cheek until he had his full attention. ‘Eat,’ he ordered, and Simon’s chest heaved with a sigh before he obeyed. ‘Do you not want me to be friendly with Fitz?’
‘I like him,’ Simon answered with a shrug. Rocco liked the way his cheeks bulged with food, the way he didn’t seem to care how he looked as he devoured his lunch. ‘I don’t think I gave them the benefit of the doubt,’ the letters of the last four words were clumsy on his hand, but Rocco followed them. ‘I’m trying to be better.’
‘I know,’ Rocco told him. He leaned in to smudge a kiss on Simon’s cheek. ‘You’re amazing.’
Simon shook his head, but he looked pleased, and the two of them finished their lunch in relative silence after that. When Rocco got everything put away, Simon was on his feet and near the door, so Rocco crowded him against the wood and pressed their bodies together from chest to groin.
“I want you,” he murmured, then leaned in to kiss Simon’s neck. He grinned when he felt Simon get hard, and then grinned wider when he realized that Simon wasn’t near the edge. Pulling back, Rocco cocked his head to the side. “I want to take you on a date.”
Simon’s eyes went wide and he freed some space to sign. ‘A date?’
Rocco nodded. ‘A real date. We’re dating, but we haven’t gone on a date. I want to romance you.’
Simon bit his lower lip to hide his smile—though it didn’t work. ‘Okay.’
Rocco smiled big enough to show teeth. ‘When? Friday?’
‘Shabbat,’ Simon signed apologetically.
Rocco shook his head. ‘Sorry, forgot. Saturday night. After sunset.’
Simon’s smile was back, and he nodded shyly. ‘Okay.’
‘Okay,’ Rocco echoed before kissing him again. ‘Meet you at the Market soon?’
Simon dug his phone out of his pocket, looked at the time, then nodded. ‘I’ll load up in the car and text you when I’m on my way.’
Rocco nuzzled their noses together, kissed him again, then stepped back fully. ‘I’ll have the booth ready.’
Simon’s eyes met his, and Rocco held his breath. They were on the edge of something he was afraid to admit—aloud or on his hands. But it passed. Simon stood on his toes to kiss him one last time, then led the way back down the stairs.
Chapter Eighteen
Simon shielded his eyes against the last full rays of the low-set sun. Behind him, Rocco was hauling the bins which held most of the stuff he’d baked the night before, and some into the afternoon. Boxes of cookies, babka, and sufganiyot filled with an array of creams and jams. It was nothing like he’d done before, but everything Bubbe would have appreciated, and he liked to think she’d be happy for him, even if she might not have fully approved that he was falling for an adult film star with a chaotic life.
Bubbe had wanted Simon to be happy—and, b’ezrat hashem, he was.
Reaching into the bin at his feet, Simon swallowed back his nerves as he pulled out the sign he’d made after Rocco left, and turned toward him. He waited until Rocco was done unpacking the breads, then he gently tapped his elbow. ‘Can I show you something?’
Rocco smiled at him and stepped back toward the edge of the booth. ‘Everything okay?’
It was—mostly. Simon couldn’t shake the fear, especially once the filming was over, that Rocco wouldn’t have a reason to stay. Cherry Creek wasn’t posh like Hollywood. It didn’t have things to do the way Rocco was used to. The people here were small-town locals without a lot of worldly experience.
Rocco had been relaxed that afternoon, but Simon recognized the strain of communication in him, and he wondered now how long it was going to take for Rocco to get tired of putting in all the effort. Simon couldn’t be with him all the time, and he knew deep down, Rocco didn’t want another lover as an interpreter. And frankly, Simon didn’t want to fill that role all the time either.
He’d been struck with an idea when Kyle had asked him to help with a few basic signs, and he’d run with it, but he felt fear gripping his throat and his hands felt frozen. What if Rocco was offended? What if it was a stupid idea?
Rocco brushed a touch to Simon’s cheek. ‘Simon.’
He’d never get tired of seeing his sign name on Rocco’s big hands. Licking his lips, he nodded and held up the sign. ‘I thought we could try this tonight.’
Rocco looked at him, then