Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Greg blush. I turned my head and kissed his cheek. “What he said,” I murmured in his ear.
A soft smile curved his lips. “Thanks,” he murmured.
“All right, where’s a good place to get a drink around here?” Marco asked.
“There’s a pub right up the street,” Greg said.
“Sounds good,” Gabe chimed in. “Let’s go.”
“Would you like to join us, David?” Jeremy asked.
The other man shook his head. “My husband is home waiting for me.”
Jeremy nodded in understanding. He put his arm around Sean’s waist. “Mine is right here.”
I pulled Greg aside while Jeremy was making introductions. “Are you okay to go out with us? It occurred to me that you might be too tired.”
Greg shook his head. “Just the opposite. I’m pretty wound up from the show. A drink or two with friends will help me settle down.”
“Are we ready to go?” Pete asked.
“Christ, you people are impatient,” I groused.
“I have to get my jacket,” Greg said. “I’ll meet you outside.”
Since it was a Wednesday night, the pub wasn’t too crowded when we got there, and we were able to get tables next to each other that the staff let us push together. We sat Greg in the middle so everyone could talk to him. I sat next to him because I was a pushy asshole who liked to get my way. Sue me.
After the server took our drink orders, Greg leaned toward me and said, “I suppose I have you to thank for this.”
I waggled my hand. “Yes and no. Marco came up with the idea that day in the park. I ran with it and got all the tickets. It’s good that the show was on a Wednesday night. I wouldn’t have been able to get eleven seats in a row closer to the weekend.”
Greg stared at me silently for a long while before repeating, “Marco came up with the idea. That’s…unexpected.”
“You have to stop thinking people don’t like you,” I admonished. “We all like you. We wanted to celebrate your success.”
His eyes got glassy and he swallowed hard. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
Nico leaned in from across the table. “Hey, Greg, I have something for you.” He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This is from Cody. I told him you were playing at a special show tonight.”
Greg took the paper from Nico and opened it. Since I was a nosy fucker, I leaned over to see what it was. Cody had drawn a stick-figure person in red crayon, with a head of yellow hair, playing a purple keyboard. He had printed “Mister Greg” in big block letters at the bottom of the page.
This time, Greg’s eyes filled with tears for real. “Wow,” he said hoarsely. “This is really special, Nico. Thank you for bringing it.”
Of course everyone at the table demanded that Greg pass the picture around. There was a chorus of “Awww” and “How cute” and one, “His handwriting is better than yours, Gabe.”
I saw a balled-up napkin go flying across the table and rolled my eyes. “Knock it off before we get thrown out.”
“Yes, Dad,” Gabe muttered.
When the picture finally got back to Greg, he folded it and carefully slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket. “Now I have something to put on my refrigerator,” he said with a tremulous smile.
“You’ll have to get some fancy magnets now,” I said.
He nodded. “Definitely. Some musical ones.” He leaned in close to me and said quietly, “If you’re not busy later, I was thinking we could go to your place after we’re done here.”
My dick perked up immediately. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”
Just then, the servers arrived with all of our drinks. As I took mine, I noticed Marco staring at me with a knowing smile. He raised his glass and mouthed the words, “Good luck.”
