“Jordie…” Luz said when I interrupted him.
“Don’t say it, okay? I know I fucked up, but it happened, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“You have to, Jordie, or you’ll get hurt.”
“I know that it seems impossible for him to like me, but—”
“It’s not that, Jordie. He likes you. I called it ages ago. The issue here is that he’s an asshole, and he doesn’t deserve you.”
“You give me too much credit,” I mumbled. “Besides, you don’t know him as I do.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I’m not right. Please, stay away from him.”
“I will, damn it. I just need some time.”
As it turned out, time was the least of my problems, and I realized it when a cloud of perfume entered the picture. Namely, Maria. Her arrival made me consider something that should have crossed my mind sooner. Sooner or later, Adam would find someone, and I would be forced to watch. The thought made me want to drink myself into oblivion, so when Maddox suggested drinks at Pete’s, I was all for it. My realization, as crushing as it was, still didn’t mean I would roll over and watch it happen. So, when Maria tried to sit next to Adam, I was faster, and I slid into the booth next to him. She sat beside me, and the rest of the gang followed, which meant Maddox, Buck, and John Smith.
A few rounds later, I was tipsy, so slightly less miserable. Adam looked sleepy, judging by his heavy-lidded, glassy stare. He had also been acting strangely since we came here for several reasons. First, he sat way too close to me. Second, his leg was pressed against mine, hip to ankle, and it was deliberate, not accidental. Third, he draped his arm over the armrest, letting it rest above my shoulders. We probably looked like a fucking couple, and the idiot had no idea. I didn’t have the energy to point it out to him, although it didn’t go unnoticed. I saw Maddox mouthing “wow” after giving us an incredulous stare, just as two more people joined us at the table.
“Imagine meeting you lot here,” Detective Tye “The Viking” Thorsen said, pulling up two chairs. “What’s up, losers?”
“This is a nice surprise,” I said, fistbumping him. “What are you two doing in our neck of the woods?”
“We were passing by,” Detective Dominic “The Trigger” Carter replied, sitting down next to Thorsen. “Obviously, we couldn’t resist seeing the old gang.”
Carter and Thorsen got out of the LD after they caught the Butcher of Smitsville, a notorious serial killer. Carter was a black-clad grump who looked more like a model than a cop. Thorsen was a Viking-lookalike mountain of a man with a sunny disposition that contradicted his size. Their differences didn’t stop them from falling for each other or becoming life partners as well. After they were transferred to Grangetown, their life took a turn for the better.
“Someone misses Shitsville,” Adam snickered. “That’s adorable.”
“Still an asshole, huh?” Carter said, giving him a once-over.
“Still trigger-happy, huh?” Adam retorted.
“Only around his husband,” Thorsen said, smiling sweetly. “I would go into the particulars, but they would make you blush, Markland.”
Adam rolled his eyes, and I had to smile, because it made him look like a petulant child.
“Where are you headed?” I asked the newcomers, although I had an inkling.
“To New Mesa,” Thorsen replied. “I’m Bazooka’s best man, as you well know, and he needs urgent backup. Apparently, their wedding planner messed something up, and Luz is on a killing spree.”
I chuckled. “I know what you mean. As the other best man, I get daily updates from Luz, along with his fits of rage.”
Adam, whose hand was now on my shoulder for some reason, looked at me with a frown.
“I didn’t know that you agreed to be Luz’s best man.”
I blinked. “Why would you?”
His expression suggested I should have told him, which was ridiculous. He was never interested in my life before, but now he acted as if I’d committed a war crime by not telling him this. I wasn’t the only one confused, either. The looks Carter and Thorsen exchanged were priceless.
“Oh, these two are pals now,” Maddox said, pointing at us. “I would tell you all about it, but I don’t want to get punched in the face.”
When Carter gave me a “what the hell is going on” look, I gave him a helpless “I have no idea, please, help” shrug. He knew better than anyone how much Adam had disliked me in the past, so no wonder he was baffled.
A few rounds later, we called it a night. Carter and Thorsen left first. John Smith was the designated driver, so he drove the rest of the gang home. I was tipsy, so Adam drove me to my place because that man could drink like a skunk, and it never affected him. He has been strangely silent, though, and I didn’t know what to make of it. Was he still mad at me? Or just sleepy?
“I didn’t think you would be interested in me being Luz’s best man,” I said when the silence became uncomfortable. “I’m not used to you being interested in my… whatever.”
