I raised an eyebrow as I zipped up, heading for the sinks.
“No ballroom,” Seth said, grinning at me in the mirror. “I’ve never seen a man dressed more to your taste in my life, so either this is a happy coincidence or he’s already taking fashion advice from you.”
“I helped him dress,” I admitted. “But it wasn’t like that. I just walked in on him struggling to get those jeans on, that’s all.”
“I’dstruggle to get those jeans on. Have you seen his ass? I’m gonna be thinking about it for weeks.”
“I’ve seen his ass,” I admitted.
I was going to be thinking about it for weeks, too.
“He likes you,” Seth said. “I mean, I know everyone does, but you can count him among the number. He’d totally go there.”
“He’s my boss’s kid.” I tossed the paper towel I’d dried my hands with in the trash. “I like my job.”
“We’ve been over this, Mr. Lewis would love it, that’s not an excuse.”
I was pretty convinced itwasan excuse, but I didn’t want to argue with Seth about my sex life in a public bathroom.
“I’m gonna go rescue him from Andre and Mark,” I said, heading for the door.
“They’re talking about antiques, it’s so gay it’s making me feel straight in comparison,” Seth complained.
“Can’t believe there’s anything remotely gay you’re not into,” I said, holding the door for Seth.
“They’re having a tops conference out there,” Seth said. “Andre was right, he’s totally a top.”
“I don’t think you can boil the entire beautiful spectrum of human sexuality down to two boxes.”
“Obviously not,” Seth agreed. “Some people are switches.”
* * *
Before I knew it,I was leaving Hayden off at the door like a teenager who’d promised they’d bring him home not aminutelater than eleven o’clock.
It was actually twenty minutes past, but who was counting?
The night had flown by, and I was starting to think Hayden had even enjoyed it. He’d definitely been laughing real, genuine laughter toward the end there, some of that tension in his perfectly-broad shoulders easing.
“I wanted to thank you,” he said, fingering his keys in the doorway. “For, uh. Everything. Tonight.”
He paused, running his fingers through his hair. His cheeks were flushed, heat and alcohol both working to make him look a little rumpled.
He looked twenty-nine right now.
Twenty-nine, and soft, and kissable.
I couldnotthink that. I could not be thinking anything like that.
No matter how pretty the shy little smile he was giving me happened to be.
“You wanted to thank me for exposing you to my insane friends?” I asked.
He liked them, though. He wasn’tusedto them, clearly, but hewasstarting to like them. Even Seth, who was definitely an acquired taste—and he’d hit it off with Mark, who was a little older than the rest of us.
Like Hayden. Hayden was one part old soul, one part precocious kid who never got used to having friends his own age. In my humble, not-a-psych-major opinion. The one class I’d taken on the psychology of love didn’t count—it’d been an easy B+.
… and a good way to pick up, if I was being entirely honest.
