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“At least? Sounds like you might not be sticking around,” Ethan noted.

Christian shrugged. “I’ve been giving it some thought. I don’t regret my time with the military, and it’s given me a lot of good memories and skills. But I might take my life in another direction. I’ve got another year to decide, so there’s no rush.”

“So, what do you do?”

“Mostly administrative work, nothing exciting. I was never going to be in the thick of things, and while pencil pushing isn’tthe most exciting job, it is important,” Christian said, sticking very close to the truth without giving it all away.

Ethan wrinkled his nose. “I’m sorry, but that sounds horrible.”

Christian laughed. “Well, like I said, it isn’t always fun, but hey, it pays the bills, and I don’t have to worry about being thrown into a desert and getting shot at, so that’s a plus.”

“So, what, you going to take that and go somewhere with it if you get out? Do more work like that? Or hey, I bet it’s given you a lot of experience with computers. You could do software or programming.”

Christian shook his head. “Nah, my sister was the tech geek, not me. I’m thinking something in the mental health field. Maybe it’ll just be administrative work there too, or maybe I’ll buckle down and use that college pay we’re supposed to be given, get a degree, and help people directly.”

“Oh, that would be nice,” Ethan said, his knee brushing Christian’s as he took a drink.

Christian pressed his leg closer. “I’m not completely sure yet, but I’m toying with it. I think it could be good for me.”

Ethan grinned. “And probably better money than you’re making now.”

“I hadn’t thought of that, but yeah, you’re right. The military doesn’t start paying well until you get up a few ranks...and then some. And it would be nice not to be beholden to Uncle Sam the whole time I’m working,” Christian admitted truthfully.

“That’s always a plus.”

Ethan looked down at his martini glass, shaking his head. “These things aren’t very good. I’m pretty sure they didn’t use cream, just a mix.”

Christian laughed. “That your way of inviting me to drinks at your place instead?”

“Might just be,” Ethan said, sliding his leg closer.

“Then I guess we should finish our drinks and head out,” Christian offered.

Ethan winked, standing up. “Let me go to the bathroom real quick, and we can do just that.”

Christian chuckled, watching the man as he paced toward the bathrooms. He waited until he saw him disappear around the corner before looking at Ethan’s glass, which remained half-full. Knowing he didn’t have much time, he reached into his pocket. Christian had debated with himself about how he would handle the situation and finally settled on making sure Ethan wouldn’t be a problem once they got back to the apartment.

At first, he’d thought about sleeping pills, but then he realized he wouldn’t know the correct dose, and he didn’t know how much alcohol would be involved. The last thing he wanted was to seriously harm or kill the man, and he had nixed the idea. It was Lily who had given him the idea of how to get Ethan out of the way and provided him with a thumb drive’s worth of helpful programs.

Taking the small baggy of crushed laxatives out of his pocket, he unwound the tie and dumped it into the drink. Using one of the stirring sticks provided in a holder, Christian mixed the finely ground pills in as quickly as possible. His heart raced furiously as he tried to get the powder to dissolve completely. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the fierce roar of the air dryer come to life in the bathroom. Trying to keep his breathing under control, he stirred furiously before finally giving it a quick stir in the other direction to stop the movement of the liquid and flinging himself back in his seat.

Ethan emerged a moment later, smiling as he approached the table. Christian smiled back, dropping the stirring stick onto the floor with a silent apology to the staff who had to clean.

“Sorry about that. I’ve been drinking water non-stop today,” Ethan explained as he sat back down.

“No worries. Not going to judge a man for staying hydrated,” Christian said, waving him off.

Ethan raised his glass. “Well, cheers to a good night?”

Christian smiled, praying that everything was dissolved. “A very good one.”

Ethan tipped his glass back, draining the contents. When he set the martini glass back down, all Christian could see was a bit of chocolate syrup at the bottom. Ethan, however, had wrinkled his nose in distaste.

“God, that is the worst mixture. Just gets more bitter near the bottom. Remind me to stick to normal cocktails and beer when I’m here,” Ethan complained.

Christian chuckled, draining his beer. “Like you said, there are better drinks at your house, right?”

Christian wasn’tsure what the normal rate for a cocktail server was, but whatever Ethan was making apparently went above and beyond Christian’s pay rate. The leather furniture looked like it had been bought recently and not from a resale shop. The white carpet would have been expensive as hell to clean, but the apartment was lined with it as far as he could see and looked pristine. The tables and chairs all looked like they’d come out of a designer shop and had probably been made with the best wood. The display was a bit ostentatious for his tastes, but Christian had to admit it looked good.