He replayed the moment again.
Tommy laughing at something Logan said.
Logan’s hand settling automatically at the small of Tommy’s back.
Not possessive.
Just steady.
Chase had seen a lot of relationships.
Most of them looked like negotiation.
That one looked like structure.
Which made what happened next even stranger.
Because Tommy had looked at him.
Not flirting.
Not performing.
Just curious.
Like he was wondering what it would be like if Chase stood in that space too.
Chase pushed away from the railing and walked down the porch steps, gravel crunching under his shoes as he crossed the yard toward the street.
His car sat under a maple tree half a block down, parked where he’d managed to find space earlier before the street filled up.
Behind him the door opened again briefly, someone stepping out for air before heading back inside. The music swelled for a moment and then softened again when the door shut.
Chase reached his car and leaned against the hood instead of getting in.
He looked back once.
The house didn’t look different.
Lights on.
Voices inside.
Just another weekend party.
But the patio conversation replayed again anyway.
Logan asking him direct questions without hostility.
Tommy watching both of them like he was trying to understand the shape of the moment as it formed.
The strange lack of tension.
Chase had expected something sharper.
Territorial energy.
Even polite resentment.
