Brody shook his head. “She’s at the hotel. I wasn’t sure about the decibel level here and how loud things were, so I gave her the night off. I’ll be okay for a few hours.”
Diego didn’t know how that worked with service animals, but Diana spotted that concern on his face, her eyes glancing back and forth between them. “Brody, how ‘bout you come sit with me, and you can tell me about Peach and your rescue.”
“Yes ma’am.” Brody answered with a wide smile and a nod of his head, and they walked toward the bar, Diego’s heart beating fast in his chest as Brody pulled a bar stool next to Diana’s and they began to talk. Could this all work out? But before he could think too hard on that pipedream, it was time to get back to the stage.
“Okay, it’s time for our last song. We’d like to thank you all for being a great crowd tonight. We’re gonna leave you with a new song, written by our very own Diego Duarte.” Troy turned and nodded at the band members, then looked at Georgia, who began to sing.
Troy joined her in the chorus, their voices harmonizing as Diego’s bass guitar kept up the rhythm. He looked out at the crowd and saw them nodding and swaying. Good, he thought, and then turned toward the bar and saw Brody staring at him. It felt like a lifetime that they stood there; eyes locked while Georgia sang.
Diego smiled, then turned away, back to his band as the song built to its conclusion. The crowd cheered as they finished and bowed before they started tearing down their equipment as the bar began piping dance music through the speakers.
Twenty minutes later, they’d packed everything into the trailer attached to Troy’s SUV, except Diego’s guitar case, which he carried back into the bar. Diana and Brody were still at the bar talking, but his sister ran over to hug him when she saw him walking toward them. “You did great! And I loved that last song. I told you that people wanted songs with a happy ending.”
“That seems to be what everyone says,” Diego told her, but he couldn’t stop looking at Brody and the wide smile on his face.
Diana noticed it too. “Well, I’m heading out now. You two have fun, and Brody—have a safe trip back to Cielo Springs.”
Brody glanced over at Diego, then back at Diana. “Let us walk you out. Is that okay?”
She nodded, and soon the three of them were out in the parking lot. Diana opened the driver’s side door to her car. “I’ll be sure to follow your rescue organization on Instagram. Good luck, Brody.” Diana hugged him before throwing her arms around Diego. “Love you,” she whispered in his ear and kissed the side of his head.
“Love you too.” Diego and Brody watched as she pulled out of her parking space and drove off.
Then it was just the two of them, radiating heat in the chilly night air. “Are you hungry?” Brody asked as he turned his piercing gaze to Diego.
“Not really. Maybe we can—” But all Diego wanted to do was be with him, alone and undisturbed. He heard the desire and need in his voice as he looked up at Brody and asked, “Where are you staying?”
The question surprised Brody, who quickly answered, “The Hilton off of 610, by the Galleria.”
Diego knew where it was. “I’ll meet you there. We can decide where to go once we get there.”
It took twenty minutes to get to Brody’s hotel. Diego never lost sight of Brody’s red truck, as if that gave his mind something to do other than wonder what he was doing and what was going to happen once he got there.
He followed Brody’s truck as he pulled into the hotel’s parking lot and found a spot close by. Brody waited for him outside the heavy glass doors, and they walked inside together. Diego noticed the elaborate Christmas decorations, large trees covered in silver and gold ornaments, wrapped presents tucked underneath. They walked silently through the lobby until the path branched off—the hotel bar to the left and the elevators to the right.
Diego was already aware of Brody's stare without even having to turn his head and make eye contact. He could feel it, like a tangible energy pulsing through the air between them, as if asking: Are you ready? He waited, curious to sense what might come next. When their gazes met at last, it was almost as if they had exchanged an entire conversation with only one simple unspoken word—Yes? —floating between them in that moment. The answer was clear.
Yes.
Diego breathed out slowly and turned toward the elevators. He felt Brody walking behind him, a strong hand resting against the small of his back as they stood in front of a closed elevator. Diego couldn’t turn around, not yet, for fear of running out of the building if he looked up at the raw hunger in Brody’s face.
The elevator opened, and he stepped inside. Brody reached around him to punch the button to his floor, and they rode in silence. When the door opened and they stepped out into the empty hallway, Brody’s hand reached down and caught Diego’s fingers, and led him to the right until they reached Brody’s hotel room.
A moment later they were in the dark, the door closing with a passionate finality behind them. Diego tilted his face upwards, lips parted in anticipation. Brody's hands tenderly cupped his cheeks as their mouths met in a slow, soft kiss that deepened as Diego's arms enfolded him possessively. One kiss, then another, as the two of them stumbled in the dark toward the enormous bed in the center of the room. Diego tugged eagerly at Brody’s shirt, pulling it out of his jeans and off his body as Brody pulled off Diego’s hair tie and ran his fingers through Diego’s wavy curls.
A warm weight pressed against Diego’s legs, and he froze—until he realized who it was and laughed. “Is she okay?” Diego pulled his face back to look at Brody, who looked back at him with a dazed expression.
“Is she—” Then Brody broke out into a wide grin and pulled Diego close, dropping a kiss on his forehead. “I should probably take her out. But you, you’re not going anywhere, right?” Brody’s hand reached down to find Diego’s.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Diego sat down on Brody’s bed. “Go take care of her. I’ll be here.”
Brody reached for his shirt and pulled it back over his head. “We’ll be right back,” he said again, and walked over to the wide chair near the window and grabbed a leash. A few seconds later, Brody and Peach were gone.
Now Diego’s thoughts turned on him. What was he doing here? Diego wasn’t the kind of guy who just casually fucked strangers. Not that Brody was a stranger, but wasn’t he? Diego didn’t know anything about Brody’s sexual preferences, what he liked, what he was into. Diego considered himself versatile, so he wasn’t worried, but he wanted to go into these activities knowing everyone’s preferences. Ash and his special backpack of sex toys flit through his thoughts and he laughed, breaking some of that tension.
Then the door opened, and Brody returned. “We’re back.” He unleashed Peach and kicked off his shoes, then sat down on the bed next to Diego. “We should talk first.” Brody rested his hand on Diego’s knee. “There’s some stuff you should know.”
Fuck. Diego closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. “I’m listening.”
