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“That’s enough of that,” Dash cut in, pulling my hand from Vail’s. “No eyeing my… Well, we haven’t defined what we are yet. But he’s mine and Tristan’s.”
I cocked my eyebrow at him.
Dash didn’t hide his jealousy. “I can’t help it, I’m possessive. It’s a new trait, but I think it’s here to stay.”
“You know I dance for a living.”
“And I play the drums in cities across the world. I don’t care that you dance. I care when people touch you.”
“Okay, then when you’re on tour or signing autographs and meeting fans, is it fair for me to say none of them should touch you? I wasn’t grinding on Vail’s lap just now. I shook his hand.”
Dash gaped like a fish but remained quiet after that. At least until we were in the house and Vail put us to work cutting vegetables when the subject changed. Vail asked about allergies,and I told him I was allergic to strawberries. There was an allergen list up at the club; however, I doubted Vail remembered what was on it.
Then there was a bark. This little yip of a noise that instantly drew my attention. “You have a dog?”
“A puppy I’m hoping will grow into a protective dog, but yes.”
“You need protection?” Dash asked.
Vail ducked his head. “My ex… It was bad and I have a PFA against him.”
“Do you need security? I can call Greer and ask him to outfit your home. He’s really good at that shit. I’ll pay him double whatever he charges. You don’t have to worry about it.” There were many layers to Dash. This was one I enjoyed witnessing. He took care of me when I needed it and was offering to help Vail.
“I’m good,” Vail said. “Honest. Besides, Dexen already offered to do the same.”
“Can I see the puppy?” I interrupted now that we knew Vail was okay. There was a furry baby in the house, and I was cutting up carrots. I needed to hold the baby!
I didn’t get this way with children. Only puppies. Cute, fuzzy, sharp-teethed little balls of terror.
“Let me go get him.”
Vail came back a minute later with a ball of fluff running in front of him, skidding on the floor, trying to get to us. I dropped to my knees immediately and held out my arms. The puppy clambered onto my lap and started bathing my face in kisses. I’d always wanted a dog but didn’t want the responsibility of having one.
Lying back so my spine was on the tiled kitchen floor, I kept the puppy on my chest as I cooed and baby talked. Dash peered down at me with the sweetest smile while Tristan leaned his head on Dash’s shoulder to watch me too. If all our dates were like this, I was going to be a very happy man.
12
DASH
Sweat poured down my face as I played my heart out. I had my sticks in my hands and the beat in my head. This was one of the places I felt most at home. It didn’t matter if I was in my studio, in Reed’s, on stage, or at the label’s studio. This job was as simple as breathing for me.
We’d been at Reed’s all day, perfecting songs, so when we were ready to record, we could make the most of our time in Philly where our label was located. Reed and Slater tweaked the lyrics as we played, making subtle changes while Casper would chime in about what he thought would sound good. I’d only interject here or there, content to sit back and wait for when they needed me to play.
A few times I’d caught myself daydreaming and had to remember I should be working. At the very least, I should listen to what the others were saying. But I had two men on my mind who I wanted to spend more time with.
Our date had been everything I hoped it would be. Romeo playing with Vail’s puppy was just one of many moments where I stopped what I was doing and watched them. Vail gave us simple instructions we could follow while he coached us along the way. It was a fitting date, seeing as when I was at Romeo’s last, I wentto the fridge to get a refill of my water and saw it was barren. A dust ball should have rolled out of it. When I brought it up on my way back to the table, he told us he lived on takeout, the meals Dana served at the club when Romeo worked the dinner shift, and food his mom dropped off on occasion.
Luckily, Tristan was good at cooking. He jumped in with ease during the lessons. I had a feeling douchebag daddy dearest, as I liked to refer to his recent ex, made Tristan cook when they were together. Everything fell on his shoulders when it should have been shared. That was what happened with users. They found someone they could walk all over and did it repeatedly. Anything they could get away with, they did.
Slater waved his hand in front of my face, drawing my attention to where it should have been—on my band. “There you are.”
“Sorry. What were we doing?”
“Well, we were working while you were in a fantasy in your head,” Casper stated.
“Nah, if I would have been in a fantasy, my cock would be hard.” I glanced down at my lap. “I’m not there.”
“More than we needed to know.”
