Page 175

Troy had thought about it, but he wouldn’t be the clingy boyfriend who couldn’t go a few hours without spam calling or texting his other half because he was insecure. Did it bother him that he hadn’t heard from Oscar? Absolutely. It saddened him to see a few happy couples as everyone began to take their seats or even on the dance floor. But Troy, point blank, refused to do anything but remind himself that Oscar loved him and everything would be okay.

Dean leaned back in his seat, frowning at the crowd. “What the hell?”

“What is it?” Troy asked.

“I think that’s...Marco?” Dean said slowly.

“Wait, really?” Troy asked, craning his neck.

Sure enough, the cute and rather sweet man Dean had been seeing previously was weaving his way through the crowd. Unlike the service members, however, Marco was dressed in a three-piece suit, and Troy nodded in approval.

“What’s your ex-boyfriend doing here?” Troy asked.

“They weren’t dating,” Sloane growled.

Troy glanced at him in amusement. “Fine, then what’s the guy he was kind of dating doing here?”

“I have no idea, but I’m going to go find out. Ooh, I hope he’s here with someone. If anyone deserves it, it’s Marco,” Dean said, hopping up to hurry over.

Troy eyed Sloane. “What, not going to follow?”

Sloane snorted. “You know, as much as I’m glad he was okay with Dean ending things and dating me instead, I don’t want an extra dose of awkward in my day, thanks.”

“Hey, at least he was understanding, right? It doesn’t bother you that Dean’s going to talk to him?”

Sloane smiled, far kinder than Troy was used to seeing on his face. “Not in the slightest.”

“You’re a sap,” Troy teased.

“For him.”

Troy opened his mouth to reply and stopped as he, too, spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Oscar’s dour but handsome face emerged from the sea of people, stepping carefully. Troy’s heart leaped into his throat as their eyes met, and a warm smile spread over Oscar’s face. When Oscar was in full view, Troy had the man’s entire walk across the room to enjoy the sight of Oscar dressed to the nines in his dress blues, with just about every inch of it filled by his bulky frame. Looking at him, Troy didn’t notice the slight limp or the missing arm.

“He made it,” Troy whispered.

“What?” Sloane grunted.

Troy’s smile grew as he caught the odd expression on Oscar’s face as he approached. If he didn’t know any better, Troy would think Oscar was worried about something or nervous. His steps were more sure than usual, which told Troy Oscar had taken hismeds, and his gaze was still locked on Troy as he reached the table.

Troy stood up, beaming. “You made it.”

“Of course I did. Sorry I didn’t text you back, but I’ve been running all over the place for the past couple of hours,” Oscar explained.

Troy shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, come and join us.”

He made a point of introducing Sloane and Oscar as his boyfriend made himself comfortable. Troy practically vibrated with joy as he dropped into the seat beside him. His worries were cast aside as the three of them chatted idly about absolutely nothing, Troy’s mind singing a happy song that he would at least get to spend the night with Oscar. Six years ago, the man would have probably made a point not to spend too much time around Troy at such a gathering, which looked like it included everyone on the base, but now he was sitting next to Troy.

Dean returned with a frown, prompting Sloane to ask him what was wrong.

“Oh, something’s up with Marco. I would swear he’s here for someone, but he’s not talking,” Dean grumped as he sat down.

“And you call me nosy,” Troy said.

Oscar snorted. “You are.”

Dean looked up, spotting Oscar for the first time. “Oh. Hello again. We were wondering if you were going to show up. Well, I was wondering, but Troy here was practically sweating as he waited to find out.”

Troy gasped. “You little shit!”