A teasing, fun Thane had Beckett taking his seat, questioning what alternate universe he’d landed in.
“I’ll take a Heineken,” he said to the waitress. Thane pointed to his cocktail glass and nodded to the waitress who gave a single nod in reply before she turned away.
Arik didn’t rest on any formality. He dug straight into the food, grabbing several crab balls off a plate. “Beckett, Thane was telling me you’re interested in our Julian.”
Thane cut a shocked gaze, his expression frustrated, toward Arik, throwing out a hand across the table in a clear what the hell motion. “We were supposed to ease into it, Layne.”
“I never understood why,” Arik said nonchalantly, picking up a small white plate and handing it across the table to Beckett. “Dig in. This grill has delicious food. Best crab cakes in California, and I’ve tried them all to know for sure.”
“He’s probably not lying about that,” Thane muttered as he picked from one of the five plates of appetizers in front of them.
The Be Bold Initiative infusing Beckett’s confidence took a solid hit at the direct confrontation. Uncomfortable, Beckett sat back in the seat, looking between the two men. In every conceivable way he’d planned for this meeting to go, it was nothing like this.
“He doesn’t talk much,” Arik said, then placed a nice-size bite of the crab ball in his mouth.
“No, he doesn’t ever say much at all, except to Levi.” Thane gave Beckett a menacing stare until the table jolted. Beckett liked assuming Arik had kicked Thane underneath the table. And Thane’s actions—whipping his head toward Arik and giving him the same glare Beckett had received—confirmed his theory. “I bet that leaves a mark. You could have just told me I veered off course.”
“But then that’d be less like a kick and more like a reasonable exchange,” Arik said cheekily while chomping the food in his mouth. “You and I don’t do reasonable.”
At least Beckett knew now that he wasn’t the only one Thane ever got pushy with.
“Right before you arrived, I was telling Layne that you owned a survival training company. It’s highly respected.” Thane’s hand motioned toward Beckett as he continued to speak to Arik about Beckett as if he had some sort of insider information. “He’s the owner, operator, and lead instructor, if my Google search is to be believed.” Thane’s penetrating gaze landed on Beckett. “Did I get it correct?”
Beckett confirmed with a nod.
The one thing that Beckett had struggled with since first seeing Julian was how the club and its employees were overly protective of the man. Maybe a tipsy Arik Layne, or Thane Walker for that matter, might loosen their lips enough to let something spill.
Thankfully, his beer was placed in front of him.
He nodded his appreciation to the waitress, grabbing a napkin and placing it in his lap for nothing more than to crush in his fist when needed.
“He’s got manners, Walker,” Arik said aloud as if defending Beckett. “He told me you were one of those outdoorsmen. You don’t say much. They call you the Marlboro Man at the club.” Arik squinted as if to assess Beckett from a different angle.
“Oh yeah, he’s a perfect Marlboro Man,” the waitress chimed in, giving Beckett a wink as she cleared the empty glasses from the table.
Beckett lifted the bottle and took a couple of hearty swallows, thinking about the nickname he’d been given. He had no real idea what it meant. When he’d first heard the name, he’d adamantly explained to Levi that he wasn’t a smoker and never had been. Levi only laughed at him.
“I don’t really know what that means,” Beckett finally said when the waitress left the table, looking between Arik and Thane, who appeared to be waiting for his answer. Beckett nodded toward Thane. “He hasn’t been my biggest fan.”
In the middle of taking a drink, Thane began to choke at Beckett’s directness. Arik laughed and reached over to casually pat his buddy’s back. “He’s protective of our Julian. We all are. Give him a break.”
Beckett paused with the bottle halfway to his lips. “Why protective?”
He placed the beer bottle back on the table under the heavy weight of their stares. With how serious both Arik and Thane had become, it couldn’t be good.
“He doesn’t know?” Arik’s brow lifted in question as he focused on Thane.
“No, I don’t think so,” Thane answered. Then both men turned expectant stares on Beckett again. He remained silent as his heart drummed with uncertainty.
Beckett tried not to overthink what could have happened to change Arik’s happy-go-lucky expression. “Is Julian taken? Is that the deal here? You have Levi,” Beckett said to Thane then turned his attention to Arik. “Are you and Julian together? Have I overstepped?”
Arik chuckled, lifting a glass of water, taking a long drink as he wiggled his ring finger for Beckett to see. “Married for a few years now. What’s your backstory?”