Instead Bas had been a clueless idiot, and so hadAmy.
Almost as idiotic as you,Drew reminded himself. Because he wouldn’t be tied in knots right now if he’d gathered the… the courage, or the will, or the basic sense of self-preservation… to step away from Bas at any point over the past fifteenyears.
Drew sighed and ran a hand through hishair.
“What?” Bas said, his eyes not moving from the FIFA mainscreen.
“What,what?”
With a groan, Bas shifted his head. “What are you staring at me and sighing for? Because you’d better not be pitying me, Andrew. I will have my revenge for this loss.” He narrowed his eyes playfully and clasped a hand to his heart like he was swearing anoath.
Drew shook his head and felt his heart skip abeat.
Dork. The man had no business being so adorably goofy or so good-looking.
AndDrewhad no business thinking about Bas like this - not ever, but definitely not tonight, when all he could think about was how shitty it had felt every time he’d let himself lose control with Bas and felt Bas retreat fromhim.
There were so many reasons why he and Bas needed to never cross that line again. Self-preservation was just one of thebiggest.
“I was just thinking no one at work would believe that the president of Seaver Tech was such a child when it came to video games andvegetables.”
Bas rolled his eyes. “That’s where you’re wrong. Pretty much everyone knows how I feel about both of those subjects. You, on the other hand, counselor?” He smirked. “What would all the little lawyer underlings of yours say if they saw you in my baggy sweatpants and raggedy shirt, doing your FIFA victory dance?” He tapped his lip thoughtfully. “Next time,video.”
Drew grabbed one of the throw pillows from behind him and aimed it at Bas’s head. “Next time, I kick yourass.”
Bas caught it, put it behind his head, and smiled smugly. “You couldtry.”
Without warning, Drew grabbed the pillow back, smacked Bas in the face with it, and put it behind his ownhead.
“Oh, therewillbe video,” Bas warned, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he laughed. “I may make a company requirement that everyonemustwatch it and sign off, just like those sensitivitytrainings.”
“The irony of thatstatement…”
“Is not lost on me,” Bas agreed solemnly. “But why own your own company if you can’t violate your company policies every now and again? I have a legal team to take care of shit likethat.”
He patted Drew’s leg comfortingly, his hand lingering just a little longer than it probably should have. Then Bas leaned forward to grab the remote off the table, and Drew sucked in a sharpbreath.
Could the universe not let two minutes pass without testing hisresolve?
Bas sank back into the sofa and his t-shirt rode up just a couple of inches, exposing an inch or two of tanned, toned flesh, and a tantalizing line of crisp black hair that began just below his belly button. Drew’s throat wentdry.
Apparently two minutes was too much toask.
“I need another. You?” Drew asked, seizing the opportunity to put a tiny bit of distance between them. He jumped off the sofa and walked to the black-and-chrome kitchen behind the livingroom.
“Please. Hey, you wanna watchTV?”
“Okay.” Drew took a deep breath. “So, I was thinking about what Garysaid…”
“Hey. I thought you said no talk of Russians, or Gary,” Bas remindedhim.
Drew sighed and rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge. They’d made that agreement before they’d walked in the door tonight, and Drew wholeheartedly supported it… except that it would have been the perfect distraction right aboutnow.
“Right. Fine. Tabling this discussion until Saturday. You want another Sam? Or theNitro?”
“Is that an actual question? You know I only buy the Nitro for you,” Bas said. “How about watching StrangerThings?”
Drew grimaced, though Bas couldn’t see his face, and grabbed the two beers. “You know I can’t get into that one.” He grabbed the bottle opener magnet off the refrigerator and opened the bottles. “It freaks meout.”
