Page 77 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

“That’s me,” Ethan said with a grin.

“Well, and I hope my pictures managed to do me some justice,” Ethan said.

Ethan gestured toward the bar. “You want something to drink?”

“Hm, I don’t know what they have here.”

“Not a whole lot, or rather, not that great. But I like meeting people here since it’s quiet.”

“I suppose we could have a drink or two,” Christian said.

Ethan chuckled. “In a rush to get out of here?”

Christian shrugged, putting on a mock air of coyness. “I guess you could say I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far.”

“Man, I must be charming as hell if I managed to convince you to leave just by seeing me,” Ethan said.

Christian chuckled, giving the man a wink. “Sure, charming, we’ll go with that.”

“Okay, fine, I look good then.”

Christian laughed, following Ethan to the bar as they ordered their drinks.

It was the first time in a few months Christian had tried going out for drinks with someone.

Then again, ‘going out for drinks’ on dating apps was generally just code for ‘get a drink or two and go back to someone’s house to get laid.

’ It was precisely the sort of setup he wanted when he’d found Ethan on the dating app the night before and struck up a conversation.

After some brief wrangling, he’d secured a meetup and an agreement that if things went well, they’d go back to Ethan’s place.

Normally, Christian was nervous during the first meeting, never knowing what to expect.

Yet, as he chatted idly with Ethan and they waited for Christian’s beer and Ethan’s chocolate martini, he felt no trace of nerves.

He honestly would have thought that meeting Ethan under false pretenses would have made his nerves worse than usual, but it had the opposite effect.

Knowing the night would not end with him in Ethan’s bed was a plus.

And that choice of a chocolate martini on the other man’s part certainly made him feel better.

“So, you work at the base?” Ethan said as they moved back to the booth.

Christian nodded. “Yeah. Transferred in about a year ago, and it’s looking like this will be my home for at least another year.”

“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’t the 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’t sure 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.

However, the same couldn’t be said for Ethan.

“Wow, nice place you have here,” Christian mused as he looked around.

Ethan winced, a hand resting on his stomach. “Yeah, thanks. Cost me a bit, but it makes me happy.”

“I bet it cost,” Christian agreed.

Ethan gave a faint smile. “It’s alright, I make pretty good money. And I’ve got something on the side that will also bring me a good load of cash. I’ll be set.”

Christian never realized how good his acting potential was until he flashed what felt like the most natural smile. “Yeah?”

Ethan nodded. “Oh yeah.”

“Well, that must be nice. Not getting into trouble, are you?” Christian teased.

Ethan winced again, stepping toward the nearby hallway. “Nah, nothing like that. I’m a good boy.”

Christian’s lip curled, but he said, “Well, hopefully not too good.”

Ethan chuckled, though the sound came out forced. “Not me, not ever.”

Christian watched the other man, seeing indecision come over his face.

Christian hadn’t known how long it would take for the pills to kick in, but apparently, it had taken the time it took them to leave the bar and walk to Ethan’s apartment complex.

The man looked pained and a little green, and Christian bet he was trying to find the most covert and least embarrassing way to excuse himself.

“Something wrong?” Christian asked with concern in his voice.

Ethan shook his head. “No, no, I’m okay. But, uh, I think I need to go freshen up a little. You can make yourself comfortable and get a drink if you want. Everything’s in the kitchen.”

“Oh, sure, go ahead,” Christian said, hoping he sounded politely confused.

Ethan chuckled again. “Don’t worry, I’ll just be down the hall if you need anything.”

From the look on Ethan’s face, however, Christian was betting the other man hoped he didn’t need anything.

Christian had never taken laxatives in his life, but he’d done a bit of research before he settled on using them.

Apparently, taking one too many in a short time created an incredibly uncomfortable and messy result.

Thankfully, though, Christian had noted it wasn’t fatal.

“Okay, take your time. I’ll...chill out here,” Christian said, his eyes falling on the laptop on the coffee table and the flash drive beside it.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be right back,” Ethan said as he all but dashed down the hallway.