“Yeah,dancing.”
“That wasn’t justdancing.You two weregetting it on,big time.”
Gabe agreed. Cole had shown no signs of wanting to stop—so why did Gabe stop?Hedecided to leave the floor and go back to the bar. Had he hoped Cole would want to go somewhere more private and… finish what they started on the dance floor?
“Even so,” Gabe sighed. “It didn’t go anywhere. I’m just hoping…” He turned the phone over in his hands. “… that he will consider my suggestion.”
“What suggestion?”
“I, uh…” Gabe smiled sheepishly. “I suggested he come to work here.”
“You did?” Dane arched his brow. “And… what did he say?”
“He kind of shot down the idea, at first.”
“At first?”
“After he went home, he texted me and said he was thinking about it.”
Dane squinted. “He texted youafterhe went home?”
“Yeah.” Gabe frowned. “What?”
“Nothing.” Dane smiled. “It’s just… at least you know he wasn’t just trying to get away from you when he left. Or else, he wouldn’t have messaged you.”
Gabe had thought about that, too. “I didn’t have his number until he sent the text,” Gabe mused. “I mean, I gave him mine before he left, but we didn’texchangenumbers.”
Dane smiled. “Perhaps he wished he had given you his number, and texting allowed him to do so subtly.”
Laughing low, Gabe shook his head. “I think we’re reading too much into that text.”
“Maybe.” Dane shrugged. “Maybe not.”
The cell vibrated in Gabe’s hands, and he jumped, dropping it on the bar, then snatched it up again quickly. He answered without checking who was calling. “Hello?” His heart raced way too fast, beating wildly against his ribs. This was crazy—he shouldn’t bethisexcited.
Logan’s voice came over the line, and Gabe’s excitement deflated like a punctured balloon. He listened, trying to focus on the man’s words rather than his own disappointment, responded accordingly, then hung up.
“Logan.” He set the phone down, embarrassed that his disappointment was so obvious. “He has some things to do; he’ll be about an hour late tonight.”
Dane ducked his head and chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“You.” Dane looked at him. “You’re so cute.”
Gabe rolled his eyes and laughed. “Shut up.”
Cole lay in bed late into the morning, just staring at the ceiling. With the start of a new day, last night felt…surreal. Like a dream. Gabe didn’t seemreal. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe Cole hadn’t gone to the strip club, and it was all just some wild fantasy he’d imagined.
That “possibility” didn’t stop Cole from checking his phone every five minutes, though. He didn’t know what he expected to find each time he picked up the cell or what hehopedto find. A missed call or text from Gabe?
Cole groaned and sat forward, rubbing his face. The first thing he noticed when he woke up was that he’d slept through the night without any nightmares. And the second? The “morning wood.” He rarely woke up sohard, but this morning, it was so intense that his entire groin ached, causing pain. He had no choice but to work it out.
A couple of hours after the fact, Cole told himself he wasn’t thinking of Gabe the entire time he waseasinghis suffering. But he suspected he might be lying to himself.
Cole crawled out of bed, showered, dressed, and headed to the kitchen. As he made coffee, his thoughts drifted back to last night’s text.I’m thinking about it. Once again, he wondered if he meant the job offer—or thedance. Both? Either way, because of the message, Gabe would expect to hear from him.
Taking his coffee and a cinnamon Pop-Tart into the living room, Cole sat on the sofa and watched TV. The television was a small, somewhat old set he’d bought from a pawn shop a couple of blocks away from the apartment building. His basic streaming package didn’t offer much, but at the moment, it didn’t matter; he wasn’t paying attention to what was on screen anyway.
