Blood & Thunder (THIRDS 2)

Dex threw a hand toward the bar. “My life is ruined.”

“Is that your ex talking to Sloane?”

“Yep.”

“They’re laughing together.”

“Yep.”

Rosa cringed. “Ooh, your ex is spilling the beans, isn’t he?”

“Apparently, in exchange for being my friend, Lou gets to tell Sloane whatever he wants to know. Sloane knows about the Waking Dead, Rosa! The Waking Dead!”

“I… I don’t know what that means, but I’m going to assume that’s bad.” She looked to Cael with a shrug.

“That’s bad,” Cael said, looking concerned. “He really told Sloane about the Waking Dead?”

“Yes!” He needed a drink. “I need a drink. Someone get me something that’ll get me shitfaced. I need to soften the blow of this heinous breach of the ex-boyfriend code of honor.”

“No such thing,” Letty chipped in.

“Et tu, Letty?”

Ash pushed his whiskey glass containing a clear drink in front of Dex. “Vodka and lemonade. You wanna inhale the fumes? That should be enough.”

“Screw you.” Dex snatched up the glass and threw the contents back. “Damn it, Ash,” Dex wheezed. “You dickhead. There was no lemonade in that at all, just vodka!”

Ash let out an evil cackle. “I know. I really enjoy watching you get shitfaced.” Cael let out a fierce yawn and rested his head against Ash’s shoulder. With a chuckle, Ash wrapped an arm around Cael. “Looks like someone might be ready to call it a night.”

“Damn. I really wanted to get more drunk. Drunker. My brain’s given up.” Cael sat up, his hair sticking out on one side of his head. He grinned sleepily at Ash. “I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

Dex arched an eyebrow at his brother, his face feeling flushed. Looked like the vodka was doing its job. Sweet. “You pick Ash up for work?”

“Yeah, we carpool. Saves on gas,” Cael replied with another yawn. “So what? You and Sloane carpool.”

Dex opened his mouth then quickly shut it. He and Sloane carpooled because they were more often than not waking up after a night of horizontal poking. “True,” he muttered, though it didn’t exactly scratch the particular itch he got when he thought about his brother carpooling with Ash. Neither had to worry about scrimping on gas money. He doubted Ash was the environmentally conscious sort. They weren’t even partners. What was the real reason they carpooled, and whose idea was it? Could it be possible his brother actually—gasp—enjoyed hanging with Ash? Ash caught him contemplating and scowled at him.

“Don’t hurt yourself, Daley. My apartment’s not far from Cael’s, and it’s on the way to work. Plus sometimes we hang out if it gets late, or we have a few too many, and the last thing I want to do is worry about facing morning traffic. I am not a morning person.”

Dex blinked at him. “You? Grumpy in the morning?” He jumped from his chair and held his hands out. “Stop. Everyone stop what you’re doing.” The people seated closest to them stopped to observe in amusement. “This is serious news. Ash Keeler, the warm, fuzzy bunny you see before you, is not a morning person. He is, in fact, grumpy. You might want to tweet that. The world shouldn’t be deprived of this shattering revelation. Thank you for your time.” He resumed his seat, a wave of fuzziness washing over him and making him all tingly. Yay, vodka. He grinned broadly at Ash, who ignored him to address Cael. Pfft. Rude.

“Ten squads, Cael. Your dad could have put him on any other squad, but no, he sticks Dudley Do-Right on ours. Be honest with me. Your dad hates me, doesn’t he?”

“Everyone hates you,” Dex muttered, looking down at his shirt. Was it inside out? Hey, sunglasses. He put on his aviators and smiled at Ash. “That’s why everyone wants to kill you, remember? Why’s it so dark in here?” He looked around with a frown. “Rosa? Something’s wrong with the lights. Is it closing time? No, wait, the lights would get brighter not darker.” Where the hell was Sloane? He looked up and gave a start. “Whoa! Hey, partner, I was wondering where you were.” Why was Sloane looking at him funny?

“Why are you wearing sunglasses?”

“What?” Dex touched his eyes. “Oh. I don’t know. Why not? Where’s Lou?” A thought struck him and he chortled. “Skip to my Lou.”

“Oh God. Yeah, it’s time to go,” Cael said, getting up, making Dex momentarily sad.

“Why?” He stood, the world spun, and he threw a hand out, hitting something hard that suddenly steadied him. Man, it was dark in here. “Come on, little bro. I’ll buy you a drink.”

“I don’t think so. You’ve had enough for the both of us and I’m tired. Sloane, can you take him home before he ends up drooling on the bar? Again.”

Sloane chuckled. “Sure.”

Mm, sexy rumbly chuckle. No, not sexy. Dex whispered to himself in his head, the team is here. Play it cool.