“I’m not disappointed, just confused. Rowdy obviously didn’t hook up with strangers while he was living in my house, but when we moved him into the cabin, Woody hoped he’d start hosting more, just out of concern for his safety.”
“Did I tell you I ran into him in Austin last week?”
“When? After we signed on the business?”
“Yeah. I had decided to stay at a hotel downtown because of the scorpion situation.”
We looked at each other and shuddered. We were the very definition of city boys, completely terrified of any creature that didn’t sit on command, purr, or take a lead.
“You saw him at the hotel?”
“No. There was a bar about two blocks down, and there was a girl playing Spanish music. Rowdy was sitting at the bar with his friend Skylar and they were watching her play.”
“Skylar?” Emery pulled a face. “Who the hell is Skylar?”
“Great question. Apparently, Skylar is one of his very best friends,” I said, unable to keep the irritation out of my voice.
“How is that possible? Do you think Woody knows about him?”
I bitterly flicked a leaf off the tabletop. “Yet another good fucking question.”
Emery drummed the wood with his fingertips as he looked at me sideways. “Are they...Do you think they’re seeing each other?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Get this, Skylar got up in the middle of our conversation because hissugar daddyhad arrived. He even told Rowdy that his guy wouldn’t last long if we wanted to wait for him, but Rowdy decided to leave.” I took a sip of coffee as I tried to let the gentle lapping of the water calm me. “I mean, they could be poly or open, I suppose.”
“Was that the sense you got?”
I shook my head.
“He drove back home that night, didn’t he? Was he drinking?” Emery asked.
“No, he wasn’t. Nothing but soda.”
“And he didn’t hit on anyone while y’all were at the bar?”
“No. We started talking about guitar playing, and I was shocked to learn that he knows how to play guitar.”
“I’ve seen his guitar around, but I’ve never heard him play it.”
“And isn’t that strange? I asked, facing him. “I’m telling you something doesn’t add up. He spent a good five minutes showing me percussive guitar techniques on the bar top, but then said that he didn’t like playing for other people. Which made me think he’s hiding something.”
“And you really don’t think it’s this guy Skylar that he’s hiding?”
“He was pretty insistent that Skylar was just his friend. In fact, Skylar is coming in tomorrow to help him redecorate his cabin.”
“Where is Skylar staying?” Emery asked, his sharp mind turning.
My lip curled. “He’s probably staying at the cabin, but when I teased Rowdy about the whole one bed situation, he got weird again.”
“Really?” Emery scratched the back of his head, clearly as confounded as I was. “He didn’t just throw it back at you?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Curiouser and curiouser.” Emery sat back, cupping the mug in his hands. “We’ll hafta check out this Skylar guy when he comes by.”
“Yes, we will.”
“Oh,” Emery said, smacking my shoulder. “I came here to ask about how your dates went and totally got sidelined by the whole Rowdy situation. How has that been going?”
