Micah relaxed visibly. “Construction? You’re working weekends now?”
“Someone’s got to keep an eye on your brother. You know the bastard can’t lay a straight line to save his life.”
Niko didn’t look up from where he was stooped over the toolbox. Instead, he flipped them both the bird behind his back.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re going to offend my sensitive neighbors.”
At the sound of her voice, Niko’s aggravation melted away. He stood up and managed to play it cool. He let the tips of his fingers caress the back of her hand in a subtle movement and looked into her eyes as he smiled.
She caught his fingers in hers and tugged. He came willingly. Her fingers skimmed up under his arm, and she put a hand to his chest. Niko ducked his head, catching her lips. The kiss wasn’t nearly as long as he wanted, but it was good. The sweetness of it washed everything else away.
“Whoa, Nik. Damn.”
Niko stepped away with a sigh, but Carys kept his hand in hers. “Uh-oh. You brought reinforcements today,” she said, looking toward Micah. Her bemused expression turned into a gasp when she got a good look at him. “Oh, honey. What happened to you?”
“This is Micah.” Jamie put a friendly arm around the kid, patting his shoulder as he ducked his head in shame. “Let’s just say he and your brother have the same taste in men. Micah, this is Carys. She lives here, pays us, and has slightly less bad taste in men, apparently.”
“No shit,” Micah said with a laugh, offering Carys a hand. “Maybe Niko’s luckier than we thought, getting hurt like he did. No way he could’ve gotten a girl like you if he could still talk.”
“Ouch.” Carys looked at Niko. “So much for brotherly love, huh?”
Niko shrugged and mimed smacking his brother upside the head. He didn’t do it, of course. Not when he was bruised to high hell.
“Anyway, we’re going to put his useless butt to work for us until he figures out which way is up.” Jamie stroked his chin, considering. “Then, maybe I’ll take him clubbing so I can teach him a thing or two. Not to blame the victim here—that shit wasn’t your fault—but maybe there’s something in your technique that’s asshole bait.”
“We’re gay, dude. The whole point is to bait an asshole,” Micah said, flashing a grin.
“Ooooh. He thinks he’s funny.”
“Maybe you can take Benny with you.” Carys looked at Micah. “My brother, Bennett, just got out of a less-than-great relationship.”
Niko opened his mouth to tell Jamie he should charge extra for all this babysitting he was going to be doing, but he closed his mouth and turned slightly away instead.
Or he would have, except Carys put an arm around his shoulders. “It’s really not fair to leave poor Jamie to babysit our little brothers by himself,” she said, surprisingly echoing his thoughts. “Maybe we should go with. Could be fun.” She looked at Jamie. “If you’re serious about clubbing.”
Jamie’s eyes flitted briefly to Niko’s, but he grinned at Carys, covering neatly. “Yeah. Sure. That sounds like a good double date. Me and the youngins, and you and this bastard.” He clapped Niko’s shoulder. “You up for it, man?”
Carys looked so eager that he couldn’t say no, so he gave a tight smile and nodded. He was relieved when Carys left to let them get down to the business of the day.
He let Jamie take care of Micah and got to work sanding down the boards of the deck. After only a few minutes, he drew back his hand, stung by friction, and realized he might’ve been sanding harder than necessary because the paper was worn through.
Tossing it to the side, he reached for his work gloves, disgruntled all over again.
Carys had beat him to the punch, asking him out on their first date. Not only had he been proven incompetent in that one simple tenet of manhood, but their first date would be with their brothers and his best friend.
Awesome.
From where he was in the living room, Niko heard the doorknob rattle. When he was home and awake, the door was almost never locked. Had Micah locked it?
“Hey! Come on!” Jamie called. He pounded on the door. “What the fuck is this? It’s me.”
Niko heard footsteps from down the hall, so he didn’t bother to get up. He spread his arms over the back of the couch and kept his eyes on the TV.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Micah said as soon as he had the door open. “Niko’s all huffy.”
Niko had to resist the urge to shake his head. He could practically feel Jamie’s eyes on him, but his little brother’s whining was on his last nerve.
His best friend only laughed. “Niko’s got the grumpy-bastard act down pat. Plus, I’m sure it doesn’t help that you’re whining like you got a skinned knee.”
It took some effort, but Niko managed not to turn over his shoulder to gloat. Jamie had his back.
“Hey, you try living with him. Silence of the fucking lambs, man. He won’t talk.”
Niko crossed his arms and stared hard at the screen.
Jamie sighed. “You didn’t try to make him write something, did you?”
“What the heck else am I supposed to do? I don’t read lips.”
“You have to…” Jamie grunted. “Are you really wearing that? That tie is hideous. Come on. Niko,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m going to take one of your ties. It’s for the good of the cause.”
Niko waved a hand. Micah’s tie was fine. They just wanted to talk about him like he wasn’t there. Jamie had to explain the rules of how to deal with him.
What the hell ever.
Jamie and Micah reappeared and plopped down on either side of him on the couch. “Ready, big brother?” Micah asked with a grin and Niko’s tie around his neck.
“He’s not ready. What the heck did you do to your hair?” He shook his head and looked over Niko to Micah. “All things being equal—and remember that he may as well be my brother, too—this asshole usually has the whole bed head going on. Working all day in the hot sun, sweating our asses off, he takes off his hat and it’s like a shampoo commercial. So pretty.” He looked back to Niko. “But today, it’s all—”
Niko smacked Jamie’s hand away from his hair and stood up. He purposefully ruffled his hair and made a sweeping motion at Jamie, asking, sarcastically as he was able, if that was all.
“I told you he’s all pissed off about going,” Micah said.
“Naw. He’s got to be looking forward to seeing Carys in club gear, right? In a place where he doesn’t have to worry about the guys looking at her?” Jamie got off the couch and clapped Niko’s shoulder. “Though I can’t say the same for her. Not gonna lie, Nik. You do give a boy something nice to look at.” He took Niko by the chin and gave him a shake. “Such a pretty face.”
Niko shoved Jamie. Hard. Too hard to come off as playful.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Jamie stepped forward, standing at his full height.
“Ah, I remember this part from when I was a kid,” Micah said, his voice bitter. “Dad asked him once if you took him to one of your clubs. You should’ve heard the shit they said. If you ever wonder why it took me so long to come out, there’s your answer.”
Jamie looked stung, and Niko almost felt bad. Then he remembered he hadn’t started any of this. Like it was his fault they’d decided they wanted to put words in his mouth. He crossed his arms, daring Jamie to say something.
“Really, Nik? I’m going to find out at this point in our friendship that you’re one of those assholes who thinks every gay guy is going to hit on him?”
Niko stared at his best friend. That was the conclusion he jumped to? He narrowed his eyes, his jaw set. Oh, yeah. This was going to be a fun night. He stomped over to the door, yanked it open, and looked at the other two expectantly.
Finally, they were all out the door and packed into Jamie’s car. The tension eased some, at least on Jamie and Micah’s end, and they seemed to have decided they were safe. Even if Niko was a homophobic asshole, it wasn’t like he
could say anything. Jamie turned his attention to giving Micah last-minute pointers, which gave Niko space to grind his teeth in peace.
Micah was right; Niko didn’t want to go but not because he was homophobic. Like he gave a shit what other guys did with their own dicks. It just wasn’t a great first date place. Anyone could understand that. Watching guys—including his little brother, for fuck’s sake—grind up on each other wasn’t on his list of ways to charm a lady.
But he didn’t have a say in anything anymore. That was the way it was going to be. What in all hell had made him think any of this was a good idea? He debated the merits of becoming a hermit in his head.
All arguments for recluse status disappeared when Carys appeared in the doorway, Bennett following after her. His lips twitched, and he got out of the car, moving toward her. She was dolled up, with hair falling in the back in waves and pinned up out of her face on the sides. Damn, she looked good with her bedroom eyes and just-enough-to-tease cleavage on display.
He took her hand and held it aloft, urging her to twirl. He thought she looked just a little bit shy as she complied, and that was adorable. He whistled appreciatively as he took her in.
She had a bubble butt. Niko had noticed before, but tonight, it demanded attention, wrapped as it was in tight black jeans. He thought her ass cheeks would fit just right in the palms of his hands and wondered if he had permission to touch her like that.
His eyes traveled up her body to her lips. Oh, man. Her lips were bombshell red. He wanted to saunter over and tell her they were too damn red, that he had a solution for too-red lips.
Hell with it. His solution worked even if he couldn’t give her the smooth line. He wrapped a hand around her waist and drew her forward, tilting his head down to kiss her. He could feel the layer of lipstick between them, transferring from her lips to his. She hummed, and the noise vibrated between them.
When he broke the kiss, Carys grinned, her eyes somewhat dreamy as she looked up at him. “Are you trying to tell me I put too much lipstick on?”
He blinked, and his shoulders shook in a silent laugh as he nodded.
“Well, now you’re uneven,” she said, her eyes on his lips. “But I can fix that.” She pressed up onto her tiptoes to kiss him again, her hand splayed at the small of his back.
“Hey, hey,” Jamie said a second later. “Enough of that. Damn straight people have no respect for our need to get our club on.”
Niko tightened his hold around Carys’s waist, not letting her pull away. He flipped Jamie the bird and only stopped kissing Carys when he was good and ready.
“So that’s what it takes to get the stick out of his ass,” Micah said.
Niko opened the door for Carys, reining in a smirk at her pleased look, and then got back in the passenger seat. Jamie gave him a strange look but didn’t comment before they headed off.
“Dude, how do you say ‘nice pants’?” Niko could hear Micah ask. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his little brother waggling his eyebrows as he looked at Bennett.
He really hoped his brother was just practicing his moves.
The club wasn’t what Niko had been expecting. It must’ve shown on his face because Jamie elbowed him in the side and leaned in to speak over the noise. “Someone watched too much Queer as Folk, didn’t they?”
Jamie was mostly kidding, but Niko could see that look in his eyes.
Well, what? It wasn’t as though there wasn’t some truth to the idea. Niko had been told often enough what he looked like. He’d heard it a million different times from a wide range of assholes.
“Are you sure you ain’t queer?”
“Come on, boy. Come sit on my lap and tell me the truth.”
“You can’t be in the closet with a face like that, honey.”
Gay men were attracted to men. That was the whole point. It wasn’t like he could tell the ones who were attracted to him from the ones who wouldn’t give him the time of day. Excuse the hell out of him for being just a little bit bothered by the idea. Discomfort wasn’t the same as homophobia, for fuck’s sake.
Since he couldn’t say any of that, Niko settled for shrugging and slinging an arm around Carys’s waist. She gave him a bemused look when he kissed her cheek as though she knew he was sending out a clear signal, but she didn’t call him on it.
They found a table, and as soon as they had the first round of drinks in hand, Jamie pulled Bennett and Micah up. “Come along, my gorgeous dates. It’s time to mingle like you’re single. Let’s leave these kids to chat.”
Niko snorted.
He should’ve known better than to think Carys would let a noisy club stop her from chatting his ear off. Not that Niko minded. She slid closer to him in the booth, right up against his side, and spoke with her lips so near his ear that he felt the vibration on his skin.
“Jack and Coke?” She tapped his glass. “That’s so cliché, Nik. I’m disappointed.”
He gestured vaguely at a list of specials that hung on the wall, wondering how she pegged him.
There was mischief in her eyes as she tilted her head up. “Mai Tai.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Come on. Admit it. It’s not so much about the drink. There’s no shame in liking the fruity drink, by the way. Some of the super sweet ones are lethal. You’d be manly if you could take four Mai Tais and still stand up. What makes it worth it is the pineapple wedge.” She plucked her plastic toothpick laden with three cherries—she’d asked for extra—from her martini. “And the cherry.”
He watched as she wrapped her lips around the first cherry and drew her head back. She held it between her lips, her eyes locked with his, for a second or two before she pulled the cherry into her mouth.
Oh, he was definitely getting laid tonight.
Niko sucked in a quick breath and shifted in his seat. It had been a long damn time. He didn’t want to count his chickens, but he was suddenly sure he was the one being seduced. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Carys leaned in, tempting him, and Niko would’ve groaned. Right then, how he felt about Carys usurping his role was something along the lines of “oh, hell yes!”
She wasn’t wrong, either. His favorite drink was simple: a shot of whiskey with cherries thrown in. That was what she tasted like. He lapped the taste from her tongue and kissed the remnants off her lips.
When they parted, neither of them straightened up right away. The tips of their noses brushed, and despite the fact he was sitting down, Niko swayed. He licked his lips.
Carys shook off their mutual stupor first. “Cherry,” she said.
It took him a long moment to figure out her fingers were moving when she said the word. Pity. He’d thought she was asking for more.
Just then, he’d have done anything she asked, so he raised a hand and copied the movement she made. Then, curious, he tapped on his drink.
She snorted. “Jack and Coke?”
“J-a-c-k and C-o-k-e,” she signed, fingerspelling. “There aren’t shortcuts for everything, but you get used to spelling things out after a while. Or you can just ask for another.” She tilted her head, looking at him expectantly.
Niko obliged, making the sign with the gusto he knew she expected. She laughed and kissed him again, a peck this time. “I’ll get this round,” she said, sliding out of the booth.
That was another point of contention he hadn’t considered. She had this round, and Niko had no problem with that. He was a supporter of the sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. He took it for what it was, a signal that she was into him, but how was he supposed to pick up his share? Even if he did fingerspell their drinks, it wasn’t like all the servers of the world knew sign language.
The question didn’t bother him too much. Not when he could watch the bounce in her step—and, therefore, the jiggle of her ass—from where he sat. After all, his mother had always told him to focus on the positives.
She came back a few minutes later with that adorably bratty smile and
two Mai Tais in her hand. He smirked as he took the pineapple wedged on the glass. She watched, her smile expectant. Rather than tease her as she’d done him, he stuck the majority of the pineapple in his mouth and used the rind as a thin smile. He was rewarded with a chuckle.
“Mmm… Spiky kisses,” she said, pecking him again.
They settled in to enjoy their second drink. Carys leaned her head on his shoulder and told him amusing stories about Bennett when he was a kid. The goofy child was a lot easier to enjoy than the adult incarnate.
Carys started to point at various things and give him the signs. “Nerds,” she said, making a sign like she was pushing up glasses. She made the sign again and pointed to where Bennett and Micah were hovering, watching Jamie chat up some guy.
Bennett saw, as Carys had intended, and flipped her the bird. She laughed and then sighed, the sound wistful.
She raised her head and looked at Niko with a curious expression. He tilted his head and looked back, buzzing too hard to find her study of him awkward.
Carys cupped her hand around the back of his neck, stroking the hairs at the nape. She pulled back and made a sign using her left hand as a floor and the fingers of her right hand as a person. “Dance,” she said. Then she made the sign again, locking eyes with him in a come-hither stare, and pointed between the two of them.
“Dance. You. Me,” Niko signed, imitating her motions.
Her grin was radiant. “I thought you’d never ask.”
By the time he figured out what she’d done, the sneaky vixen, they were out on the dance floor. Niko’s step only faltered once. It was yet another thing he hadn’t done in a long while, but he was a good dancer, and Carys’s smile was too convincing. He put his hands on her hips, finding the rhythm of the music and moving with her.
Within seconds, the music had taken over. He moved without thought, dancing close to Carys. She must’ve decided there was too much space between them because she took his hands and moved them from her waist to her ass.
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