“I don’t get it, man.” Derek’s brows bunched together. “You’re single, yet you haven’t had a woman—serious or otherwise—the entire time I’ve known you. What’s the deal?”
Trevor looked back across the booth at his friend. Not in the mood to go all Dr. Phil with the guy, he remained quiet. It turned out to be the wrong choice.
“This isn’t about that one woman, is it?” his friend asked. “What was her name...Lisa something?”
Hearing the name was a shock to his system. Several seconds passed before Trevor could even speak. “How do you know about her?”
Derek looked at him incredulously. “You’re kidding, right? Hell, the first thing I did when Jake hired me was look up all you assholes. Needed to know who was gonna have my back.”
Of course he’d ran their backgrounds. It was Derek, after all.
“No,” Trevor finally answered the original question. “Lisa has nothing to do with this.”
Liar.
Even though his friend nodded, Trevor knew he hadn’t sounded convincing.
“Glad to hear it.” Derek actually sounded sincere. “’Cause that was a long damn time ago, Trev. You’ve got to move on from shit like that.”
“I already told you that isn’t it, so drop it.”
The other man gave him an assessing gaze. “All right. If what happened in Syria isn’t the problem, what the hell is?” As if he’d just realized something big, Derek’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. He began tripping all over his own words. “Ah, shit, man, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know. It’s cool, though. Really.”
Thoroughly confused, Trevor asked, “Didn’t know what?”
“Seriously, man. I don’t judge anyone for shit like that. Your lifestyle’s your business. Even if we’re battin’ for different teams, that don’t change the way I look at you, or—”
“Batting for...what in the hell are you talking about, D?” Wondering if his friend had lost his damn mind, Trevor lifted his glass of sweet tea to his lips.
“I’m just sayin’, bein’ gay ain’t nothin’ to be ashamed of.”
A small geyser of tea shot out of Trevor’s mouth, spraying the table and covering the front of Derek’s shirt.
“Jesus Christ,” Trevor grumbled as he reached for the metal napkin dispenser.
“Whoa!” Scooting back in his seat as far as he could go, Derek pulled out several napkins of his own and started patting the front of his shirt.
“You know, for a genius”—Trevor wiped his mouth and chin—“you can be a real dumbass.”
It was Derek’s turn to look confused. “What?” He began wiping down the table. “What did I say?”
“What did you—” Trevor ran a frustrated hand over his jaw. “Just because I don’t go to bed with every woman who has a pulse doesn’t mean I’m gay.”
“Well, good. I mean, if you were, that would be cool, too. I just meant that...”
“Hey, guys! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back here. We’re short-staffed today, so it’s been kind of crazy.”
Trevor glared at Derek before turning and giving the five-foot-nothing angel standing next to their booth a smile.
D had better pray she hadn’t overheard their conversation.
“Hey, Alexis.” Trevor offered their waitress a smile. “I’d ask how you’ve been, but I’m thinking this may not be the time.”
The adorable woman smiled. “Well, you know me...I’m just livin’ the dream.”
Her sarcasm made him smile even more.Man, she’s pretty.
Looking at Derek’s chest, Alexis shook her head in amusement and chuckled. “Nice shirt, Derek. I think I like it better than the last one.”
