Without even looking at each other, Bas and I said in complete unison, “No.”
The guy sighed, shrugging his beefed up shoulders and biceps. “Dude, I just gotta piss.”
“No.” Bas said again, sauntering over to the bathroom door and ushering him out. He gave the guy a subtle shove out of the doorway before closing the door and throwing the lock.
When he turned back around to face me, his earlier softness returned. “I just wish you had told me! This is, like, front pagefucking news. Thayer Nguyen dating an Orb? AmaleOrb?” Bas invisibly preened as he rolled his shoulders. “I’d think you were copying me if it weren’t so sensational of you to switch teams.”
“I haven’t switched teams, just joined a different one.” I smirked. “The more options, the better success rate.”
“You’re ridiculous.” He laughed, walking over to me and throwing his arms around me in a hug. “But I’m really happy for you.” When I pulled back from the hug, he left a light punch on my arm, pulling a yelp from me. “Next time, tell me more promptly, please.”
“You got it.”
Beats were resounding from outside the bathroom, the door being knocked on with abject persistence. Either the guy that Bas had locked out really had to piss or other people were told about the men’s bathroom being locked and were trying to address it. Bas gave me a shrug and I just laughed.
“Is now a bad time to mention I bottomed for Qwill?”
“You what!?”
The beating on the door was getting wilder, and after sharing a glance with Bas, we silently decided to move our detailed conversation elsewhere. We walked over and I made haste of unlocking the door.
Three guys, including the guy that we’d locked out and someone who obviously worked at the restaurant, were waiting for us on the other side.
“Is there a problem?” He asked.
“Not anymore.” Bas said without missing a beat, plastering on a smile. “My apologies.”
Bas grabbed my hand and pulled me back the way we came before the staff or the two guys could argue that we’d taken way too long. As we were walking back to the booth, seeing both Kroven and Qwill coming into view as they laughed together, Bas nudged me in the ribs.
“Qwill’s a great guy, by the way.” Bas nodded. “He’s babysatDiana before and I caught him spewing baby talk to her, so he passes the test.”
“The test?” I snickered, curious.
“The best friend test. Qwill’s approved to keep dating you.”
“Yeah, okay.” I shook my head.
It made me feel warm and comfortable that Bas approved of Qwill, not that I would ever give him the satisfaction of knowing so. We finally made our way back to the booth, sliding next to our respective dates. Qwill and I were in the farthest booth, facing away from the front of the restaurant. Kroven leaned down and gave Bas a kiss on the forehead as he wormed his way into the booth. The smile they shared made me only slightly envious. Qwill must have noticed, because underneath the table, he grabbed my hand and placed our conjoined fists on my thigh, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. Meeting his eyes, I smiled wide.
“Everything okay, I assume?” Kroven asked, glancing over at us across the table.
“All good.” Bas and I said together.
“A pleasant surprise that we’re all aware of each other,” Kroven added. “Should make for an easier flow of conversation.”
“Yeah, yeah, kumbaya.” Bas waved him off, cuddling into Kroven’s side as he squared his eyes on Qwill and I. “I wanna hear how you two met.”
I rolled my eyes at him, but Qwill smiled and squeezed my hands before speaking.
“I can tell you about the first time I laid eyes on Thayer.”
Hearing such a prompt made my heckles stand on end. I’d figured he was going to talk about the night we met, because in retrospect, it was pretty comical. But it seemed like he was going to talk about a time he’d been to the club before I’d been aware of him.
“It was a few weeks before we met,” Qwill said to me, hisgolden eyes burrowing angles of adoration at me. “I’d just befriended Garth Lo and Teme, and they kept talking about how cool Downpour was, so I decided to join them. We watched some generic routine and then they announced you.” Qwill tilted his head, shaking his head as he closed his eyes in remembrance. “You were wearing the blue version of your costume instead of the gold you would eventually switch between during the cowboy routine.” He opened his eyes, memories swimming in them. “And I knew right there that if someone could have plucked my type from my head, they’d done it by letting you walk across that stage.” He paused to reach over and cup my jaw, his thumb sliding over my skin in syncopation with our intertwined hands underneath the table. “I’d never seen anyone more beautiful in my life.”
Sincerity dripped from every word Qwill delivered. The look he was giving me the entire time he spoke was eating at my insides, my belly burning with want and need to believe him. When Qwill was saying it, I never believed anything more.
Overcome with emotion, I leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips, his light grip on my jaw tightening as our lips parted. The only reason I kept my tongue at bay was because I heard the sound of a throat being cleared and remembered that Bas and Kroven were watching us. Qwill pulled back before I did, clearing his own throat.
