Seriously? The ole “have you been working out” chestnut? Was that still in circulation? Did guys go for that? Dex patted his stomach, his cheeks flushed. Apparently they did. Or it could be his idiot partner.
“Thanks. Yeah, it’s pretty intense,” Dex replied, looking embarrassed. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m not normally down this side of town, but we landed a big client and wanted to celebrate. One of the staff kept raving about this place. Something about some cute guy who’s always singing here and….” Lou’s eyes went wide and his hand flew dramatically to his lips. “Oh, hell. He’s talking about you, isn’t he?”
“Um….” Dex cleared his throat. “I’m sure I’m not the only guy to sing in here, with or without a Karaoke machine.”
“Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed. I should have known, especially when he mentioned the eighties songs.” Lou giggled and Sloane gritted his teeth. Under the table, Ash kicked him, and Sloane’s glare was enough to get his friend to back off.
Dex cringed. “Yeah, okay, he was probably talking about me.”
“This is so awkward. I’m probably the last person you wanted to see in here. I’ll grab my friends and go.” Lou turned, when to Sloane’s surprise, Dex caught his arm.
“Hey, listen, it’s cool. You and your friends have fun. It’s no big deal.”
It was Sloane’s turn to clear his throat, and he held back his aggravation at Dex’s startled expression, as if he’d forgotten he wasn’t alone.
“Shit, sorry. Lou, this is my partner at the THIRDS, Sloane Brodie, and my teammate Ash Keeler. Guys, this is Louis Huerta.”
“The guy who dumped you after you got beat up by your cop buddies, right?” Ash said pleasantly, a big grin stretching across his face.
With a heavy sigh, Dex turned his attention back to Lou. “Ignore him. He only has one setting—asshole.”
Lou looked nervously from Ash to Sloane, offering a tentative smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” He shifted his gaze to Dex. “You think we can talk a sec?”
“Okay.” Dex excused himself and followed Lou over to a small standing table toward the end of the room, away from the dance floor where it was conveniently atmospheric, with most of the lighting coming from the amber wall sconces and the candle in the center of the table.
“Well, well. Look who came crawling back,” Ash drawled.
Sloane decided he was definitely too sober for this evening. “What are you talking about?” Did he want to know?
Ash leaned forward, nodding toward the corner of the room where Lou and Dex were chatting. “Come on, man. Look at him. He can’t keep his hands off Dex.”
Sloane discreetly followed Ash’s gaze and frowned at Lou playing with Dex’s dog tags. He was obviously flirting. His hand went to Dex’s bicep, giving it a squeeze. Dex said something and Lou laughed, slapping Dex playfully on his side, making Dex wriggle. His partner was ticklish under his arms and down his ribs. Clearly, Lou was aware of the fact as well. It struck him then how Lou had more intimate knowledge of Dex than Sloane did. The thought brought a sour taste to his mouth.
“He might have bailed when the shit hit the fan, but Dex is a THIRDS agent now. His pretty-boy face has been all over the news since he joined. Love him or loathe him, he knows how to work the room and play to the crowd. Why do you think Lieutenant Sparks keeps loaning him out to the Community Relations Department? He’s got the PR agents practically wetting themselves.”
“Careful, Ash. Those are starting to sound like compliments.” Sloane couldn’t help his smile. It was rare moments like this one when Sloane wondered if deep down, Ash didn’t hate Dex as much as he said he did. His best friend was frustratingly hard to read at the best of times, much less when he was purposefully keeping something from Sloane.
“Fuck off. I’m just saying, Dex is in a whole new league and some people are bound to take notice, including those from his old life.”
“And you’re telling me this because?”
Ash shrugged, averting his gaze. “You’ve stopped moping. For the most part. I think
you’re mopey by nature. I’d hate for something or someone to come along and mess your shit up again.”
“I don’t fully understand what you’re trying to tell me, and it’s probably best I don’t.” Worse than Ash being a dick, was Ash being concerned. It happened so rarely, that when it did, Sloane didn’t know what to do with it.
“I’m saying, he’s your friend, and he’s helped you. He’s good for you.”
“So you keep telling me. Are you saying I should stop him from hooking up with someone, and the possibility of being in a happy relationship because he’s good for me? Is that what you’re saying?”
Ash blinked at him, looking truly confused. “Well, yeah.”
“You are… astounding.”
“I know.”