Before I could separate myself from Chris and Lucy to greet him, Davide appeared and gave him a big hug and a kiss. My mouth fell open at the sight. For all of his talk of dating and hooking up, I’d never seen Davide openly show affection to the men he was with.
“Who’s that?” Lucy asked.
“His name’s Nick. He’s a bartender at a Latin American restaurant that Davide and I like to go to for happy hour.”
“Are they dating?”
“I don’t know. Last time I brought it up, Davide said he wasn’t ready for a man like Nick.”
“What does that mean?” Lucy asked.
“He said Nick was the relationship type, and he’s not. It wouldn’t be fair for him to hook up with Nick when he wasn’t interest in anything more.”
“Well, it looks like he changed his mind.”
I nodded. I fully intended to ask Davide about it as soon as I could get him alone.
My chance arrived sooner than I expected. Davide walked over with Nick and introduced him to Lucy and Chris.
As they drew Nick into conversation, I grabbed Davide’s arm and dragged him away with a quick, “We’ll be right back. I just need a little help with something.”
We ended up in the storage area in the back.
“What’s going on?” I asked Davide.
“What do you mean?”
I gave him a flat stare. “Don’t play dumb.”
“I don’t have to play.”
I gave his arm a little shake. “What’s going on with you and Nick?”
“Is there any way we can talk about this later?” he asked.
“Nope.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Last time we talked about Nick, you said that you weren’t ready to go there. Spill.”
He sighed. “Let’s just say that seeing you and your hot guy made me realize what I was missing out on. I decided to give the whole relationship thing a try. If a straight guy without a clue can figure it out, I probably can, too.”
I had to laugh at his obvious description of Elijah. “All you have to do is pay attention,” I said to him. “And you’re very good with details.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“How’s it going so far?” I asked.
He glanced away, a flush spreading across his cheeks. That said everything I needed to know.
“That good, huh?” I teased.
“Shut up.”
I laughed and gave him a hug. “I’m glad you aren’t hiding anymore, D.”
With a heavy sigh, he hugged me back. “I am, too. Now, I’ve heard the bells over the door ring way too many times. We need to get back out there.”
“You just want to make sure that Lucy and Chris haven’t run Nick off or given him the third degree.”
“And?”
