“Gunner just started recently,” Clark explained. “I’m better friends with another bartender, Brick. But Gunner seems pretty nice.”
I nodded. “Seems like a nice place here. We could use a couple new hangouts.”
Clark frowned. “We,” he said.
“Me and Rip,” I clarified.
“I know what you meant. I’m just noticing the way you always include each other.” He bit down on his bottom lip, then shook his head quickly. “I’m not criticizing you. Just thinking that it must be nice, to have a person like that.”
I smiled. “It is nice,” I acknowledged. “Does that mean you’re warming up to Rip a little bit, too? I can’t imagine you using the wordsniceandRipin the same sentence a week ago.”
Clark held his hands up, like a gesture of surrender. “I don’t know, Mars. I’m having a nice time hanging out with you both, weird as that is to say.”
I ran my tongue across the bottom of my lip and forced down a smile. “That’s great,” I said. “I thought you’d get along.”
“Let’s just avoid high school stories,” Clark joked.
Rip returned and slid another round of drinks on the table. “Do you play pool, Clark?” he asked. “There’s a table in that back room.”
RIP
Clark held the pool cue out straight, placing it horizontally over the table while he peered down its length. With his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth, he selected his shot, then tapped the cue forward, perfectly bumping the ball in.
I laughed as he pumped his fist, then spun the cue in his hand. “It’s easy!” he said brightly.
“Kind of,” I laughed as I took the cue.
I could almost forget that the guy standing in front of me was the same guy I had known in high school. Clark had full shoulders, a strong jaw, and a quiet sense of strength. But then, in a flash, I’d see a hint of the old him as he turned away to blush at the floor or nervously wrung his hands together.
And just like that, my protective urges rose up like a lion. Like when I first saw Mars, and all I could do was spend the change in my pocket buying him a burger and a wool hat from the thrift. Clark inspired that need to make someone feel good and know that he was safe.
Clark missed, and after he handed me the cue, I cocked my hips out to the side and took my shot. The ball ricocheted across the table, but my target bounced off the pocket. Cursing under my breath, I handed the cue back to Clark, then joined Mars off to the side.
“I’ve got to say,” Mars said. “Watching Clark beat you at pool is definitely the highlight of my night.”
“Hey,” I laughed. “I haven’t lost yet.”
“Not to mention,” Clark added with a funny grin, “I’ve had two cocktails. There’s no way I can keep this going forever.”
I chuckled and threw my arm over Mars’s shoulder, just like I always would. When Clark stiffened, however, I pulled away quickly. Mars and I had learned a long time ago that we’d scare other guys away when we acted too affectionate, giving them the impression that we weren’t really available.
Clark just felt so different than that, maybe because I had known him so many years ago. He felt like something much more than Mars’s latest boyfriend. I guess I had let myself slip.
I leaned forward to Mars and dropped my voice. “Sorry about that! Don’t mean to make Clark uncomfortable. You should give him a little attention,” I encouraged.
Mars nodded, then hopped up from his stool. He walked over and nudged Clark with his hip, and Clark laughed and batted his eyelashes in response. Mars rested his hand on Clark’s chest, and I could tell he was offering Clark some compliment.
Compliments from Mars always felt extra special. You’d think he was just trying to flirt with you, but the compliments were always so specific, like he’d really been paying attention.
Mars had a lot of love to give, and after a childhood where he didn’t have any, he wasn’t the kind to hold back.
Clark leaned forward and placed his head on Mars’s shoulder, and a strange mixture of pride and jealousy filled my chest. Something felt right about seeing them together, like maybe if I could bring Mars into Clark’s life, it could help make up for a small part of the hurt I had caused. I knew that Mars would never settle down, but the connection between them was so natural and easy, I wondered if they could have a relationship that lasted anyway.
Even if I was too scared to admit what that might mean for me and the life I’d built with Mars.
I shook my head, then rose to take the pool cue. I was probably just making things up and looking for an easy fix to what I’d broken. And anyway, there was no time to worry about all of that.
After all, I was about to get my ass whupped at pool by a first-timer.
