After that, he’d changed everything except his name.
Working with the other victims to bring down Blaze was the only thing that had saved him from the dark times after the betrayal. The genesis of The Parker Foundation and the Night Herons was rooted in one of the worst events of his life, but it had pulled him out of his downward spiral and given him purpose.
Not only did he get to help take down the scum of the earth, but he got to do it with an incredible team of people. Exhibit A: the man sitting across from him.
“I thought you might be more talkative outside of work,” Nolan said. His plush lips kissed the rim of the wine glass, his throat working as he swallowed.
Heat rushed through Dallas. Coming here was a bad idea, but he wouldn’t run, even if he could feel the color rising in his cheeks, giving away his ridiculous infatuation. He took a sip of his drink, hoping for a little social lubrication. “You could ask me a question.”
“I could.” He smirked but didn’t say more.
Dallas sighed. “How about we start with a toast to Natalie?”
Nolan’s expression turned somber as he lifted his wine glass. “To Nat,” he said, his voice rough.
“To Nat.” Dallas gently clinked their glasses and they both drank.
After a beat of silence, Nolan said, “Has her family been notified?”
“I think so. Gretchen said the police or the consulate were going to take care of it, and she’d call them to extend condolences once she was certain they knew.”
Nolan nodded, looking suddenly tired. “Are you any closer to figuring out who was behind the attack?”
Was he fishing for information, or just asking as a friend?Ugh. Feeling like he could no longer trust his coworkers was giving Dallas an ulcer. As was having no proof of who was targeting his team. “We’re operating under the assumption that it was someone working for Warner, but I haven’t confirmed that yet.”
“Shit,” Nolan said. “This sucks.”
“Yeah.” Dallas took another sip of his drink, unable to stop himself from scanning the room for anyone suspicious. Everyone looked happy and…easy, unfettered by the awkwardness Dallas felt around most people, but especially Nolan. “Are you originally from LA?” he asked, desperate for a distraction from the loss of a teammate and his inability to help Emma.
Nolan shook his head. “San Jose.”
“What brought you here?”
“I followed a girl,” he said with a rueful smile. “Didn’t last, but I stayed at UCLA and found a job here after graduation.”
Once they started talking—and the alcohol kicked in—Dallas slowly relaxed. Before he knew it, they’d gone through three rounds and a couple of hours, easily chatting about past jobs and hobbies and music, finding more common ground than he’d expected.
He’d missed this, missed having someone to kick back and share his thoughts with at the end of the day. He could easily see Nolan becoming a good friend, except for the fact that Dallas still wanted to lick the wine from the man’s lips.Christ. He’d been right to keep his distance. Now that he knew how well they got along he had even more reason to steer clear.
He checked his watch, shocked that it was after nine p.m. “I should get going.” Standing before he could change his mind, he checked his pockets for his wallet, phone, and keys. “Work night.” God, could he be any more inane?
Nolan stood, throwing some cash on the table, even though they’d already paid for their drinks and tipped via credit card. “How about a quick walk down to the water? For as close as I live to it, I don’t spend enough time at the beach.”
Dallas hesitated. He wanted to escape Nolan’s presence, but he couldn’t bring himself to say no.
They strolled down Windward Avenue, under the famous Venice sign and along the arched arcades toward the boardwalk. At the edge of the skate park, Nolan paused to remove his brogues and socks before stepping onto the beach.
Dallas stayed in his running shoes, walking toes first to avoid getting sand in his shoes, his calves protesting the long slog before they reached the shoreline. Acutely aware of the man next to him, he watched the water swell like magic until it curled into wide waves, throwing itself onto the sand before being dragged away.
An endless, brutal cycle.
A warm hand landed on his biceps and he turned to see Nolan looking up at him, an unreadable expression on his face, dimly lit by the street lamps on the oceanfront walk and the city glow reflecting off the fog.
Nolan’s mouth moved, but his words were too soft, carried away on the same wind that blew his dark hair into his eyes as he tried in vain to keep it tucked behind his ears. He looked…rumpled. More in disarray than Dallas had ever seen. If he was sexy when perfectly turned out, then he was fucking irresistible like this.
“What?” Dallas leaned down to hear him better, turning his head toward the waves to keep their nearness from being uncomfortable.
Nolan had other plans. He palmed Dallas’s cheek, urging him to look into his gorgeous dark eyes. “Kiss me,” he said, loud enough to be heard this time.
