Uh-oh. “Cael….” He didn’t want to sound like a jerk, but he was really starting to worry about his brother. Cael had a bad habit of making rash decisions when he was hurting.
“What?” His brother frowned at him. “I can hang with whoever I want. It’s not like I’ve got a boyfriend or anything.”
Cael’s harsh tone during the last part didn’t get past Dex. Judging by the grimace Ash gave, it hadn’t gotten past him either.
“Seb’s a nice guy. I like talking to him. He respects me and doesn’t treat me like I’m a stupid kid.”
Ash’s head snapped up. “I never treated you like you were a stupid kid, and I always respected you.”
Dex braced himself. He felt Sloane’s hand rest on his knee under the table. Apparently Dex wasn’t the only one bracing himself.
Cael smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry, Ash. You’re right. You’ve always treated me with respect. What I meant to say is that I like how Seb has the balls to go after what he wants.”
Fucking hell. Sloane squeezed Dex’s knee. What exactly did his partner think Dex could do? Cael was old enough to do what he wanted. Dex glanced at Ash, expecting the larger Therian to get angry or lash out. Instead, Ash went back to staring at his drink. Now what? Dex was about to make an attempt to diffuse the situation when Seb showed up.
“Hey, guys.”
Everyone greeted him, some more enthusiastically than others. Seb didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy flirting with Cael. He poked Cael on his side, making Cael wriggle and laugh.
“Damn it, Seb. I told you I was ticklish there.”
“That’s why I do it,” Seb teased, leaning into Cael. “I like to see you squirm.”
Well wasn’t this just craptastic. Not that Dex was against Seb flirting with Cael. In fact, Seb was a really good guy, aside from the fact he was still in love with Hudson. But then again, if Hudson wouldn’t give Seb the time of day, the guy had every right to move on. Jesus Christ, MTV would make a mint with a reality TV show about their unit. The relationship drama alone would carry the ratings, forget the actual fieldwork. Dex hoped Cael didn’t end up hurting Seb. The tiger Therian seemed genuinely interested in Cael. He took Cael’s hand with the pretense of fiddling with the Pac-Man wristband Cael had on. His brother loved swiping Dex’s stuff when he wasn’t looking. “I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink sometime this weekend. Maybe grab a bite to eat?”
Dex and Sloane exchanged glances, and Dex noticed his brother’s eyes dart to Ash, the gesture going unnoticed by Seb. This was Ash’s chance. Speak up, Ash. Dex couldn’t believe he was rooting for the guy. The muscles in Ash’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say a word.
Hurt flashed through Cael’s face before he smiled up at Seb. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Great,” Seb smiled brightly. “Let me give you my number.”
Cael reached into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone, tapping the screen before handing it to Seb so he could input his number. Then he called Seb so the guy would have his.
“How about Friday after work?”
“That’d be perfect,” Cael replied, his big smile not reaching his eyes.
“Great! Looking forward to it.” Seb waved to the rest of them before cheerfully, and obliviously, walking off. The table was uncomfortably quiet before Ash cursed under his breath, grabbed his jacket and left.
Dex came to stand beside his brother. “Cael, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I put myself out there, and he turned me down without so much as a reason why. I deserved that much. What am I supposed to do? Follow Ash around like some lovesick puppy, living off whatever scraps of affection he throws my way? It’d kill me, Dex.” Cael jumped off the table, his silvery eyes cold. “You were right. I should’ve put a stop to it when I saw it coming.”
Dex didn’t have time to reply. Cael sprinted off to catch up with Seb. He said something, and Seb nodded. He took Cael’s hand and led him to the dance floor.
“That went well,” Sloane muttered.
“Do you want to go after Ash?”
Sloane shook his head. “He needs some time on his own. I’m sure we’ll see him tonight at your place. You sure you don’t mind giving him a key?”
“I trust him.” Dex turned to Sloane with a smile. “Wanna dance?”
“After I give you your birthday present.” Sloane wriggled his brows, and Dex couldn’t help but laugh.
“You look like you’re about to do a striptease.” Dex gasped dramatically and clapped his hands, doing a little bounce. “Are you going to do a striptease? Please tell me you’re going to do a striptease. I’d considered hiring strippers for tonight but then remembered this was a birthday party.”
Sloane rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not going to do a striptease.”