Page 3 of Sin Deep
“Jesse.”
Jesse froze for a second and gave the tall man in a mask that covered half his face a sheepish look. “Oh, hi.”
The man crossed his arms, silently, and Jesse looked at Harley. “Oops! I think I’m in trouble.” Jesse winked at him. “But you were a lovely dance partner. Tell Oliver to buy you that drink for me.”
“Now, Jesse.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir. Coming. Bye, Harley!”
The tall man caught Jesse by the nape and steered him away. He started to go after Jesse; that couldn’t be right. Was Jesse okay? But only made it one step before a hand caught him in the chest.
“Let them be. It’s okay. This is their thing.”
“You sure? We just met. He knows my roommate.” His brain insisted he needed to make a fuss, but his gut wasn’t near as sure about that…
The man that stood there wasn’t so tall he was staring at his bellybutton, but at his chest, and the green eyes were sparkling at him.
“I’m sure. I’ve known them both for years. You’re here with Ollie.” It wasn’t a question. The guy offered a hand. “I’m Winter.”
“Winter.” That was a great name! “I’m Harley. Pleased to meet you, sir.”
Winter. That was something else. Green-eyed Winter.
“Hello, Harley. I don’t want to keep you from your friend. It was good to meet you. Enjoy your evening.”
“Have a good evenin’!” He braced himself to head toward the bar, which was sure a crush of folks. There were more people in this building than in his whole hometown.
Oliver wasn’t hard to find, being taller than most men and colorful too. “You’re back! I thought Winter might have scooped you up.” Oliver tapped the bar “Two whiskey gingers, Leighton.”
“He wasn’t interested.” That was okay. He’d met two guys in five songs. One that was wanting to be friends was fucking great odds.
Oliver snorted, eyes darting to the crowd and then back to him. “No? He’s been watching you all night. He’s watching you now.”
“Stop it.” He was the least sparkly guy in a universe of glitter. A damn accidental black hole. “If he wants a drink, I’ll buy him one.”
“He doesn’t.” The bartender sat two drinks down and pushed one toward each of them. “He’ll nurse the one he’s got for a while. And he’ll watch, it’s what he does. He’s definitely watching you.”
“Thank you, sir. What do I owe you?” Now that the guy mentioned it, he could feel eyes on his back.
“Nothing. A good time. You’re off to a good start. Did you have fun with Jesse?”
“He’s fun, yeah. Have y’all been friends long?” He sipped the drink, finding it smoky and spicy, but with bubbles. He approved.
“I guess. Maybe…five or six years? He’s been with Theo all that time. Very taken. So naughty.” Oliver sipped his drink. “He cooks too. Oh my god. Amazing. And this is a silly party night, but you should see him on a regular night. He’s beautiful. He’s just… I mean, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“He likes to dance. I didn’t know he was with someone. I don’t like to be rude.” It wasn’t in his makeup unless he was fighting.
“No worries. He liked you, but he was just playing, showing off for Theo. And even if you’d known he was taken, it was just dancing, Harley. Just fun.”
“Cool. I just don’t know all y’all’s rules. If I can dance with him, that was good.” He thought it was something—how every group of folks, every single one, had their own sets of rules, and if you figured them? Then things worked easier.
“Everyone’s rules are different, but in here everyone is family. No worries. You can’t get in trouble for having fun.” Oliver sipped his drink. “So Jackson says he’s staying in Rome for a while; are you staying in New York?”
“I intend to, yessir. I think we do okay, rooming, you and me.” In fact, Oliver seemed happy as a pig in shit.
“We’re good, sweetheart.” Oliver sipped his drink, then looked at him with a slight frown. “You know he’s not there alone, right?”
“Jackson? Did he hook up with someone out there?” How fucking cool was that. Then he’d have a reason to go to Italy sometimes. It was always good to have a buddy to visit.
