The band’s last song almost drowned out the usual chatter on my earpiece. Rey had angled himself toward me, one hand inches away from mine, and I was tempted to take it for some bizarre reason. Maybe to give him some clue I wanted to see him again? The thought terrified me as much as it excited me. I wasn’t a second date kind of guy.
As the band came to a close, I turned to Reyes, daring myself to take that risk, to ask for a second night, but the words came up short as soon as I saw his face. He was staring at something on his phone, whatever it was had made the sadness from earlier return. Only this time, it seemed to cut him even deeper. His dark brows were drawn together, the lips I’d become so intimately acquainted with just one week ago were turned down in a frown. I put a hand to his arm and he glanced at me for only a second before returning his attention to the phone. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he walked away, putting the phone to his ear.
I had the strangest urge to follow him. I hated seeing him so upset, and if I hadn’t been on duty, I likely would have.
Beckett walked by a short time later and must have seen something in my expression because he changed directions and made his way over to me.
“Everything okay?” he asked, his voice just barely loud enough for me to hear over the noise of the crowd.
Trying to play it cool, I just shrugged.
Beck studied me a moment before looking around. He knew something was on my mind, but he wasn’t going to press it. At least not here. “Great night,” he commented.
A chorus of giggles made us turn our heads to where a group of girls were holding hands as they danced in a circle.
“Riley started this place,” Becket declared, using to his boyfriend’s real name. “Did I tell you that?”
I whipped my head around. “What? No!”
He nodded, staring out into the crowd, presumably in the direction he knew his boyfriend was.
“Are you serious? Preston did this?”
“With the help of a few others, but yeah.” Beckett was beaming with pride. “He knew the girl who died and only intended to paint a mural for her. Then it turned into… this,” he said with a sweeping gesture.
“Wow.”
He glanced at me. “Hey, how’d your date go? You never called me back.”
Again, I just shrugged. For some reason, I didn’t want Beckett to know how much Rey had gotten under my skin. “Fine, I guess. We had a good time together.”
Once again, my friend saw right through me and smirked. “Uh-huh. You’re not still griping about the boat, so I’m guessing it went a little more thanfine.Are you going to break your own rule and see him again?” When I didn’t reply, he became even more excited. “Holy shit, you are!”
“Fu--dge off,” I said, barely remembering the children nearby.
“Damnit, that means I owe Riley $50.”
I glared at him. “You didnotbet on a second date!”
He gave me a look of innocence that I didn’t buy for a second. I grumbled.
Isaac appeared before Beckett would harass me any further. “Hey, you guys! I’m heading to a club in Charleston next weekend to meet up with a friend. Do you want to come? Preston too, of course!”
Beckett grunted in annoyance and shook his head. I rolled my eyes, knowing he’d rather be caught dead than set a foot inside any club.
Isaac’s blue eyes were pleading. “Come onnnnn, Jake,” he said. “Please!”
I had to admit, a night out soundedamazingright now. Blame it on the music and atmosphere of tonight, but it’d made me want to go somewhere and let loose.
And yet, an unexplainable twist in my belly made me pause. Ididwant to go, but I also wanted to find out what had put that frown on Reyes’s gorgeous face. Maybe he just needed a night out too. Should I stop by the inn this week and invite him? I doubted Isaac would care; he seemed like a “more the merrier” kind of person, but that didn’t mean Rey would be interested in going. Still, the idea of having him with us made the whole idea even that much more exciting.
Decision made, I nodded to Isaac. “Fine,” I said. “Yeah, I’ll go. But I might invite someone.”
“That’s fine!” he enthused, eyes glimmering with excitement as he ran off in Brad’s direction.
I couldn’t read the expression on Beckett’s face when I turned back to him, but instinctively, I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to hear anyway. “You up for a run Monday morning?”
He narrowed his eyes but nodded. “Sure. 7AM?”
“Yup.”
“Okay. See you then.”
