Page 7

OLLIE

Wow, that went better than Ollie had imagined.

He set his empty wine glass on a passing server’s tray and grabbed two full ones, handing one to Dante. “The gallery host, or docent, or whatever, said to start with that painting over there and move clockwise.”

Dante raised his glass. “Lead the way.”

Ollie guided Dante to a painting at the front of the room.

Was Dante telling the truth when he said being friends was great? He’d accepted so easily and hadn’t asked any prying questions about why Ollie didn’t date. That never happened.

A hollowness settled in Ollie’s chest, and he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t possible to be disappointed. Even if he’d read Dante completely wrong and he hadn’t been interested or about to ask Ollie out, that wasn’t a bad thing. It was what Ollie wanted, or at least what he needed.

Dante stood shoulder to shoulder with Ollie, looking at the painting. “It’s very dark.”

A waft of fresh peppermint filled Ollie’s nose. Was that Dante’s cologne? Fuck, it smelled good. So soothing…

Right. Art. He had to focus on the bold black and gray brush strokes. But the butterflies in his chest hadn’t calmed since saying his piece. The damn things battered his heart, and something pulled deep within him.

Was he sick?

No, it was more like Dante had him on a string, tugging on his chest and reeling him in.

Which confirmed Ollie had made the right decision. This level of attraction wasn’t healthy. It was a recipe for disaster and codependency. Ollie wanted nothing more than to please Dante. He burned with it. But he wasn’t a people pleaser anymore. He wasn’t getting sucked in.

Ollie forced his attention back to the painting. “I feel like the artist was angry at the canvas.”

Dante hummed in agreement before moving on to the next display.

Ollie followed, sipping his wine. All the paintings were black and white. He preferred a bit of color. If he were going to buy art for his apartment, this wouldn’t be it.

He cut a sidelong glance at Dante. The big man frowned at the painting, shaking his head, then moved on to the next one.

Ollie suppressed a smile. At least he didn’t seem to be the only one not feeling it.

“What’s your usual scene?” Dante asked as he inspected the painting before them. For some reason, this canvas was much smaller than the others. “If you weren’t here tonight, what would you be doing instead?”

“Probably hanging out at home with Harper. Working on Saturday mornings kind of kills my Friday nights.”

Dante shifted to face him. “Do you like going out?”

Ollie shrugged. “Sure. I like dancing and letting loose. You?”

Dante’s brow furrowed. “I don’t really dance. I suppose clubbing hasn’t appealed for quite a while. ”

Ollie looked Dante over. How old was he? Dante seemed older, but there couldn’t be more than, say, ten years between them. He wasn’t approaching silver fox territory or anything.

“No clubbing, hm? Don’t tell me you won’t even go out after nine p.m.,” Ollie teased.

Dante grinned. “I’d need a very good reason to do something that late.”

Ollie bit back a smile. “You’re a Millennial, aren’t you?”

Dante blinked. “A…what?”

A laugh bubbled out of Ollie. “Oh yeah, you totally are. You’re like thirty-five or something, right?”

“Thirty-five. Yes, good guess.” Dante sipped his drink, the crease in his brow deepening. “And you must be much younger. So, in other words, you’re saying I’m old and boring?”

He sounded disappointed, and Ollie’s heart sank. “No. I’m just hassling you. You’re not boring. Not that I’m in a position to judge. My biggest hobby is playing PlayStation. It’s not like I’m terribly interesting or original.”

Dante’s dark eyes seemed to spark. “You like gaming?” The hint of excitement in his voice lit Ollie up.

“I do.” Ollie leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. “Beats clubbing, if I’m honest.”

Dante grinned, leaning down to whisper back. “Agreed. I love video games. They’re fascinating.”

A weird way to put it, but Ollie’s insides buzzed like Dante’s enthusiasm was contagious. “What do you play?”

Dante straightened, pulling back, and Ollie realized how close they’d been. “Anything I can. I have a whole room set up with all the different consoles.”

“Nice. A whole gaming room. Perks of being old, I guess.”

“Hey.” Dante’s eyes widened, expression adorably betrayed. “You said I wasn’t old.”

“No, I said you weren’t boring.” Ollie patted Dante’s forearm, his skin temptingly warm. He quickly withdrew his hand. “It’s okay to be old. I’m not holding it against you. We’ve each got to bring our own thing to the friendship, and don’t worry, I won’t try to take you clubbing.”

“I’m not worried.” Dante frowned, lips pouting.

“You look worried.”

Dante’s expression smoothed out. “Not at all.” He placed a hand on Ollie’s lower back. “Come on, I think we’ve seen enough of this painting. Let’s make way for someone else.”

Ollie let Dante steer him to the next piece, enjoying the touch more than he should. It wasn’t a very we’re-just-friends move, but Dante’s hand didn’t linger, so maybe he meant nothing by it.

They circled the room, examining the rest of the paintings, which became more appealing as they moved along. Ollie preferred the more friendly-looking pieces, and the final one was actually really beautiful.

A man with bright-blue hair and pale skin appeared on Dante’s other side. “What do you think?”

Dante nodded, stroking his chin. “I like it. Nice progression.”

The man snorted. “Thanks.” He eyed the wine in Dante’s hand. “Want something stronger?”

“No, this is fine.” Dante turned, gesturing toward Ollie. “Onyx, meet Ollie. Harper’s roommate.”

Onyx’s gaze flitted briefly in Ollie’s direction. “Hi.” He turned back to Dante. “I’m surprised you came tonight.”

Cool snub, dude . Ollie narrowed his eyes at the guy.

“Why are you surprised?” A hint of offense bled into Dante’s tone. “Haven’t I come to your openings before?”

Onyx wrinkled his nose. “I suppose.”

What was the deal between these two? The slight animosity practically screamed ex-boyfriend behavior. Ollie’s gut twisted. Was Onyx the kind of guy Dante was into? A burning sensation rose in his chest.

“I enjoy these events,” Dante said. Of course he’d be kind and want to keep the peace. Ollie had never seen Dante be anything but considerate. “You’ve done a great job with this place, Onyx. It’s a lovely gallery.”

A different kind of jealousy swelled within Ollie. This guy was the owner? The one whom Harper had mentioned was friends with Ash? Owning Gallery Four was fucking impressive, especially since Onyx looked no older than Dante.

The real drawback of Dante being older was that people Dante’s age were generally more accomplished than Ollie. How could he compare? Ollie struggled to make decisions for himself and be his own person. Meanwhile, Dante was used to friends—or boyfriends—who owned renowned galleries.

“I have done well here.” Onyx’s lips twitched in a smug smile, clearly pleased by Dante’s compliment.

Maybe Ollie should find Harper or Dex and leave Onyx and Dante to catch up. But he didn’t want to. Being near Dante felt good.

“There you are.” Ash appeared next to Onyx, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

Onyx shook him off. “Oh goodie, Ash is here.”

Ash gave Onyx a stern look as Harper joined them. “We need to talk to you.”

Anger flashed across Onyx’s delicate features. He turned an accusatory look on Dante. “Is that why you’re here?”

“No.” Dante sighed. “We’re here because you invited us. Remember?”

“Right.” Onyx turned away, scanning the room as if he’d lost interest. “I have more important people to talk to than the two of you. Don’t wait up.” He walked off without a backward glance, nose in the air.

A strange sound emanated from Ash, almost like a growl. “That rude little?—”

“I’ll go talk to him,” Dante said before Ash could finish. He turned an apologetic smile on Ollie. “Excuse me for a second?”

Ollie met Dante’s dark stare, stomach swooping. “Sure.” Why was he even asking permission?

Dante nodded and slipped into the crowd. Ollie felt unsteady on his feet. It had to be too much wine on an empty stomach, not anything to do with Dante’s departure.

Harper linked his arm with Ollie’s. “You two seem to be having a good time.”

“Oh.” Had Harper been watching them? “Yeah, it’s been fun. Nice to find someone to talk to who doesn’t make me feel dumb for not knowing about art.”

Harper chuckled. “I could have done that for you.”

Something about the silence between them seemed expectant. Like Harper was hoping Ollie would say more about Dante. But why? Harper couldn’t read Ollie’s mind and detect his weird, conflicted feelings.

Needing to change the subject, Ollie gestured with his wine toward Dex, who seemed deep in conversation. “He’s in his element.”

“Totally. Oh! Should we introduce him to Onyx?” Harper glanced from Ollie to Ash, who shrugged.

Ollie’s attention wandered to where Dante was talking to Onyx in a far corner of the room. Dante’s expression was tense and slightly pleading. What were they talking about? Fuck, maybe Dante wasn’t over Onyx. Nothing else would give his face that hint of desperation. Right?

He clenched a fist, pushing the nausea filling him down. “Yeah, let’s introduce them. Dex doesn’t do studio art, but he’d love to meet the owner.”

It wasn’t fair to care if Dante had something going on with Onyx, but Ollie couldn’t help it. He had to know if he was on the right track. If he was, it’d be easier to get rid of these stupid warm feelings.

His emotions got so scrambled around Dante. What he wanted and what he felt didn’t match. It was like Dante had some kind of hold over him, which freaked him out. He didn’t want to want Dante. It tempted him to go against his better judgment.

But Ollie wouldn’t. They were friends. That was all.