Jax
“Jax Fucking Mitchell. What the fuck are you doing here?”
I’d never been good at traveling across time zones, so with the jetlag, it took more than a moment for my brain to engage.
That and never in a million years had I thought I’d see him again. And definitely not on my first night back in the country.
“Hi, Tan…Tanner. Sorry, force of habit.”
His smile widened and the blue in his eyes, which could light up the darkened bar, took me to a different time in my life.
“Hey, you know I’ll always be Tan to you.” He winked.
Twelve years.
The first stupid thought I had was,Fuck, he’s grown. He was no longer the slight boy I’d known. Of course he’d grown. He was only a couple of years younger than me.
The second stupid thought was that his blond hair hadn’t changed. Still a little too long. Still a little too floppy, like it was made to have someone’s fingers running through it. Which wasn’t a thought I wanted to have for a straight guy.
Tanner Beckett in front of me took me back to a lifetime ago.
“How do you guys know each other?” Noah asked. I’d almost forgotten he was here.
Noah was the college buddy responsible for my move to Cliffborough and the reason I’d come out to a bar. It was hard to say no to your best buddy when you’d moved into his building. Knowing Noah, he’d pick the lock on my door and drag me out anyway, so it was better to comply.
“I dated Jax’s little sister in high school before I realized boys were my thing,” Tanner said.
“What?” I asked, the words spilling out of my mouth as my brain processed what I’d heard.
“Oh yeah, I guess you’d left for the Army by the time I came out.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
I grabbed my beer and downed it, setting the bottle down on the bar again. “So you’re…”
“As gay as a summer’s day parade.”
“Right.”
Someone called Tanner’s name from behind the bar. I tried not to stare as he turned and left, giving me a display of his perfect ass in the tightest jeans I’d ever seen.
Two questions filled my brain. How could he breathe in those, and he’s gay?
Three questions, actually. Did he know he was gay then?
I picked up my beer, forgetting it was empty. When Noah called me to come out to his favorite bar, he half-joked about scoring tonight. Our conversation had been interrupted by Tanner, but Noah’s eyes hadn’t stopped flicking to the other side of the bar, where a hot guy was nursing some hard liquor.
Instead of ordering another beer, I turned to Noah. “If you’re going to hit up Mr. Silver Fox over there, I’m heading out. It’s time to catch up on sleep.”
“So, you and Tan…” he teased, returning his attention to me while drawing out the nickname I’d given Tanner all those years ago.
I snorted. “Dude, I found out he was gay a minute ago. Haven’t seen him since he was eighteen.”
“Aww, you left for the Army because you were in love with your sister’s boyfriend. How cute. You know this is the stuff romance novels are made of, right?”
“You’re a dick, and I’m out,” I said, giving him a mock punch in the gut.
I glanced at the room behind the bar where Tanner had disappeared but didn’t see him again. Maybe after I caught some Zs, I’d realize this had all been a figment of my sleep-deprived imagination.
On my way out of the bar, the sign I hadn't paid much attention to earlier caught my eye:Tanner’s Bar.
