Atticus chuckled. “I was honest when I told you it was good.”
“Even with Z in his drill instructor role?” RT asked, grinning at his husband.
“I think the results speak for themselves,” Z defended, gesturing toward Atticus. “I mean, come on. The kid has muscles now.”
Atticus rolled his eyes. He was never going to grow out of that damnkidmoniker.
“What does it entail?” Luca asked. “Training, I mean.”
Of all the Sniper 1 Security employees there tonight, Luca was the only one who hadn’t gone through the training. He went with the team to Dallas when they underwent monthly training to keep their skills honed, but Atticus knew he camped out at the main office with JJ when they were up there. According to Luca, he had no desire to be a field agent, so he didn’t see the point in doing it.
“Hard work,” Z answered when Atticus didn’t know what to say.
Atticus could feel Slade’s eyes on him. He’d felt him watching him all night, and though the man was obviously avoiding him, his gaze still burned hot. He knew he needed to say something to Slade.Dosomething to fix the tension between them. He just didn’t know what he should say or do.
That was mostly true. He knew what hewantedto do, but that involved the two of them losing some clothes and getting horizontal. Since that had worked out so brilliantly last time, he was hesitant. He wanted to get closer to Slade, not push him further away.
“Did all of you do the trainin’?” Griffin asked.
“Anyone who’s out in the field has to.”
“Is he asleep?” Killian asked.
All eyes shifted to where Brantley’s brother-in-law was looking, and sure enough, Cal was passed out, head tipped back, mouth wide open.
“Lightweight,” Trey noted. “But he’s got the right idea.” Trey looked at Magnus. “I think we’re gonna turn in.”
Atticus wanted to as well, but he was trying to outlast the bachelors. After all, this was their party. Since it was almost one in the morning, he figured they would give in sooner rather than later.
He hoped.
“And I’ve gotta get this idiot inside,” Killian said as he got to his feet. “My wife’ll kill me if somethin’ happens to her baby brother.”
“I’ll help,” Griffin told him. “We’ll kick it in high gear again in the mornin’?”
Brantley nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Today was great,” Evan told Brantley and Reese. “Thanks for lettin’ me tag along.”
“We should be thankin’ you for the entertainment.”
Evan flipped Brantley off. “I’m never gonna live that down, huh?”
“Nope.”
Atticus laughed. The memory was so fresh, he could still see Evan scrounging for rhythm he didn’t have. Not that Atticus would make fun of him. He wasn’t sure he had the stones to get up on that bar at all, so he couldn’t say anything.
While everyone else got to their feet and shuffled inside, Atticus remained where he was. He didn’t want to get in the way while they tried to get Cal’s drunk ass into bed. They’d already picked out their rooms, and since he’d been relegated to one of the fold-out couches, he didn’t need to rush it.
As he stared out at the lights of the city, he immediately thought back to another hotel room and another fold-out couch. Back in New York when he’d had phone sex with Carson and then woke up the next morning to overhear Slade calling out his name as he jacked off. His cock thickened from the memory. He knew it shouldn’t because if anyone asked him at what point his life went astray, he would put a pin in the timeline at that moment. He’d thought he was in a relationship—the first real one of his life—with a man who’d somehow changed his thinking in such a short time. But then Slade somehow shifted front and center, and the confusion started.
“You comin’ to bed?”
Shaking off the reverie, Atticus looked up to see Slade watching him. Atticus glanced around and noticed they were the only ones outside.
“You can go on ahead,” Atticus told Slade. He wasn’t sure which room Slade was in. Three rooms had two queen-size beds, and the other three had king-size beds. Since there were three couples—Brantley and Reese, RT and Z, Trey and Magnus—that left Luca, Baz, Evan, Killian, Slade, Cal, and Griffin to divvy up the other six beds. Someone besides Atticus would be the odd man out, and if Slade didn’t hurry, it would likely be him.
“Luca and Killian took the couches,” Slade informed him.
