The moment their gazes connected, a shock wave rushed through his system, setting his heart thumping wildly against his ribcage. How many times had he wished for this very moment when he had sat in this seat for hours, even days, lusting after that man? Beckett lifted the burger a few inches, giving a small grin while nodding his appreciation.
“You know, I’m really interested in what’s changed here,” Levi said, looking over his shoulder toward Julian who had turned his focus back on his work.
Beckett dug into the burger.
“Does Thane know you’re here?” Beckett asked before taking another bite.
“Ha!” The question had managed to gain Levi’s undivided attention. “Yes, he knows. Why has Julian changed his tune toward you?” Levi narrowed his eyes in speculation like the answers were written on Beckett’s face as he continued to eat. “You’ve been busy since you got back. All Thane said is that you’re good for Julian. He asked me to come over here tonight and be nice to you until he can get here. And before you answer, I’m going on record to say: You and Thane sitting down to talk is technically what I’ve suggested for months now. So I get the win.”
Beckett nodded, swallowing his bite, listening to the undertone of Levi’s uncertainty. He had rationalized a long time ago that even though Thane Walker was an absolute dick, what Thane and Levi had was now his own goal for a relationship. They were so into each other and fit together so well that he likened them to peanut butter and jelly. It just didn’t get any better than that.
Once Beckett had made that decision, he recognized how being friendly with Levi might have made Thane uncomfortable. But, fuck, Thane never stopped with all his intensity. It always rolled off him in waves. Maybe Thane’s jealousy pointed more toward being Levi’s fault. Levi had made Thane work awful hard to build their relationship. Levi drove Thane crazy, and Beckett was certain he didn’t even know the half of it.
“That’s what you ordered at Danny’s, right?” Julian asked, sliding stealthily up to the table from out of nowhere. With one hand, Julian hurriedly deposited a small set of salt and pepper shakers and a few more napkins.
“Yeah, and it’s great,” Beckett started when Julian used his other hand to bring a second plate forward with another wrapped burger on top. Beckett had always heard the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, which meant Julian dazzled right about now. “Thank you.”
“I felt like you would have eaten two if I hadn’t been there, so I ordered you another. It came separately,” Julian explained, working at cleaning their table the whole time he spoke. He used a napkin to wipe away the beads of condensation gathered from the cocktail glass that Julian pushed toward Beckett. “Drink this so I can take the glass.”
Beckett was nothing if not obedient, at least to Julian. He took the cocktail glass and downed the swallow or two left inside.
“What?” Julian asked with attitude. As Beckett drank with his head dropping backward, making sure he got every last drop, his eyes slid sideways toward Levi, whose mouth gaped wide open.
“I’m really out of the loop,” Levi finally said, stunned, looking between Beckett and Julian. His confusion showed on his face as his finger swept back and forth between Beckett and Julian. “What’s happened here?”
“Thanks to the love of your life, the Marlboro Man here knows what’s going on with me.” Julian cocked his pretty head in Beckett’s direction. “He trained me this afternoon in some self-defense techniques, per Thane’s request.” In a classic Julian kind of move, he reached across the table to tap Levi’s chin, encouraging his mouth closed when he opened it again, but no words came out. “Be careful. You’ll collect flies.”
Julian took the cocktail glass from Beckett’s outstretched hand, his gaze scanning the tabletop one last time for anything left behind before turning away. Beckett committed fully to watching Julian’s ass as he walked away, preparing for the visual treat of Julian’s swagger in the tight-fitting slacks he always wore. Beckett quickly adjusted his gaze up when Julian turned back to the table in mid-step. He wasn’t near fast enough in his inebriated state. Julian caught him red-handed and gave Beckett a knowing smirk as he spoke to Levi.
“You can tell your boy here how you and I met. I think that’s the only part of my story he doesn’t know. He hasn’t seen the scars.” Julian’s demeanor grew darker with those words as he shifted his gaze to Beckett. “So now you know about those.”
Something heavy and emotional crossed Julian’s troubled brow. Beckett had seen those glimpses of pain over the last couple of days but had no real idea what Julian tried so hard to hide from the rest of the world. Like a mask dropping in place, Julian’s carefree attitude returned just like that. Now Beckett knew differently. It never occurred to him that Julian’s insecurities might be both mental and physical. His heart connected as he watched Julian busily handle the small things that arose as he went by the other tables, heading back to the bar.