Kiko was interested, and Dom found that exciting. The entire weekend might not be ruined.

Kiko left to attend to a few more customers, returning to peck at his food and make whatever charged comment came to mind, but it soon became the case that they were no longer alone in the store. Kiko looked vaguely annoyed at that, but Dom leaned back with another beer, holding back a laugh.

“You could always kick everyone out and close early if you wanted to be alone with me,” he said.

“Can’t afford to,” said Kiko. “I should actually stay open an extra hour to try to make up for lost business. I’d rather get you alone in the woods sooner than that, though.”

“Go off into the woods at night with a strange man I just met? My mother warned me about that.”

Kiko offered a small smile.

“When we’re done, I’ll probably ask you to load the boxes in my truck. The one not in police territory, that is.”

“I can do that,” said Dom, sensing Kiko wanted to move to safer topics now that parents were bringing their children back into the store after eating. “Have the cops told you any more about what’s going on?”

Kiko left to ring up a customer, returned to shake his head.

“No, and I’m not surprised. They probably have no clue what’s going on themselves.”

“I thought they’d arrest Buddy Miller.”

Kiko looked truly shocked at that.

“Why?”

“His overdone grief. Over a cow? It’s suspicious.”

“No, no,” said Kiko, shaking his head. “Buddy looks like he’d kill you for looking the wrong way at him, but he’s soft at heart. When he first got that cow he was prouder than some parents you meet. He’s really upset about it—he’d never kill it, certainly not in front of a group of children, or where he’d have to see. And I just can’t imagine him trying to hurt me at all. Buddy’s not like that.”

Dom tried to analyze Kiko’s expression.

“Were you two ever—”

Kiko interrupted him with a laugh.

“You’re joking,” he said.

“I’m just trying to figure out this town. You know it makes no sense?”

“It makes complete sense,” said Kiko, standing. “It’s picking up in here again. If you could load up the boxes when you’re done? We’ll go hide as many as we can after I close up later.”