Yeah, but it wasn't really the drink I wanted. Mostly, I needed an excuse to go past J.D. again. A drink would be a good one. So once I was in the kitchen, I found a plain soda, then headed back - detouring by J.D. in the process.
Leaning in toward his ear, I whispered, "You will wear a tie tonight. A blazer might be better. Trust me."
"Love ya for that," he replied just as softly, and the look in his eyes made me think he was as nervous about this as Tanner was.
But now I knew what I was working with. So, when I reclaimed my spot on the bed, I started pointing with a little authority.
"The lighter jeans," I said. "You'll need your boots too. That suit top thing?"
"Suit coat," Tanner corrected.
"The grey one," I said, pointing. "Not the blazer thing."
"Grey," Tanner agreed.
"That's your outfit. Now, you also need some grey or black underwear. The tight kind, because I'm sleeping here tonight."
"No, you don't - "
I held up a hand, stopping him. "J.D. asked me. I'm good with it." Then I made the gesture for him to spin. "And you two are going to have every woman in Nashville drooling, I think."
"Not looking to impress the women of Nashville," he assured me.
"Ok, then all the not-straight men?" I tried next, clearly teasing him.
He chuckled at that, but was also rummaging for the underwear I'd suggested. "Yeah. You know, I used to daydream about one of these cowboys being bi? I'd try to imagine how it would work, and it never did."
"But you still looked," I pointed out.
"Fuck yeah, I did." He dropped his towel and pulled on some briefs that did great things for his ass. Jeans came next. "J.D. was one - of course. Ty too."
"Both pretty men," I agreed. "Who else? What kind of man do you like, Tanner?"
"Shit." He reached for the shirt and began buttoning it up. "I like broad shoulders and round asses."
"Most of the men in the PBR fit that criteria," I countered.
"Strong jaws," he added. "That beard J.D. has works for me."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I agreed. "But like Jake?"
Which made his hands pause as he chuckled. "Yeah, I've daydreamed about Jake a time or two. You?"
I shrugged. "I've been a bit busy to daydream, Tanner."
"And we both know you knew most of these riders before you showed up here and got too busy to gawk. Who'd you think was hot?"
"Ty," I said. "Fuck, I was convinced he was the prettiest man in the world. J.D. was an asshole in my mind. I'd seen his tantrums and knew all about his reputation. To me, that made him more scary than sexy."
"Yeah, I guess that'd be true," he relented. "But he's not."
"No," I agreed, "J.D. isn't scary to those on his side."
"But who else?" he asked. "Make me feel a bit less... bad? Weird about this?"
"Why weird?" I asked.
"Because I'm talking to my girlfriend about what to wear on a date," he reminded me. "Cody, this isn't my usual sort of thing. And yes, I've gotten to like our situationship a whole lot. But sometimes, it still gets me that I don't know the rules to this game. I can't be sure if I'm fucking it up or being a good man."
