“It’s almost two a.m. I don’t owe anyone explanations at two in the morning. Least of all you.” Yeah, he knew that sounded rude, but the fact that he’d jerked off to the vision in his mind of the guy getting a blowjob embarrassed him enough that he didn’t give a shit.
A long expulsion of breath indicated how pissed off Davis was. “Why are you being such a bastard?” Now he merely sounded confused. “Can’t we talk about it?”
Did he owe the guy an explanation? Not really. But maybe he owed it to Peter, since Peter was the one who had gotten Asher involved. “Okay. Meet me at eleven thirty Saturday morning at the new coffeehouse on Eighteenth and Broadway.” He clicked off and muted the phone. After cleaning himself up in the bathroom, Drew returned to bed and buried his head under the pillows, willing himself to go to sleep.
* * * *
On Saturday, a few minutes before he was supposed to meet Ash, Drew entered the coffeehouse, ordered himself an iced coffee, and found a table. Stretching out his legs under the tiny table, he wondered why he’d made this appointment. He wanted this clinic to safeguard the kids from predators. While Ash wasn’t that bad, he didn’t need the distraction of wondering whether or not Asher Davis was behaving himself and not seducing the very kids they were trying to protect.
A shadow fell across his eyes. “Okay, Klein.” Ash dropped into the seat across from him. His silver eyes glittered like ice chips, nor was there warmth to the tight smile on his lips. “What the fuck happened between dinner and you coming home that made it so imperative for you to call my office at one thirty in the morning and dump me from the project?”
Drew toyed with the lid to his coffee cup before answering, his gaze taking in the man’s agitated state. “For the life of me, I can’t understand why you’re so upset. I had a change of heart.” He shrugged. “Maybe I don’t want to work with my ex-wife’s lawyer.”
“I’m calling bullshit on that. You had no problem last night when we talked about it. You even liked my ideas.”
Why would a man like this care so much about this project? Did he still have a thing for Jordan and hoped to get through to him this way? “You are aware that Jordan’s in a committed relationship now.”
A look of confusion crossed Ash’s face, before his lips drew up in a sneer. “You think I want to do this because of Peterson? Did he tell you that?”
Nervous, Drew leaned away from Ash, craning his neck to catch the people walking in the doorway. For once in her life couldn’t his sister be early for something? No such luck. His gaze returned to the angry man before him. “No, but I know you had a thing for him once.”
Ash snorted. “Listen. Tell your friend with the overinflated opinion of himself that because I hit on him four or five years ago, doesn’t mean I’m still interested. Tastes change.”
Finally, Rachel walked in and waved to him. Thank God. Before he could stop himself, the snarky comment burst out of his mouth. “Yeah, I know. You’re into waiters now, right? Or should I say they’re into you.” Getting up from his seat, he greeted his sister. “Hey, Rach, how are you, sweetie?”
Her eyes flickered from him to Ash, who sat stunned, frozen in place. “Um, do you want to introduce me to your friend, D?”
“I don’t think so, Rach. We’re not friends, merely acquaintances. I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other after today.” When he looked at Ash over his shoulder, a momentary twinge of regret rippled through his chest. “So long, Davis. See you around.” With his hand on Rachel’s back, he steered her toward the door, hardly paying attention to her complaining that she didn’t have a chance to get her coffee.
“Forget it, Rachel. I’ll buy you lemonade. Now let’s go. I need to buy the fruit to make a cobbler for Nana tomorrow.”
As he passed by the windows of the coffeehouse, he looked through to see if Ash remained. The table was empty, however. Guess he got the message.
“Drew.”
Or not. He turned to find Asher Davis right on his heels, a sheepish expression on his face.
“Listen, Ash, there really isn’t anything to talk about.”
Of course Miss Nosy Pants couldn’t be left out of the conversation. “Hi, I’m Rachel, his much more well-mannered sister.”
In an old-fashioned gesture, Ash picked up Rachel’s hand and kissed it. “Lovely to meet you. Maybe you can convince your brother that I honestly want to help these kids.”
Drew stood observing the exchange between his sister and Ash. He decided to let her form her own opinion of the man. Next to his grandmother, she had the best sense of anyone he knew, not that he’d ever tell her that. Some things a brother never told his sister.
They continued walking down Broadway to the corner of Eighteenth Street, then crossed to enter the park and the crowded farmer’s market. Drew dropped back, letting Rachel talk to Ash. Later he’d press her for the details, but for now he was content to sit back and study the guy.
Was Ash honestly interested in those kids, like he insisted, or was he using it as a way to meet men? It appalled him to think this way about another person, but Jordan’s comments, plus the sexual encounter he’d caught the man in and now outed him about, made him wonder. His face heated as he again recalled the blowjob in the darkened hallway of the restaurant. All the years he and Jordan had been friends, he’d never had any sexual feelings toward him, and merely listened and offered advice whenever his friend began or ended a relationship. Jordan was a buddy, a friend. Nothing sexual with him at all.
This was different. He couldn’t get the memory of Ash Davis’s blissful face out of his mind. Nor could he, if he confessed only to the deepest, darkest part of his mind, forget the sight of Ash’s cock sliding in and out of the mouth of the man sucking him off.
He stumbled. Shit. When was the last time he’d gotten laid? He couldn’t even remember. Months and months. That had to be it, the reason for his strange fascination with Ash’s sex life. Snapping out of his head fog, he heard Rachel laughing at something Ash whispered to her.
“Rach. We need to get the fruit.” Her smile faded at his unusually hard tone.
“Um, okay.” She gave him a frown and a side-eyed glare. “It was nice to meet you, Ash. Maybe I’ll see you around.” She shook his hand.
“That all depends on your brother, I think.”
