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Despite me wanting to avoid Tathan, I’m strangely determined to get some answers out of him now after talking to Paul. Between what happened today, and then last night when he said, “I see you,” I’m confused.

Most of the time, well those last three times we’ve been in the hot tub, it’s been him with the prying questions or just us sitting in silence listening to Elvis Presley.

I wasn’t sure he’d come down there, after all, I hung up on him today and refused to go to lunch with him, but I was only down there ten minutes, and here he came. Beer in hand.

When he opens his beer, I waste no time in hurling into my questions. “When were you adopted? And what did you mean when you said, I see you?”

He looks at me for a long moment before answering as he takes his time opening his beer. “I was adopted when I was eleven. And I see you because you’re giving in to me, even if you don’t want to. I see you because I’m a good guy and you know it. You see it. Even if you chose to ignore it.”

Okay, well he has me pegged exactly. “So Paul is your adopted dad?” I’m avoiding everything else he just said.

“He’s my uncle. He’s my dad’s younger brother.”

“Oh.”

He switches playlists on his phone to the Eagles. I smile as I never would have taken him for a guy who appreciates the classics.

“You don’t want to go on a date with me, do you?” he finally asks, never looking at me.

I won’t lie to him. “No, not really.”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, just please, go out with me on one date.”

“Okay.”

He considers that and then adds, “I don’t have a bucket of sluts, as you call them.”

“What do you have then?”

“Nothing. I don’t sleep around like you think I do.”

Deep down I know this. Paul also told me. “You don’t?”

“No, I don’t.” I watch his lips intently as he takes a drink of his beer.

Fuck. I want to be that bottle.It gives a whole new meaning to a tall drink of water.

“What about Sweet Cheeks, Lizard Lips, Chatty Chubby. . . .”

He groans. “Stop already.” Leaning forward, his hand rubs along his sharp defined jaw. “I didn’t sleep with any of them, Aldon did.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me suggestively. “I introduced them.”

“Who?”

“Aldon Hernandez.”

“The pro-football player?” I’m acting like I don’t know.

“Yeah.” He gives me a smile like he knows I know exactly who Aldon is. If you’ve lived in Arizona for longer than a few months, you know who Aldon Hernandez is. “He’s my best friend. We grew up together.”

“Why do you hook them up with Aldon?”

He shrugs. “Once they find out we’re friends, they want to meet him. I guess it just goes there automatically.”

That’s sad, and I’m never asking to meet Aldon. Not that I have any desire to, especially considering Aldon is handsome, but he’snotTathan.

“All right, so why do they hang all over you at work?”

“They know I take photos.” Tathan leans back, spreading out his arms on the ledge. It makes him look inviting. I could just sneak over there and curl up next to him. “I took photos for Lizard Lips, as you call her. Her name is Jessica by the way. Her sister got married last month.”