“Interesting buildin’,” Robert said.
Henry huffed a soft laugh.
Looking back over his shoulder, Robert crooked an eyebrow. “What?”
“Just... that word, you know?Interesting.It, uhm, it has a new meaning to me now,” Henry said, his cheeks turning pink.
Robert’s face broke into a smile, and blood rushed to his own cheeks too.
“Yeah, I suppose it means somethin’ kind of sinful to me now too,” Robert said.
He bit his bottom lip in a way that he knew wasmightysuggestive. Henry’s eyes bulged.
“Robert, we’re in a church!” he whisper-yelled.
Laughing, Robert threw Henry a wink.
“Good God,” Henry said, fanning himself as he turned on his heel.
Robert continued to laugh as he followed Henry back to where they were supposed to go.
Soon enough, Robert and Henry reached a large open space. It was probably the room that the church typically used for wedding receptions and such but was now being used for the contest. They both stopped in the threshold to take everything in. Chairs had been put out in rows that took up three whole walls of space, and in front of the farthest wall, there were a bunch of cots laid out with pillows on top. In the nearest corner to their right, there was a table. On it were pitchers of water and a couple of copper chafing dishes. From the smell—buttery and sweet with hints of cinnamon—Robert suspected the organizers were keeping some porridge or oatmeal warm for the contestants.
Henry and Robert were still gawking when Rose ran up to them.
“Isn’t thisexciting?” she said, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “I’ve never seen something like this before. Back when I lived in New York, I went to some events in the playhouses and theaters, but they weren’t ever as large as this. Goodness, we’ll remember this for the rest of our lives. Did you see the cots? I can barely believe we’ll be sleeping on those! Only for a couple of minutes here and there, but still, it seems so fantastical to me.”
Henry said, “Well, I can’t imagine I’ll sleep much. I mean, not with everyone watchin’.”
“Hen, you might find that yer too tired to resist,” Robert said with a smirk. “If what I read in them newspapers was right, that is.”
Henry’s face fell, and Robert’s stomach sank with regret over what was supposed to have been a lighthearted tease. While Robert was racking his brain to try to come up with something to say to fix it, Rose began to rub Henry’s back.
“I know I’m supposed to be rooting for myself, but I’ve watched you unload those shipments for the store sometimes, and Iknowyou have the energy to outlast most of these people.” She shimmied her shoulders and said, “Well, except for me and Joe. Trust me, the two of us, we haveplentyof energy.”
Robert nearly choked on his own spittle. Holy hell, he hadn’t never met a woman who made such filthy comments! Of course, he hadn’t never had a real friendship with a woman, either. Not other than Clara. And Clara was nothing if not modest.
While Robert was mentally reeling from Rose’s bedroom commentary, Henry only chuckled, shaking head in a way that suggested this wasn’t new to him.
He said, “Uhm, well, I think them cots are only forsleepin’, so...”
Rose threw her head back and let out a full-bodied laugh, one that was so Goddamn cheerful and free, it made Robert smile too.
“Come on, we need to put in our names,” Rose said, taking Henry’s hand. She began pulling him toward a tiny table on the far side of the room. “It costs two bucks to enter.”
Robert frowned. Damn. Henry better win. Between the bit of money Henry had given Joe for fuel and this entry fee, that was likely the last of Henry’s savings. Robert moved to follow but stopped himself. Henry was laughing easily now, much of the worry having vanished from his face, and even though Robertwanted to stay with his man to help keep up his confidence and make him happy, it seemed that he wasn’t needed right now.
Dammit. It was hard not to be needed. Butnotbeing needed was what was needed from him right now. So, Robert forced himself to head for the spectator chairs and sit with the fact that his future was in Henry’s hands.
Chapter Eighteen
Robert
Thirty-twohourslater,Robert’seyes were fluttering closed, his body heavy and mind foggy.He hadn’t slept a wink. He’d been intermittently tensing his muscles for the entirety of the competition, both from worrying over the potential outcome and from having to watch Henry hugging Audrey close for so Goddamn long. Once Henry and Audrey had become too tired to keep themselves upright, they started hanging on each other, taking turns keeping the other up, as Robert had predicted. Christ, the competition couldn’t be over soon enough.
Right now, the only people left were Henry and Audrey, Rose and Joe, and some other couple, though they looked to be in their thirties or forties. No way them two would outlast Henry and Audrey. Rose and Joe, though, Robert could see them winning instead, which wouldn’t have been so terrible had it not been for the fact that Robert and Henry needed the money so Goddamn bad.
With a huff, Robert sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and tried to ignore the fact that his stomach was growling. Loudly. Loudly enough that he could hear it over the music. He’d been so wound up since the beginning of the competition that he hadbarely even eaten. Earlier that morning, the competition organizers had cooked eggs—real Goddamn eggs!—for the competitors and spectators both, and even though they had smelled and looked like the best batch of eggs Robert might ever have seen in his whole fucking life, he had only managed four or five bites. Henry had inhaled two plates, though. Thank God for that.