Page 51 of Rainbow Rodeo

“Oh good. I thought you’d forgot.” Damn, that look made things tingle all over.

“Nope. Not gonna do that. I can’t wait to see you ride.”

They stared at each other, suddenly panting hard. The arrival of the artichoke snapped the tension, though, and Dalton could breathe again.

“So, this looks complicated.” It looked like an armadillo’s butt.

“It’s not, though.” Tank reached over and yanked a leaf off the steamed artichoke. “Grab a leaf. Dip it in the butter or the mayo stuff.” Tank suited words to action. “Then stick it in your mouth and scrape all the good stuff off with your teeth. The opposite of a blow job.”

He blinked, then started laughing hard. Lord, this was fun. So he tore off a piece and did what Tank told him, pulling off the tender inside of the artichoke with his teeth.

Oh, now. That was nice. Green and rich and different. He’d never done that before. He’d had a few artichoke hearts from the salad bar. Not at all the same. He’d expected vinegar and sharp. This was earthy and mild, and the dip was something special.

“You like it?”

“I do. It’s totally different. Who looked at this and thought it was edible?”

“No idea. Did you know they’re thistles? I looked it up once.” Ah, Tank had the Google fu.

“Huh. Like the purple flowers?” Weren’t those thistles?

“Yeah, only these are from Italy instead of Scotland, I think.” Tank ate another couple of leaves. “We get to the middle, we get the heart.”

“Cool.” He had no idea what that meant either, but he’d figure it. This was easy enough, at least. Tasty too. They got all the leaves stacked in another bowl, and darned if Tank didn’t grab the knife and cut this fuzzy stuff out of the middle. Then he handed Dalton a delicate piece of light yellow plant meat, and Dalton did know this. This was what he got on salads, except when he popped it in his mouth, it was buttery soft and mild, so amazing he blinked.

“That was… wow.” Totally not what he’d expected. Not.

“Right?” Tank ate his piece off the knife, humming. “Good shit.”

“Yeah. That was cool. Thanks.” He couldn’t wait to show Dustin.

“It was. Thanks for sharing.” The toe of Tank’s boot touched his ankle, and he heated, balls up.

“You looking forward to Durango?”

Tank nodded. “I am. I always like it there. They’ve got a nice little arena.”

“They do. It’s a great town. I love the train.”

“Me too! You ever taken it in the winter? It’s like Christmas town.” Tank was so enthusiastic.

“I haven’t. I need to start traveling in the winter instead of sleeping the whole time.”

“Are you like an old bear?” Tank teased.

“I am! I get home and no one needs me, and I just hide for two months.”

“I get bored.” Tank looked a little sheepish. “So I wander. And at the big show, we got maybe a month, so I didn’t go home-home.”

“Well, maybe you’d like someone to wander with some.”

Tank nodded, slow and serious. “I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”

“Me either.” Okay, this was weird and wonderful.

“Good.”

The steaks came, and oh yeah. That was way more his speed, way more familiar. It was mouthwatering. They set to the food, not even making conversation until half was gone. By the time they were done, he figured they needed another walk. Maybe a long one.

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