Booker walked into the chapel spotting Hanson right away. He strode over to him and sat on his desk.
"So Tommy wanna come out for a drink with me after work?" Booker asked smiling.
"I'm sorry, when did we become friends?" Hanson asked smugly.
"Oh come on...We are friends." Booker stated nonchalantly.
Hanson turned serious, "Actually, Booker we are not friends! So, my answer is NO."
"Jeez, fine. You didn't have to yell." Booker frowned walking away, "He is in an unusually bad mood..."
See, the thing about Dennis Booker was he didn't really mean to be an asshole but sometimes it just happened. He and Hanson got off to a bad start, mostly because Dennis lied right off the bat. He never told anyone at Jump Street that he was IAD. Tommy had figured it out for himself and blew his cover, not to mention he broke into his apartment.
Booker tried hard not to think about what was going on with Tom Hanson, so he drowned himself in paperwork. A few hours later Hanson walked over to the coffee pot, and Booker followed. This time, however, Booker didn't say anything. Tom was the first to break the silence.
"I'm sorry. About before...I-I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." Tom said.
"It's fine. I forgot all about it until you brought it up."Booker grinned genuinely, "Now, how 'bout that drink?"
"Sure, yeah. I could definitely use one." Hanson said, "Gimme five minutes."
Booker nodded, smiling to himself as Hanson walked back to his desk. Booker watched intensely as Tom cleaned up the paper work and quickly downed his coffee. He then threw on his coat and grinned at Booker.
"Kay, let's get outta here." Hanson replied, "So, you're not mad at me because I yelled?"
Booker answered as he and Tom climbed into the blue mustang.
"Nah, Tommy. I kinda figured you were just having a bad day." Booker started, "So, what's the matter?"
Hanson looked at him questioningly, "You really wanna know?"
Booker tensed, "Of course. If I didn't I wouldn't have asked."
Tom looked at him seriously, "I'll tell you, but you have to promise you won't laugh?"
Booker smiled, "Come on, I can't promise that, man."
Booker laughed and playfully punched him.
Hanson frowned, "Well, I sorta like someone..."
"Okay and what's the problem?" Booker asked grimly, "I don't see a problem."
"Well it's someone I never thought I'd like in a million years, but I can't tell them I like them..." Hanson frowned, "Besides that I don't want to like them. This person is annoying, irritating, and this person makes me crazy."
"Good crazy or bad crazy?" Booker grinned.
"I don't know. Sometimes I think it's bad, but other times I'm okay with it." Hanson stated.
Booker burst out laughing, "Wow, Tommy, seems like you do have a big problem."
Hanson frowned, "It's really not funny."
Booker playfully hit him while he started the car.
"Look, man it's only going to make it worse if you don't tell her. You might as well, besides she might not drive you as crazy as you think." Booker grinned lighting a cigarette.
Tom shook his head, "Her?"
"Uh, yeah Tommy. You do like a girl, right?"
Tom Hanson knew that he could never admit to Booker that he liked a guy. Dennis Booker was as straight as they come and if he knew that Tom liked a guy, things between them could get complicated. Aside from that Dennis Booker wouldn't take the news well because he was the guy Tom liked.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course. " Tom smiled driving towards his favorite bar.
"Why don't we go to my house? I have beer and I can make dinner..." Booker grinned.
"You actually cook?" Tom replied.
"Of course, I'm Italian. I can make us some pasta with my homemade sauce." Dennis laughed, "Drive fast I'm dying to light a cigarette."
Tom frowned, "Ya know, those things are gonna kill ya."
"Yeah, just like alcohol and drugs. No worries Tommy, just get me outta this car." Booker cried.
"Sure thing." Tom smiled.
Hanson drove faster weaving in and out of traffic. In ten minutes he pulled up to Booker's apartment. As soon as the car stopped Booker hopped out and lit his cig. Booker threw him the keys so he could go inside and wait.
"Just don't let my dog out." Booker said letting out the smoke.
"You have a dog?" Hanson breathed.
"Not really. He's a surprise for my mom. I'm not one for animals. I'm not an animal person at all, but then again I'm not much of a people person either." Booker laughed, "Oh and ignore the mess"
Hanson nodded making his way to the front door. This was the first time he had ever been to Booker's place; well the first time he was invited anyway. He opened the door, leaning down to pet the puppy as he walked in. Tom opened the fridge and grabbed two beers. As he set the beers down on the table, Dennis came in from smoking.
"Who's a good boy? Yes, you are." Dennis bent down to great the pup.
"Not an animal person my ass." Hanson laughed.
"Shut up Hanson." Booker chuckled, "You can watch TV if you want while I cook."
Booker walked into the kitchen and began gathering up everything he would need to make their meal. Hanson turned on the TV, but he wasn't really interested. As Booker moved around the kitchen, Tom couldn't help but watch his every move. Booker removed his jacket revealing a white tank which definitely accented him beautifully tanned muscles. A few moments later he turned his attention back to the TV, it was a good thing too because Booker turned around and strode towards him.
"So, Tommy whatcha watching?"
"Baseball." Tom stated.
Booker pulled up a seat next to him. Hanson tensed, he didn't know what Booker wanted but he seemed to be watching him more than the game that was on.
"So, Tommy about this girl...are you going to tell her how you feel?" Booker asked, "Cuz if not, I kinda have something to talk to you about."
"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Tom asked curiously.
Booker sighed, "Well, Tommy I..."
Booker got up and started pacing. He didn't plan to tell Tom how he felt. Booker knew Tom would freak out, he was just that type of guy. The truth was that he couldn't afford any more hostility between him and Tom. He didn't want to ruin how far they had come. A year ago they hated each other, not Booker so much. He really couldn't hate anyone but Tom hated his guts.
"Sit down Booker. You're making me nervous." Hanson laughed, "Now, breathe and say what you need to say."
"Well, I just don't want this to change anything between us." Booker frowned.
Hanson smiled, "Look, I'm sure it will be fine. It's not like you're asking me out..."
As Hanson laughed, Booker groaned.
"Oh god..." Tom looked shocked.
"Look, Hamburger that isn't it. Forget it. It's not important." Booker stated walking back toward the kitchen.
It was the second time he watched Dennis Booker walk away from him that day, the only difference was this time he followed him.
"Booker...Dennis?" Hanson said as Booker backed up towards the counter, "If you were going to ask me out, I wouldn't hate the idea."
"Oh, Hamburger, you really have a way with words." Booker said sarcastically.
"Shut up, Booker."
Hanson moved toward him and kissed him. Booker moaned into the kiss and kissed back passionately. Finally pulling away to breath, Hanson smiled at him.
"Alright, now that we got that out of the way, why don't you let me feed you?" Booker said raising an eyebrow, "Then after we can have some dessert!"
Tom laughed, knowing he wasn't actually talking about the type of dessert you can eat. Booker joined in his laughter; he knew he never wanted to let Tom Hanson go. He meant more to him than anyone knew. Booker was going to make it a point to keep him as long as possible.