When Justin got to Taco City, Greg was already there, waiting by the door. Justin didn’t think he was imagining the way Greg’s eyes lit up when he spotted Justin. He was pretty confident that his own eyes were equally lit. Greg lifted a fist to bump in greeting, and Justin grinned and bumped fists. “Dead ends, huh?”
“Oh God. Let’s order and I’ll tell you about it.”
They placed their orders and sat, their knees brushing slightly under the table. The sensation shot up Justin’s leg straight to his groin. He shifted to give his dick a bit of room. “No progress at all?”
Greg glanced around the restaurant casually. “See anyone here you recognize?”
“Nope.”
“Good. I wouldn’t say no progress. We talked to Sam Boone, who’s back in California now. He wasn’t able to explain to my satisfaction why his company chose an untested rocket to ferry their first payload to orbit.”
“What have they found in the debris so far?”
Greg tipped his head quizzically. “Good question. We turned everything over to the FAA, and they haven’t contacted us since. But there was that one thing…”
“What thing?”
“We found a car’s rear view mirror in my sector of the debris field.”
Justin froze, his drink halfway to his mouth. “What?”
“I suppose it was already there. Odd, though.”
“No shit. Where’s the debris?”
“In a hangar at Canaveral. I’ll drive up there after lunch.”
“Don’t talk to the Skyose engineers. Only talk to the FAA.”
Greg raised an eyebrow. “Tellin’ me how to do my job?”
Justin flushed. “No. Shit. I’m sorry…”
“Aw, I’m just teasing you.” Greg winked at him. “Guess I’ll have to be careful about that.”
“No, you don’t. I mean… we’re still getting to know each other, right? I’m not always sure how to interpret you yet.”
Greg smiled. “Well, then, I’ll have to see that you get more practice.”
Their food was ready, and they dug in. Greg asked Justin about the Mars article and listened attentively while Justin expounded on the ramifications of finding water on the planet. At one point when Justin stopped for breath, Greg said, “You love this stuff.”
“I do. If you want me to shut up about it, just say so.”
“Not at all. I always liked science in school. Keep talking.”
“I guess you have to know some forensic science, huh?”
“Quite a bit, yeah. I don’t use it as much in this job as I did in the police department.”
Justin tucked the last bite of taco into his mouth then drained his iced tea. “Do you have to work tonight?”
“Probably through dinner, unfortunately.”
“But not all night?”
Greg grinned and lowered his voice. “What are you suggesting, Mr. Harris?”
“Well, if you wanted to…if you had time…maybe you could stop by for a while? I know it’s in the wrong direction from your house, so if you don’t want to…” Justin mentally kicked himself for the stammering. Why was he acting like a high schooler asking for a prom date?
Greg held up his hand. “I do want to. Very much. And it’s only a few miles. I figure, if we’re gonna pursue this, we’ll both spend some time familiarizing ourselves with that particular stretch of A1A.”
Justin relaxed. A bit. “I want to pursue this.”
“So do I.” Greg wadded his napkin and tossed it onto his plate. “I’ll text you later when I have a better idea of what time I might get loose.”
“Works for me.”
As they walked to the parking lot, Justin was hyper-aware of his position relative to Greg. Not too close. Just a couple of pals meeting for lunch. He sighed.
Greg glanced at him. “What?”
“Sometimes I wish I lived somewhere else.”
Greg nodded. “I hear that… See ya later.”
“Yup.” Justin climbed into his own car, then watched as Greg pulled onto A1A and headed north.
He wants to pursue this. Don’t fuck it up.