MATTEO: Get over yourself. You’re not that cute.
I couldn’t understand how his insults and jabs succeeded in making me smile like a lecherous motherfucker. I should be annoyed, but I craved the back-and-forth banter with him.
I spotted Jere working his way to where I was standing by the bar, looking as he normally did–blank expression, and muscles bulging through his black t-shirt. Despite the flat lines of his face, there was a little twinkle in his gray eyes. I pocketed my phone, needing the time to come up with a snarky response.
He stood next to me and I bumped him with my elbow. “You two made up, huh?”
“Something like that,” he said over the music.
“Yeah, good sex will do that to you,” I teased.
He frowned and considered me for a long moment. “How do you know?”
I snickered. “A good orgasm will cheer anyone up.”
He turned to me as if he were fully invested in the conversation. “No, I mean how do you know that’s what we did?”
“It’s all over your face,” I said. I had to remind myself he thought a bit differently than most. “I can see it in your eyes.Somethinggood happened and it doesn’t take a lot to guess what that something is.”
Taking another moment to digest my words, he scanned the moving crowd. Despite being the boss and lording over several underlings, I didn’t like to float around and not earn my keep. I took a cue from him and watched the men dancing and drinking and enjoying life. It had been a while since the Adonis had had any major incidents and with the holidays coming, that meant more drinking than usual, and more drinking equaled more problems.
Jere regarded me. “We made up, but how exactly is nothing I want to share with you.”
I laughed at that and nudged him with my elbow. “I’m happy for you two. I mean it. You guys fit like peanut butter and jelly.”
He actually smiled, the lines of his face softening. “Like pumpkin and spice?”
“Bacon and eggs,” I confirmed.
He glanced at the ceiling in thought. “Ketchup and mashed potatoes?”
I offered him a dramatic look of disgust.
“No? You’re missing out.”
“Now I’m hungry,” I muttered. “We should all go out one day when the weather gets a little better. It’s good for Danny to get out of the house, isn’t it?”
“Like a double date?”
“If only I had a date.” I’d meant it as a tease, but I didn’t miss the bitterness in my words.
Truth was, I was fond of Danny and was a tad jealous Jere had claimed him. I totally wished them well and I had no one to blame but myself. I’d kept telling myself next time I’llask if he’d like to grab a beer or something. Butnext timenever came, mostly because I’d been out of the game so long I wasn’t sure how to jump back in. That, and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. But as Jere and Danny had proven, sometimes you just needed to take a leap of faith.
“Yeah, that sounds nice. I like staying home with him because…reasons, but it’s good for him to be with his friends.” He frowned, then pegged me with an intense stare. “I never thanked you.”
“Thanked me for what?”
“Looking after him when I wasn't here. He was mine to protect, but I wasn’t here, and you were always good to him.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. What happened to Danny wasn’t mine, or Jere’s or anyone’s fault except for the ones that had hurt him. But it still stung that I couldn’t intervene. It was a bitter, cold fact that bonded Jere and I in the war against bigotry. “I didn’t exactly do a good job.”
His eyes went all over me. “Because he wasn’t yours. But…what I think I’m trying to say is that I’m glad he has you as a friend.”
“You realize you have a friend too, right?” I said carefully. “Even though you're technically my employee, I think of you as a friend.”
He nodded. “Any friend of Danny is a friend of mine.”
Something had fallen into place, a meeting of the minds and I smiled privately. Danny was in good hands. They hadn’t told me and they wouldn’t, but the occurrences of Jere showing up to work with bruised and busted knuckles, and one of Danny’s bashers landing up in the hospital with similar injuries that Danny had suffered were closely connected. It told me everything I needed to know about Jere and I approved one-thousand percent.
