Page 33 of Tooth and Nail

“Are you humming?”

Ari looked up at him, narrowing his eyes. “What about it?”

Eoghan grinned. “Youwerehumming.”

Ari shrugged. “Is it against the law?”

Eoghan snorted and shook his head, lifting his menu again and chuckling. When their waitress came over with a pot of tea two minutes later, she set it down and poured two small cups before taking their orders. As it turned out, his partner was just as hungry as he said he was. He started off with the thick cut pork shoulder, marinated beef short ribs, and spicy marinated octopus. Then all the sides, including kimchi, kimchi fried rice, and pickled radish. It sounded so good, Eoghan decided to start with the same, asking the server to come back frequently with more sides. The pickled vegetables were his favorite part of the meal.

“So, you know about me,” Ari said. “Tell me more about you.” He took a sip of his green tea and waited.

Eoghan swallowed, feeling a little like a deer in the headlights as he thought about what to say.I’m gay, desperately attracted to you, and all day long, I’ve been trying not to think about how to get in your pants.He shrugged. “There’s not a whole lot to tell. I was a Marine, stationed in Afghanistan and after I was discharged, I went to college and then decided I wanted to be a LEO. I was an MP in the Corps so it made sense. I’m really glad I joined the Marshals Service. I thought about the FBI, but I’m not really a suit and tie kind of guy. I’ve been a marshal for six years, without a partner since Glad died, and I’ve lived in Los Angeles all my life.” He felt his face heat as Ari smiled. “Like I said, not much to tell.”

“Good to know.” He sipped his tea. “But I wanted to know more about you…that is, if you want to tell me. We could be friends unless you want to keep everything completely business. Chief Priest said something about you rejecting your last few partners. I don’t know if that was because you resent having one at all after your first partner died so suddenly or...”

The very thought of having Ari any way at all made Eoghan’s groin tight. He nodded. “I’d really like to be friends.” He sighed and looked seriously at the man across the table from him. “You know how attached you become to the person who shares your working life with because you’ve been a U.S. Marshal a while. It’s very important that you get along with them, treat them like a member of the family. I guess I just didn’t feel any great chemistry with the others who came along after Gladys and then again, I blame myself for that. It wasn’t that I found any of them wanting in the professional sense. I can’t really say I wanted to be friends with any of them.”

“It was too soon,” Ari said.

“What?” Eoghan frowned slightly.

“Priest tried setting you up with a new work partner right after Gladys’ death because she thought it would help you but what she didn’t realize was that you needed time to grieve the loss of your best friend. Of course, you’re going to push them away,” Ari said. “It was what you had to do to protect you. You couldn’t get close to anyone after losing someone. I wouldn’t be able to.”

“Huh. Do you have a degree in psychology or something?”

Their server walked up at that moment and Eoghan sat back, watching her set down bowls full of raw meat and seafood as well as a selection of sides that looked mouthwatering. After turning on the grill in the center of the table, she smiled, bowed, and walked away. Eoghan immediately started with a slice of pork shoulder, picking it up with tongs, and placing it on the grill, watching Ari do the same. Once that was cooking, he picked up his chopsticks, and broke them apart before digging into the sides. Chewing his kimchi, he glanced at Ari who was watching him with interest. For a guy who was starving, he didn’t look like he wanted toeven taste the sides. He pointed to the small dishes of food in front of him.

“I thought you said you were hungry.” He picked up a radish with his chopsticks and popped it in his mouth.

“I…ah—” Ari coughed delicately and looked away from the table, holding up his hand and flagging down their server. When she approached, he smiled and asked for a fork. After she’d walked away, he glanced at Eoghan. The embarrassment on his face was adorable. He gestured toward the chopsticks he was using. “Never learned to eat with those. There weren’t a hell of a lot of Asian places in my neighborhood back home.”

Eoghan chuckled. “I figured as much,” he said, using the tongs to flip their meat on the grill as their server returned with a set of cutlery. He watched Ari immediately unroll the napkin and use the fork to start in on his own kimchi. The way he closed his eyes, chewing the food like it was the most delicious piece of cabbage he’d ever tasted, was delightful.

“Oh, my God, this is so good. You were right about this place.” Ari immediately dug into the fried rice, practically inhaling it before reaching for his own tongs and taking his meat off the grill while Eoghan did the same. He used the small scissors on the table to cut the shoulder into bite sized pieces before putting one in his mouth. The flavor of the marinated meat was incredible.

“So, getting back to what we were talking about, no, I don’t have a degree in psychology,” Ari said. “But, I saw a lot of combat on the battlefield and lost some buddies. I understand how it feels to lose a brother or in your case a sister who walks by your side every day. Priest should have thought about that and given you time to grieve. Did she make you see someone afterward?”

Eoghan put his beef and shrimp on the grill beside Ari’s before replying. “Anytime someone loses a partner in the lineof duty, the I.S.R. makes it mandatory to see a counselor. It’s not the same if they die in a road accident.”

“Maybe it would help to see someone anyway? I know the U.S. Marshals office in Lexington kept someone on the payroll.”

“We have someone too and maybe you’re right. It could help,” Eoghan said, turning their food on the grill before picking up his chopsticks and eating more of the kimchi and rice.

Ari chuckled and pointed to his chopsticks. “If for nothing else, a counselor might tell you why you think eating rice with two wooden sticks is a good plan.”

Eoghan laughed, thoroughly enjoying the company. “So, tell me about Lexington. What made you request the transfer?”

“Lexington, Kentucky is like most towns in the south, not the most tolerant place to live. I just thought I’d like a change. An old friend who used to work in my office lives and works out here in L.A. now. Last summer, he came back to Lexington to work an old fugitive case with us. He met someone after moving here to L.A. and he just got married. He raved about the place so much; I decided it might be nice to make the switch.”

Their server came back and brought more food. After thanking her, Eoghan put more beef on the grill and started in on his rice again. He couldn’t help but smile as he balanced the food on his chopsticks.

“I’m curious,” he said, “and if you don’t want to ask, just tell me so, but you said Lexington isn’t the most tolerant place. Is there a lot of racism?”

Ari’s brows drew together as he seemed to ponder the question. When the answer came to him, he smiled. “Oh, you mean because I’m black. No. That’s not what I meant.” Hegazed into Eoghan’s eyes. “Yeah, there’s racism but you’ll find that all over. What I meant is there’s a lot of homophobia down there. At least, in the Marshals Service that is.”

Eoghan almost choked on the baby squid he’d been chewing. He felt his eyes tearing up as he held his napkin to his mouth. When he could finally speak again, his voice sounded hoarse. “Homophobia? You said something about your last boyfriend when you were talking to King John, but I thought you were just joking with him…you know, to stop him from flirting. But, it’s not that, right? You’re gay?”

Ari nodded. “As a spring parade,” he replied. “I really hope that’s not going to be a problem. It sounds like Chief Deputy Priest is running out of partners for you.” He smirked.

---