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“Not ’til late. He’s working until close unless things slow down.”
Gray gave Jack a sexy once-over. “I hope you’re ready to stay up late.”
“Oh, I am. I definitely am.” He’d taken a nap that afternoon just for that reason. Even before he knew Gray had had a shitty day, he had been planning for them to revel in each other in the dirtiest possible way that night.
Henry was waiting in the lobby of the shelter when Jack pulled up. Andy was in the front office behind the desk. He buzzed Jack in and gave him a thumbs-up that he interpreted as saying Henry was cleared to hang out with him.
“You want to stay here or go somewhere?” Jack asked.
“Getting out of here would be great if you know somewhere we could talk.”
“How private does it need to be?”
Henry shrugged. “I don’t care really. I just thought it would be good to talk if you’re up for it.”
“My friend works at Nathan’s. It’ll be noisy, but there are some booths where we can talk, and no one will bother us. They have awesome wings too.”
Henry grinned. “Sounds great.”
“Okay.” Jack leaned into the door of Andy’s office. “I’m taking Henry to Nathan’s Pub. Is that cool?”
“Yeah. Just have him back by ten.”
Jack nodded. “No problem.”
The crowd at Nathan’s was thicker than Jack had anticipated, but as he and Henry stepped inside, he saw a family getting up from his favorite corner booth. He motioned for Henry to follow him.
Mason was slammed at the bar so Jack didn’t even try to get his attention. They could say hello before they left if the crowd thinned enough. They slid into the booth, and Jack flagged down Tabbitha, his favorite waitress. “It’s good to see you back in here. You all better now?” she asked when she reached the table.
“Almost back to normal,” Jack answered. “Tabbitha, this is Henry.”
“Hi,” she gave him a big smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
He blushed adorably and smiled back. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Do you know what you’d like?”
Henry looked at Jack uncertainly. “Two Cokes and an order of wings?” Jack asked.
Henry smiled so Jack assumed that was good with him.
“I’ll be right back with those.” Tabbitha patted Jack’s shoulder as she walked away. “We’ve really missed you.”
“You must come here a lot,” Henry said.
“Yeah. Mason”—He pointed to the bar—“he’s the one with the dark hair. He’s my…” Jack took a deep breath. Andy knew he was gay, and he was trying to get used to living in the open, but ifHenry had a problem with his sexuality then Andy would have to find him another mentor. “Friend.”
Henry frowned at him, probably sensing his indecision. “Okay.”
Jack was tempted to question him, to make sure he really didn’t have a problem with Jack being gay, but he held himself back.
“So you were hurt? That’s why you’re not working right now?”
“Yeah, I got shot.”
Henry’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”
“I’m a cop,” Jack confessed.
