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TROY

Normally, on the occasional weeknight he went out and had fun, Troy was lucky. Despite Wednesday being the heart of the working week, it was the best day to find something, or rather, someone to enjoy his night with. Of all the options available, Raid was usually the best place, offering more choice and opportunities.

Lo and behold, he’d found someone. Troy couldn’t remember the guy’s name, but he was sure it started with a J. The guy was tall, dark, and handsome, and his voice didn’t make Troy cringe. Then again, between his mood and the limited selection, Troy might have been willing to forgo some of his requirements for a bed partner, so he was happy to take his stroke of good luck and willingly clambered into the man’s lap once they were hidden in one of the semi-private booths.

The first twenty minutes of making out and heavy petting that counted as foreplay before one of them got impatient enough to drag the other to a private room was great. However, as the night dragged on, Troy found his mind drifting. At some point, Troy realized the man’s lips were on his neck and had been steadily moving down to his collarbone for a solid minute before Troy’s body alerted him to the sensation.

Wincing, Troy pushed away, forcing a smile. “S’cuse me a minute, those drinks are catching up with me fast.”

The man chuckled. “Want me to come hold it for you?”

Ugh, there was an image he didn’t need. “I think I can manage.”

Before his companion could say anything else, Troy shuffled back until he was on the walkway. Winking at the dark-haired man, Troy turned to the right as though heading toward the bathrooms. Thankfully, the crowd had grown thicker as the night wore on, and he blessed his shorter height as he melted into it.

Reaching the bar, he leaned over the edge and called to the bartender. “Hey, Ethan, can you cash me out?”

Ethan smirked as he hopped to the nearest register. “Strike gold already?”

Troy snorted. “Just wanna go home, is all, it’s time.”

“Wow, Troy isn’t sticking around to find himself a guy? It’s a Christmas miracle.”

“You’re a few months off for that.”

“Early Christmas miracle then.”

Troy rolled his eyes but let Ethan finish the sale. Troy signed the receipt and slapped his normally big tip on the total before sliding it back. Even after only a few months seeing Troy around, Ethan didn’t need to look at the slip before thanking Troy and giving him a wink. Ethan was good to Troy, occasionally slipping him a free drink or forgetting to include one on Troy’s tab. Troy attributed that more to the fact that he was fond of spoiling his waitstaff, especially when they were good at what they did, rather than any desire on Ethan’s part to get together with Troy. Everyone in Raid knew they could flirt with Ethan, but the man’s heart and body belonged to his fiancé at home.

“Have a good and quiet night,” Ethan said as he turned away.

Troy grunted, slipping through the crowd and glancing at the booths. The guy was still waiting, though his eyes were now glued to his phone. For a moment, he considered explaining but cringed at what would probably end up as an awkward conversation. Instead, he took the opportunity to slip through the front doors before the guy looked up and saw him making a break for it. Troy let out a low sigh of relief.

There weren’t a whole lot of people outside prowling the streets. It was late enough for non-party people to be at home while those out for fun were still in the bars or clubs. Troy watched a couple of drunk people stumble past, their arms slung around one another as they laughed at some private joke.

Troy’s lip curled, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. That could have been him if he’d stayed longer with that guy. His mind slipping away hadn’t been the problem. It hadn’t in the past. Troy’s mind had been restless for as long as he could remember, and even a hot guy wasn’t enough to keep him focused forever. With the sole exception of one man, the same man Troy’s mind kept drifting back to rather than on the man whose lap he’d been in.

The thought brought a growl of frustration from Troy, and he kicked a stray bottle, sending it skittering down the sidewalk with a clatter. The entire point of coming out and having a good time with someone else was to get his thoughtsawayfrom Oscar, not to obsess over them. It wasn’t his fault the man couldn’t decide what he wanted, kissing Troy one minute as though it were the old days and pretending nothing happened afterward. Troy was within his rights to shove every memory of him and Oscar, every scrap of feelings toward the man, under the rug and out of sight while he enjoyed the company of someone who obviously wantedsomethingout of him.

And yet he couldn’t even manage that.

Troy was so wrapped up in his thoughts he almost slammed into someone coming out of one of the late-night stores. He skidded to a stop, stepping around them, muttering an apology. Then a familiar voice spoke up, filled with a tightness that brought Troy’s head up as quickly as the words.

“What, don’t have your little ‘friend’ with you?” Oscar asked.

Troy turned to face him, groaning in exasperation. “Seriously? Are you following me now?”

“Could ask you the same. All I did was buy something to drink,” Oscar told him, holding up the bottle of Pepsi.

Troy’s frown deepened as Oscar’s words settled into his consciousness. “Doesn’t explain how you know I might have had a ‘friend’ tonight, though.”

Oscar shrugged, dark eyes pinched in annoyance. “What, you’re the only one who goes out on a Wednesday night?”

Troy hesitated, raising a brow. “To Raid? Since when the hell do you go somewhere like Raid?”

“Since tonight.”

Troy gritted his teeth. “Seriously? I tried to get you to go somewhere like that with me for months, Oscar, fucking months. But now, suddenly, you felt the urge to go and just so happened to find me?”