He heard Dana close his laptop then the loud sound of his footsteps as his boots thudded on the hardwood floor. Ford turned around, waiting for Dana to come in, when he recognized the fluttering of nerves in the pit of his stomach. It was insane. He was never nervous. He’d dodged bullets on the battlefield, jumped from planes, boats, led missions with nerves of steel, but the thought of telling Dana he didn’t mean to put the man’s sex life in the open or imply anything inappropriate between the two of them was making him apprehensive. He went to the coffee pot and got started with brewing a strong pot to busy himself. There wasn’t very much in the room besides empty cabinets and a mounted flat screen television that stayed on CNN at all times. A refrigerator, coffee maker, and two four-top tables. It was a room rarely used.
“You wanted to talk,” Dana said. He sounded different. Breathy.
Oh Jesus. “Yeah. Look. About today. It was unprofessional and I’m sorry. There’s no reason for me to bring your personal shit into work. I distracted you during an important training session and that was fucked up. It won’t happen again.”
Dana ran his hand through the long hairs on top of his head, making them fall messily in various directions. Ford watched the movement, noticed every detailed tattoo that made up the intricate sleeves on Dana’s arms. “I think I was already distracted. I’ve had a lot on my mind and all you did was voice what I was already thinking.”
Ford wasn’t expecting that response so he stayed quiet, wanting Dana to keep talking.
“I, um. I just don’t wanna be a dick to her, ya know. She really is good people, she’s just from the other side of the tracks. But we’re together for the wrong reasons.” Dana’s voice was back to its usual smooth, deep tone. He propped his lean hips up on the table, one boot on the chair, getting comfortable.
“The wrong reasons?” Ford sagged back against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest while he waited on the coffee. He hoped it brewed slowly. He was no Dr. Phil, but he’d listen to his partner and let him get whatever he needed to off his chest.
Dana’s mouth quirked up on one side and he shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I guess. She’s defying Daddy by dating the bad boy with a GED and working-class lineage, and I was… I was surprised she gave me the time of day at—”
“Seriously? That’s why you’re with her?” Ford didn’t want to sound like an asshole. But Dana had never come off as a man with low self-esteem. When he was around them he was all cockiness and certainty. He was an awarded marksman for shit’s sake. Had competed against some of the world’s finest shooters and won. What did he have to be self-conscious about? This girl was really doing a number on him and Ford only disliked her that much more.
“No it’s not the only reason I’m with her. I did like her in—”
“Did?”
Dana smiled at him. “Stop cutting me off.”
Ford felt the effects of that incredible smile all the way to the pit of his stomach.
“Yeah, I like her, but we’d be better off friends is all.”
Ford hummed, not wanting to reveal his relief at hearing that. He told himself he was only happy because it meant Dana would be fully focused on work again, but in the back of his mind there was a little voice saying, “You just want him single again.”
“So thank you for knocking some sense into me. Literally.” Dana rubbed his hand over his chest.
Ford shook his head and turned back around towards the coffee pot before Dana could see the slight smile tugging at his own lips.
“Hey! I saw that. Was that a smile?” Dana came down off the table and was next to him, peering around so he could see his face better. “Your neck’s a little red, too. Holy shit, are you blushing?”
Ford shouldered him away. He worked hard to school his features, but Dana’s humor and excitement were contagious. “Go on, brat, you’re annoying me now.”
“Mm hmm.” Dana’s smile spread across his handsome face. He stood close to him and reached for the coffee pot and a disposable cup. Their bare forearms brushed against each other and Ford had to be careful of his reaction to Dana’s warm skin. “It’s been a while since you smiled, Ford.”
“I smile,” Ford grumbled, reaching for his own cup.
“I mean, at me,” Dana said a little softer.
Ford turned and looked down, but Dana wasn’t looking up at him. There were several responses on the tip of his tongue but he held in each one. They were veering back into that inappropriate territory and Ford just couldn’t go there. Dana was off limits. A man Ford’s age shouldn’t be lusting after a man thirteen years younger than him, no matter how much said man might be lusting right back.