“Ah!” Colin demurred, waving away Joshua’s tribute. “Don’t give me the credit. We did it together.” He leaned toward his husband. “You trusted me. That in itself is an act of bravery.” He drained his glass and looked around for a waiter. Seeing none, he stood. “I’m gonna go get a refill. Anyone else?”
David held up his glass, and Colin grabbed it. “Hennessy, right?” he asked, tilting an eyebrow.
“You got it,” David told him.
“Be right back.”
Joshua watched him as he moved to the bar and spoke to the bartender, then he shook his head, still staring at his husband. “God, he’s just so damned wonderful.”
“At times, yeah, he is,” Nate agreed. “At other times, he’s an overbearing jackass.”
Joshua gave a soft laugh. “You two!” His eyes returned to Colin, who was talking to a man beside him.
“Uh-oh!” Nate warned with a smirk. “Someone hitting on our boy?”
Joshua shrugged and lifted his glass to his lips. “Ourboygets hit on all the time. He has his refusal speech down pat.”
“Humph! This guy doesn’t seem to be taking ‘no’ for an answer,” David observed.
Joshua’s eyes swung back to where his husband stood. His body language had changed. He had turned away from the intruder, but now Joshua saw him spin to face him. He could tell Colin was angry even from this distance. Frowning, Colin made a slashing gesture with his hand, then picked up his drink and once again turned his back, sipping from the glass as he waited.
After another moment, the bartender handed him a second glass, and after taking it, he turned and walked toward their table. As he approached, Joshua saw him hesitate momentarily, seeming to sway on his feet before moving again. When he reached their table, he handed David his drink and then fell into the chair beside Joshua, lifting his glass to his lips.
“Shit!” he spat out, then sat the drink down and leaned forward, his hand pressed to his forehead.
“Colin? What’s wrong?”
Before he could answer, a man approached their table and tapped Joshua’s arm. “Is that your boyfriend?” he asked, indicating Colin.
“He’s my husband. Why?”
The man pointed to the person Colin had interacted with at the bar. “That guy right there? He roofied your husband’s drink. I saw him do it.”
“What!?”
“Oh, you are fuckingkiddingme!” Nate cried, springing to his feet.
David grabbed his arm. “Nate, hang on a second!”
Joshua wheeled to face Colin, who was wobbling in his chair, staring down at his shaking hands, clearly disoriented. “Jesus, Josh,” he muttered. “I—I feel… weird.”
Joshua rested his hand on Colin’s shoulder and leaned over him. “He can have a bad reaction to certain drugs!” he told Nate. “Goddammit!” His teeth drew back over his lips, and his eyes swung to the bar, seeking out the perpetrator.
David shot to his feet. “I’m going to find ship security.”
Another bar patron approached their table. “Is he telling you about that dude at the bar?”
“Yeah.”
“I saw it too.” He gestured to Colin, then tilted his head toward the bar where the perpetrator stood. “That guy doctored his drink.”
Joshua wheeled to face Nate. “Stay with Colin!” he commanded.
“Josh, wait!” Nate called out, but Joshua was already in motion, moving patrons out of his way as he strode forward, fueled by white-hot fury. His quarry spotted him and tried to edge away, but Joshua closed the gap between them and grabbed both lapels.
"What's your problem, man?" the culprit demanded.
Joshua slammed his back against the bar. “You roofied my husband, you son of a bitch!”
