Page 64 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

Dean beamed at him. “Hey, you made it.”

“Of course I did. When have you ever known me to miss a party?”

“Well, you’ve been walking around in a dream the last few days, so I wasn’t sure you were going to remember,” Dean teased.

Sloane smirked. “Isn’t that normal for him?”

Troy cocked his head with a grin. “Aw, Sloane, I didn’t know you paid that much attention to my day-to-day attitude.”

“You wish.”

“I might have a thing for grumpy, but I have good taste in grumpy men,” Troy said.

“Hey!” Dean protested, curling an arm through Sloane’s protectively.

Sloane bent down, kissing the side of Dean’s head. “Ignore him. You know he’s prone to acting out when he has to stand still for more than a few seconds.”

Troy ignored the jibe if only because he’d watched Dean’s face light up at the small gesture of affection Sloane had given him. Then again, Sloane’s grumpy expression had softened considerably when he caught the look on Dean’s face.

“You two are so sappy,” Troy finally said.

“Damn right,” Dean shot back.

Troy wasn’t going to blame him, he was probably just as goopy and sugary when Oscar was up close and personal. It was nice to see his friend happy, though, and he gave the other man a wink.

“Want to head in?” Dean asked, nodding toward the front door.

“Yeah, let’s get this party started,” Troy said.

As they walked through the front doors, Dean sidled up next to him.

“Oscar not coming?”

Troy pulled his phone from his pocket, seeing no new messages. “I don’t know, actually. I forgot to ask him this morning and haven’t heard from him since this afternoon. I mean, this isn’t really his scene.”

Troy shrugged to show he wasn’t bothered, but the look on Dean’s face said he didn’t believe him.

With everything that had happened, Troy was willing to accept going alone for the evening.

It wasn’t like he expected Oscar to suddenly be okay with being out to everyone overnight just because his brother had been okay with it.

Troy would accept little steps at a time.

Troy walked into the main room and nodded in approval. “Wow, they did good.”

It was nothing extravagant, but the main hall's normally somber, deep wood had been softened with white and gold.

Tables were laid out along the walls, with eight chairs at each.

A dance floor had been set out near the back, where some people already gathered while quiet music played.

People were still filing in, and most headed toward the back right-hand corner, where the bar was.

“Let’s go find ourselves a seat,” Dean offered.

Troy agreed, pulling out his phone to look at the lock screen again before pocketing it with a flicker of disappointment. Oscar would have been free from his desk by now. It wasn’t like Oscar wasn’t busy, but he’d remained oddly quiet for the past couple of hours.

As they found a table in the corner for the three of them, Troy couldn’t help but wonder if Oscar was avoiding him.

It would be odd behavior for the normally direct man, but Troy couldn’t ignore how Oscar had once walked right out of his life instead of being with him and facing their problems. Was Oscar worried that after settling things with Gabriel, Troy would find a way to push Oscar to come to the Gala with him as a couple?

“You alright over there?” Dean asked.

Troy blinked as he realized he’d been quiet for too long. “Oh! Yeah, sorry, just tired and, well, maybe a little hungry too.”

“You know the dinner part of the evening isn’t for another couple of hours, right?” Sloane asked.

Troy snorted. “I’ll suffer.”

Dean leaned in closer. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Troy assured him.

“You could try calling him,” Dean said softly.

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 his meds, 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!”

Dean winked. “Always here for you, buddy.”

Troy looked at Oscar for help. “Do you see what I have to put up with at work? He’s a monster.”

Oscar chuckled, patting Troy’s arm. “You’re going to be okay. It’s nothing worse than what you’ve put me through.”

“That’s a lie. I’m sweet and kind to everyone,” Troy protested.

“Don’t forget a pain in the ass,” Sloane added.

“I hate all of you,” Troy pouted.

Which lasted as long as it took for Oscar to lean forward and whisper in his ear. “You look amazing tonight.”

Troy felt the color rising in his cheeks as Oscar’s compliment sank in.

Troy glanced at him, wishing he could say something in return, but didn’t trust the volume of his voice not to betray him.

If there was anyone who looked amazing, it was Oscar.

Oscar’s dark eyes flickered over his face with a smile as though knowing the effect he’d had.

Troy fought to find something to say when Oscar reached out and took his hand, holding it on top of the table and squeezing.

Dumbfounded, Troy looked down at their linked hands and then up to Oscar’s face.

That same expression of confidence, with just a hint of worry in his eyes, was still there, but Oscar never moved his hand.

A smile spread across Troy’s face as he curled his fingers around Oscar’s, returning the hold with what he was sure was the goofiest smile in existence.

“So I hear you’ve been settling into things working beside Christian, Oscar,” Dean said, a pleased smile on his face.

Oscar turned his attention to him, nodding. “Now I’ve had some time to get used to it, it’s not so bad. He still handles most of the big hats, but he’s used me to chase some people off, too.”

“Really?” Dean asked with a laugh.

“There’s an advantage to being tall, grumpy, and scary,” Troy said, still grinning.

Sloane wrapped an arm around Dean’s middle with a snort. “Tell that to this one, who I think terrifies more people on a daily basis than I do in a week.”

“I do not,” Dean protested.