That is until he opens the door slowly and walks in first. For whatever reason, that has my feet working as I shuffle in behind him, clutching the bottle of wine again. When I make it through the door, it’s Travis who notices me first.
He’s perched on the arm of the couch, facing the beautiful roaring fireplace. But when he sees me, he gives me a soft smile. “Thatcher. Glad you made it.” His approach is similar to the way one would act with a scared animal.
His husband?
Nope.
Oakley runs at everything without hesitation. And when he hears his husband, his head swivels over to me, and I swear he’s at a full sprint before I can move. Asher, though, is right at my side and kind of intercepts him from grabbing me up in a great big bear hug. “Look who I found outside.”
“Holy shit! It’s Thatcher Langley!” Oakley yells, stopping just a foot short of me, his face lit up with excitement. I don’t know how we’re friends, honestly. And yes, I do consider Oakley a friend.
He’s impossible not to like, despite me trying like hell to keep my distance. He’s been there over the years. “Hi, Oakley.” I hold out the bottle to him. “I brought wine.”
He takes it from me, that great big grin stretching over his entire face. “Thanks, man. You didn’t have to do that though. I’m just happy you showed.”
I feel a little guilty because I know how much he means that, and I know I’ve stood him up for years now. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Travis walks over to his husband’s side, wrapping an arm around his waist. “We already had dinner, but I can warm up some leftovers. And we do still have some snacks out here and there.”
“Oh no, I’m fine. Thank you.” My whole body is stiff, and I can feel all eyes on me. I don’t really know how to get out of the situation though, but Asher must pick up on it because he clears his throat, pulling the attention to him.
“How about a drink then?”
I nod my head, and Oakley continues beaming at me. “Make yourself at home.”
Yeah, right. But I’m thankful when everyone seems to go on about whatever they were doing before I walked into the house and Asher is shuffling me toward the kitchen.
“See? Not so bad,” he says. I smile at him, feeling a little less tense, now that the attention is mostly off me and it’s just Asher and me at the kitchen island. He grabs a glass. “What kind of drink do you want?”
I shrug. “I’m not a big drinker. What are you having?”
He looks a little sheepish and honestly, a little green when his head shakes from side to side. “I’m on water now, but club soda sounds good, actually.”
I chuckle, remembering him telling me he was outside to sober up, and I can’t help but wonder what I missed earlier. “That’s sounds great.”
His grin is almost addictive. It’s kind of crooked but in an adorable way, and his eyes sparkle a little when he does it. “I’ll be right back. I think it’s in the living room on that table.”
I nod my head and smile when it appears he hesitates for a second before he heads into the living room, like maybe I’m going to escape. It’s an open floor plan. He can see me the entire time, but it still makes me smile.
I take a seat on one of the stools at the counter but nearly fall off when I hear a deep voice coming from behind me. “Trying to decide how long you have to stick around without being rude?”
I recover from the initial shock and then give a grin of my own when Jackson sits himself down next to me. His green eyes are playful, and I realize pretty quickly he’s teasing me. “That obvious?”
“Little bit.” His smile is a little more subtle than Asher’s, but damn, it still manages to have the same effect on me. A hot, tingling sort of rush goes through me when our eyes lock. “Oakley sure is excited though.”
I glance over at Oakley, who’s sitting with his arm around his husband on the couch as they play charades with a few other couples. “Shit, is everyone here coupled up?”
I don’t realize I said that out loud until I hear Asher chuckle as he walks back over, smacking Jackson on the back. “Mostly. I’m single, and so is Luke, over there.” He nods toward the youngest member of the crew who I’ve only met once, but he’s sitting next to a pretty girl with kind eyes, so I guess I assumed he was with someone. “The Disney-looking princess is actually with Jackson.”
I notice immediately when Jackson’s entire demeanor changes, his jaw ticking with frustration, maybe. I’m not surewhat that’s about. I thought these two were friends. They always seemed friendly enough when they were working on a job together. “Still on that shit?” Jackson asks him.
Asher seems unbothered. At least I assume that’s what he’s going for as he pours club soda over ice in two glasses, sliding one over to me. “What? She’s a beautiful princess.” He brings his glass up to his mouth but doesn’t drink. Instead, he tips the glass at Jackson first. “Congratulations. I mean, not my type, but you said you’re happy.”
Okay, what the hell is going on with these two? “Fuck you, Asher.” Jackson climbs down from his stool and briefly touches my shoulder, but it sends a shock through my entire body similar to the way I felt when I grabbed Asher’s wrist. “Good to see you again, Thatcher.”
“You too,” I manage to croak out before he heads over to the chair where his girlfriend is sitting, picking her up playfully and sitting her back on his lap as he swoops in. She giggles happily, clearly liking the attention, and who wouldn’t. Jackson is a gorgeous man. Large and classically handsome, with at least ten pounds of pure muscle on me, and I’m no small man. I turn to look at Asher, who’s just as fit but far more lean, grinding his teeth and looking like he’d like to punch his fist through this marble counter.
“You okay?” I ask softly.
