Page 4 of Reunion
“He didn’ttellme he was already part of a triad. But Cole’s single for sure. Again, just putting it out there.”
“Stop trying to set me up. I’m fine with my ‘soulless’ Grindr hookups. Besides, that ship sailed a long, long time ago.” Actually, the ship had never even left the port, but that was neither here nor there now.
Shay huffed, then relented, and as I grabbed a set of silverware, I ticked my head toward the dance floor. “Go on and enjoy your party. Stop fussing over me. There are tons of people clamoring for your attention. I’ll find Aaron in a little while and say hello.”
Shay lifted on her toes and brushed a quick kiss over my cheek before mincing off. I watched her go with a fond smile.
Plate in hand, I scouted for a table and found an open spot near a couple of college friends Shay had evidently kept in touch with better than I had. After saying hellos, I tucked into the food, keeping an eye on my surroundings and telling myself I was just enjoying the view rather than looking for a particular brunet who probably had no idea I’d spent freshman year of college trying to find someone I was attracted to the way I’d always been to him.
A half hour later, I had a nice buzz and a fresh drink in my hand. The club had removed the buffet service and opened their doors to regular customers as well, and the place was packed with revelers taking advantage of a crisp Friday night on the tail end of summer.
I moved through clusters of people, catching up with those I recognized, finally finding Aaron and giving him a hearty hug and congratulations. We weren’t near as close as Shay and I were—he’d graduated two years ahead of Shay, Cole, and me—but he felt like a brother by extension.
I almost asked him if he’d seen Cole, and then reminded myself I was well past those kinds of high school inquiries. I’d either find him or I wouldn’t. In the meantime, I undid the buttons on my cuffs and tried to shake off some of the stress of the past forty-eight hours that accompanied a last-minute trip cross-country to finalize details on an upcoming business acquisition for the company I worked for in Vintage Ridge. Not to mention the cherry on top that had been the airport bomb threat. Rolling my shoulders a couple of times, I knocked back my drink in a few uncouth guzzles.
“Want to dance, Dane?” Chase’s bright smile caught me off guard. He owned several vitamin store franchises in town, and I saw him out and about a fair bit. We were friendly enough, though I’d turned down a few advances he’d made in the past. I glanced around again for Cole as I hedged.
Chase seemed to read my hesitation and thrust out his lower lip, giving me puppy dog eyes. “Oh, come on. I know you’ve got moves. I remember them from prom night.”
I remembered his, too. He’d been a wallflower that night, the girl he’d come with having ditched him as soon as they’d arrived. I’d felt bad for him and invited him to dance with me, Shay, and my date, Reggie, before Reggie had pulled me off the dance floor and out the door with breathless promises we’d eventually fulfilled in the back seat of my car. Classy all the way. I chuckled at the memory and took Chase’s hand as he extended it.
“Don’t expect the Worm this time. I’m not that flexible anymore.”
Chase flashed me a salacious grin. “Oh, but I am.”
3
Cole
On the sidewalk outside the club, I sucked in lungfuls of fresh air and was about to open my Uber app when an actual cab turned onto the street, and I flagged it down instead. I thumbed through my messages as I opened the door and ducked my head inside to ask the cabbie, “You good with making a quick stop along the way? Have to pick up some gifts.”
The cabbie nodded and waved me in. I slid inside the cherry-scented interior and closed the door, asking him to wait another second until Shay’s text with the name and address for my stop came through. She’d caught me just as I was heading out after I’d had all the small talk and people-watching I could take. It had absolutely nothing to do with any sort of disappointment over spotting Dane and Chase on the dance floor. None at all.
But it was probably nothing a drink at the hotel and a solo jerk session couldn’t cure.
I rattled off the address and was tucking my phone away when a knock on the glass startled both me and the cabbie.
Dane opened the door and peered inside at me. “You’re staying at the Sonata, right?”
“I am.” I ignored the flutter through my stomach. He wasn’t asking to take me to bed for fuck’s sake.
“My place is nearby. Mind if we share?” He gestured.
I nodded eagerly—far too eagerly—as the flutters in my chest became a stampede. “Sure. I have to make a stop to pick up something for Shay, though.” I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped that wouldn’t deter him, because even if we sat together in stilted silence the entire ride, he was still nice to look at.
“I’m not in a hurry.” Dane squeezed onto the seat beside me. Neither of us were small in stature, and when he relaxed back into the fake leather, his knees splayed wide and brushed against the side of mine. As the cabbie pulled into the flow of traffic, Dane stretched an arm along the back of the seat, a conversational pleasantness in his tone as he asked, “So where are we stopping?”
“Ace’s Wild. I have no fucking clue what magic has to do with a wedding, but it’s Aaron and Shay, so who knows.” I was well aware my brother and Shay were a little wild, but I was truly stumped why they’d choose wedding party gifts from a magic shop.
Dane’s brows shot into his hairline, and then, to my confusion, both he and the cabbie burst into laughter.
“What?” It was probably the fiftieth time I’d said it to him. I imagined Dane was wondering if I’d had a stroke. I wouldn’t blame him. “I went there a couple of times as a kid. Got a really cool trick card set before I realized good magic is much more about sleight of hand and a shit ton of practice than trick card decks,” I added.
“I remember that deck.” Dane visibly fought to get his expression under control. “With the symbols on the back that told you what card it was. Stumped me for weeks.”
“I still have it somewhere.” My interest in magic had lasted approximately two months—long enough for me to determine I was never going to manage the suave of Criss Angel, nor his rock star–cool hair. Besides, back then the thing I was most interested in making disappear was the boner I sometimes got in the locker room. But no one had a trick for that.
“You’re thinking of Wild Rabbit, though. It’s gone now.” Dane raked a hand through his hair and caught eyes with the cabbie in the mirror. The corners of his mouth twitched up again. “Ace’s Wild is a sex shop.”