“No!” His face burned hotter, but with a painful smile. “Uh… No, dude. You’re good.” He gave the fakest laugh I’d ever heard, and his eyes landed everywhere but on me. “No need to, uh, leave, or uh, switch rooms. No worries at all. I’m all good.”
“Yeah? ‘Cause you’re fully freaking out right now.”
“Nope. I’m fine. It’s all good. Please don’t leave. Or switch rooms. Or feel weird, or whatever. You did nothing wrong. All good. Promise.” Finn spoke without looking at me as he gathered his clothes for the evening.
“Are you sure? You don’t look or soundall good.”
“Yup! All good!” he said before closing the bathroom door and locking himself inside.
I sat on my bed until he was done. He just said I’d done nothing wrong, but acted like he had an aneurysm? What the fuck was that? At least he wasn’t violent. I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to hit me. I’d take it too. Then grab him by his shirt and hold him steady while telling him to calm down as the rage in his eyes melted to lust before our mouths crashed together, biting, licking, pulling, grappling, our way down to the floor—
He came out dressed and ready, with shoes on and everything, looking like a wholesome wet dream. Pants just tight enough to show a bit of a bulge. A short-sleeved, loosely woven, collared shirt that clung to his biceps and draped off his pecs. Clean-shaven face, and his hair done in an effortless wave that must take him ten minutes to construct. He had worn something similar to Miles’s engagement party, and it garnered the same slack-jawed stare.
Then, with a brisk, “See you down there,” and brisker smile, he walked out of the room.
“Well, fuck.”
Chapter Six
Ryder
LIV is the nightclub in the storied Fontainebleau Hotel. I’d never been in an indoor space as large. Well, I might have, but the place works hard to impress, and it does. Three stories, but the top two were overlooking the dance floor on the bottom. The ceiling was the most impressive part. A massive LED screen broken up and placed on individual actuators, all radiating out in concentric circles. It was cool as fuck to look at. Especially when it did a wave, looking like a giant, rainbow, upside-down glowing droplet hitting the surface of some futuristic magic techno-pond.
Finn kept his distance, and I kept mine. From Miles, too. With one more day and only a VIP pool party to go, this was the big night and the heftiest spend. I wanted my brother to have a good time, but I also didn’t want to be too close if I couldn't hold my tongue. So I indulged. We started with shots at the first bar we hit, then got drinks.
Once a good buzz set in, the club’s special effects were much cooler. There was this strobe connected to the venue’s lighting. When it flashed off, the entire place went pitch black.Only to be followed less than half a second later by blinding pure white light. It made everything and everyone around me look like we were in stop motion.
Also, the fog blasts. We weren’t dancing for too long, but I felt the heat already. It’s supposed to be sexy and mysterious, but I appreciated the cooling mist more than the world disappearing for a moment.
We werein itand tried hard to have the most fun. Until my late-twenties ass needed water and a seat. Regardless of my cardio endurance, I didn’t want to be a gross, sweaty mess less than an hour after I got there.
I excused myself to find a barstool or something, when I found Jason doing the same thing as me. LIV is loud, and we had to yell into each other’s ears at all times to be heard.
I said, “Hiding?”
Jason smiled. “Kinda. I can’t drink like that anymore. If I kept up with those four, I’d pass out before midnight.”
I laughed. I felt the same way and told him. “That’s why I went looking for some water.”
After ordering a ten-dollar bottle of off-brand Aquafina, I glanced at his phone. It was right there in my line of sight, showing a picture of who I assumed was his kid, and asked if it was.
That was the right thing to do. Jason’s face lit up. “Yup. That’s her. Olivia, or Liv.” Jason beamed, showing me his phone.
His daughter looked fake. Like an artist’s idea of a perfect little girl. Bright red hair that she must’ve gotten from her mother. Rosy, chubby cheeks surrounding a precocious, nearly toothless smile. And just absolutely covered in chocolate cake. It was so adorable, I laughed.
“Jesus dude, she’s freaking perfect!”
That was also the right thing to say. “I mean, I think so, but I have to as her daddy. This was her first birthday.”
“As an unbiased observer, you can officially hold that opinion as correct.”
“Thanks, man,” he said with the warmest smile I’d seen on him.
He showed me more pictures. While the kid was cute, and I get he missed her, we were screaming into each other’s ears in the middle of a giant ass dance club. I, of course, didn’t say that, and he showed me more pictures of Liv covered in cake. Then some of his wife holding her before cake time. I was right about the hair.
“Wow, is that your wife? She’s gorgeous!”
Jason beamed again. “Yeah. Beth. Great mom. Amazing wife.”
