Merit:You can’t cheat on the Switch.
Creed:You do. You gang up on me with Casey.
I’ll buy and we’ll play pool.Grinning, I sent my message.
Creed:Can’t even defend yourself. Cheaters!
I left them to argue in our chat because deep down I knew this didn’t have as much to do with the games—Merit definitely did find ways to cheat—and had more to do with whatever shit they were still working out. Or, at least, I hoped they were working stuff out. If they ever really made a true split, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. They’d been my friends forever, and I didn’t want to be subject to crappy custody agreements like I had been when their breakup was fresh a couple of years ago.
I needed them to get along.
I ignored the rest of their messages.
It didn’t take me long to clear everything up in the office. The last of the day’s spreadsheets could wait until tomorrow. Nothing was on a tight deadline. Tonight would have been the best lazy night with Angel. Sighing, I gathered my coat and the bag containing my laptop before I locked up the office. I went home to hurry through a shower and change of clothes. By the time I got to the boat with a case of Scottish ale and two huge paper bags of Italian food hanging from my arm, Merit was already leaning on the deck railing, watching the gray sky spit snow. I climbed aboard, my load of edibles not able to slow me down. When my feet hit the deck, he turned and smiled.
Concern battered at me as I got a good look at him. His normally well-kept facial hair was all rough stubble, and he had the look of someone who’d gone on a bender and was after the hair of the dog that bit him. I set down the case of beer and food while he sauntered over to me. The clothes he’d worn to work were caked in dust and filth, and the leather jacket he’d thrown overtop was the only clean thing about him.
“You all right?”
He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be? My life is fantastic. Isn’t it?”
He came over and hugged me. We bumped chests the way we usually did, seeing if we could knock the other off our footing. He lunged with a laugh and hit me again, and I stumbled at the impact. Merit felt friendly in my arms the way he always did, and I gave him a squeeze.
“Ass,” I said, though I pecked his cheek and then hit him with a good shove back. We were still scuffling, and he’d managed to get me in a headlock, when a throat cleared behind us. Merit stopped and his hesitation gave me enough time to slip out of his hold as we spun around together.
Creed rolled his eyes. Unlike Merit, he looked like he’d dressed up, with a nice white sweater under the brown leather jacket he wore. I glanced between him and Merit and winced. They matched.
“Good to see some things never change,” Creed said, and he didn’t act like he’d noticed the oddness of showing up in the same exact jacket that Merit had on. He scooped up the bags of food. “Mer, you shouldn’t drink tonight.”
Merit ignored him and pulled open the flaps on the case of beer. He had half a bottle guzzled by the time I shouldered the case and followed Creed to the game room on the upper deck. The boat swayed and the stairs weren’t the safest in the world because they were too narrow, at least for someone like me, but I made it upstairs in one piece, and more importantly, so did the beer.
The glitzy party space we entered was one massive oval room with high ceilings. The walls dripped extravagance, with teak wood and gold fittings, and I had the same smugness I always did when I remembered how much of a steal this bucket of bolts went for. The dark wood décor always came off as too stuffy to me, but everyone complimented it. The pool table was kind of a joke because whenever you started, one of the balls would roll around, and even now they clinked slightly where they were sitting together in the well under the table as we passed. The boat lurched, and Creed used one of the bolted-down couches to catch himself.
“Where are your sea legs?” I asked.
“At home.”
Creed let out a sigh of relief when he finally made it to the circular booth near a picture window at the aft, and he dropped the food onto the table. There were too many clouds for us to have a good view of Lake Ontario, but we could look out at a slice of gray water rather than the dock as we ate. I set the case of beer down and then handed Creed an ale. He was already busy unloading the bags to separate out the food.
We knew each other so well, and my good mood made me miss Angel even more. I wanted him to be part of this with me.
As usual, Creed and Merit split dishes, and I was alone with my lasagna and salad. We didn’t talk much as we sat down together and destroyed our food. It wasn’t until we were popping the lids on our boxes of tiramisu that Creed looked around and then smiled at me. He brushed back his dark hair.
“Where’s your Romeo?” he asked, almost like he was embarrassed about the question. He turned his box around until the lid faced away from him. “I figured you two were knee deep in the honeymoon phase. I half expected we’d have to wait for you to finish fucking before we could eat.”
Merit snickered and drowned his far too delighted laughter in a gulp of beer.
“Busy,” I grumped and shoved a huge bite of the sweet dessert in my mouth. My cheeks puffed out the way I’d hoped to do to Angel with my cock. I thought about everything we were missing together tonight as I licked my lips and let out a sigh. Tomorrow was soon enough for my little cutie to get his mouth on me. I couldn’t wait. Reaching down, I adjusted myself.
“Aw, you lonesome, Case?” Merit asked. His eyesight was far too keen.
I flipped him off, and he chuckled. “My massive fucking balls were sticking to my leg. Airing out.”
He snorted and took another swallow of his beer, dancing his eyebrows up and down.
“I’ll have him in my bed tomorrow night.” It felt like I was bragging, and maybe I was, but my delight over the situation wouldn’t quit. I was having so much fun with Angel. “We’re doing great.”
Creed stared at me and then fluttered his eyelashes like an asshole. “I’m glad. You’re lucky.”
