Page 97 of The Bartender Special

He held the bag out and shook it.

“Then it was good I got this. Here, sit down.”

Benny blinked and Jack had his hands on him.

He directed him to the side of the bed but paused.

“Actually, you might want to lie down instead.”

He grabbed Benny’s pillows, adjusted them, and with one sweeping hand and arm had Benny half-lying and propped up on top of the covers.

Legs red, boxer-briefs visible, upper body bare.

Benny tried to shy away deeper into the bed.

Jack didn’t seem to care.

“I’m fine, Jack, really,” Benny attempted. “I don’t need this.”

Jack waved him off and perched on the side of the bed. He pulled the aloe out and started to work on the safety film beneath the cap. There was an easy-to-detect snark to his words.

“It’s after two in the morning and you’re still awake,” he said. “I’m assuming you can’t sleep because you roasted earlier.”

“Or I’m not asleep because the local bartender was banging on my window.”

Jack’s profile was angled enough to where Benny could see his eyeroll with ease.

“I didn’t bang,” he defended. “I did call and text.”

Benny snorted.

“So did half of the internet. I don’t know if you heard, but over the last few hours I’ve become mighty interesting again.”

Benny didn’t mean the comment to come out bitchy.

But it did.

Jack finally got the safety barrier off of the aloe. He threw it into the plastic grocery bag. Both suddenly seemed more interesting than the mostly-naked man behind him.

“I don’t get why people have to yap so much about things they’re not even a part of,” he said. “Especially when they don’t even know what they’re yapping about.”

Benny didn’t respond.

He didn’t think Jack wanted one until the man turned, aloe lotion in his hand.

“I wasn’t smiling at Felicity, you know. I mean, I was, but the smile wasn’t because of her.”

Benny forced a shrug.

“Jack, we’re not actually dating, you know,” he pointed out. “You don’t have to explain when you smile at your ex or smile at anyone. It isn’t my business. And I’m fine with that.”

Jack’s response was simple.

“But you cancelled our dinner tomorrow.”

Benny was ready this time.

“Since I have plans with Ethan, I didn’t think it made sense to meet up when we can just do the same thing over the phone. Or even text. We don’t have to keep cornering ourselves in these awkward situations in public and private. It just isn’t worth the trouble.”