Page 6

Craig chuckled, picked up his drink, and took another sip. The condensation on his glass stuck the napkin to the bottom when he picked it up, which he frowned at. “Well, I was on a stakeout. I think I mentioned the wife who tried to spy on her husband, thinking he was cheating on her? I was following him today.”

“Yeah, you told me about her the other night. Some wealthy socialite. Please don’t tell me her husband was also taking dance lessons to surprise his wife,” I said with raised eyebrows.

“Not exactly. Let’s just say he was doing a version of the Argentine tango, when it’s performed by two men.”

Craig’s descriptions always made me chuckle. He had a knack for comparing bizarre theatrics with what his investigations revealed. I snickered at his reference. “So, if I’m getting this straight, the husband was cheating, but not with another woman?”

He leaned over and bopped my nose with his finger. “Right on the money, babe.”

“Does the wife know yet?”

He shook his head. “Not yet, but I have the photos to prove it. I texted her to get back to me so we could meet. I’ll probably hear from her tomorrow, then we’ll see how shocked she is.”

I frowned, shaking my head. “It’s weird how many supposedly straight men fuck around on the side with other guys. Don’t we have a couple of friends who married women—one of them had kids, and then discovered their true selves? Wasn’t Tony, Marcus’s husband, in that same situation?”

“Yeah, but he came out to her two years after they’d gotten married. He hadn’t cheated on her, though. He’d gotten her pregnant when they dated and felt it was the noble thing to marry her. He thought he loved her enough to make it work,” Craig explained. “Tony met Marcus a year after he divorced his wife.”

“I guess I could have fallen into that trap. I knew I was gay right after puberty, but with my family, being all sports gung-ho and all, I easily hid the truth from them. I even dated girls when I started high school. However, growing up with two sisters who dressed me up and put makeup on me as a young boy, I think that feminine side stuck and eventually brought out the hidden drag queen in me,” I replied with a laugh. “I came out in college. Experimenting, and all.”

“Wow, you’ve never told me about being dressed up as a kid by your sisters.”

“Yeah. Funny, my dad caught my sisters and me one afternoon and decided it would be a good idea to ‘toughen me up.’” I used air quotes. “Not that I didn’t want to play football; I just liked doing the girly stuff along with it. He kinda gave up being the macho dad, realized I was who I was, and became an advocate for my love of football and dressing up. My entire family has seen me perform as Onyx. I was blessed that I had the talent for singing.”

I took a swig of my bourbon and picked up the bar menu. “We got a little off track around how your day went, talking about my younger years.”

Craig picked up his menu. “Mine wasn’t as serious as yours, though.” We fell silent as we looked over the tapas items. “I’m not all that hungry. Wanna get a couple of small plates and then head out?” he asked, before giving me the look that told me what he was really hungry for. With the heaviness of my day, all I wanted was to fall into his arms and forget about the nefarious nature of my job.

Our tapas arrived quickly, and while we ate, our knees gently rubbed together. The heat of his skin through my slacks hinted at a promise for the night, and all signs pointed to him feeling it too. At one point, the uncomfortable tightness from my arousal made me shift on my stool, and I noticed his gaze drift to my crotch a couple of times. He let out a soft chuckle at my expense, which I didn’t mind. I ate faster after that.

We settled the bill and stepped out into the night air. It was a warm evening with a gentle breeze, and even though we were several blocks from the waterfront, I could smell the ocean air. I took a deep breath.

“I’m parked about two blocks that way,” I said, pointing down the street.

“I got lucky and found Doris Day parking,” he replied haughtily, pointing to his car just around the corner.

“Lucky you,” I replied, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. His eyes were fixed on mine, and I took in their steel-blue color. His blond hair and blue eyes had always captured my attention. “Meet you at your place?” I asked, just above a whisper.

“Obviously,” he said excitedly. I gave him a wink and squeezed his shoulder before letting go.

“See you in a bit.”

As I walked to my car, my excitement grew. We hadn’t been intimate in almost a week, which was unusual for us. But between our work schedules and some quick meet-ups for lunch or dinner, an overnight visit hadn’t happened.

All I craved tonight was some rambunctious fucking and for him to snuggle up next to me.

4

CRAIG

When I arrived at my house, Jonesy was already parked on the far side of my driveway with his lights off. I hit the garage door remote, and the interior light bathed the driveway in a soft glow as the door rose. Shutting the engine off and getting out, I saw Jonesy standing just outside the open garage door, hunger in his eyes.

“How did you beat me here?” I asked, wondering how many traffic laws he’d broken.

“I have a secret route,” he replied.

“You do not have a secret route from Propagation. You used your siren, didn’t you?” I said accusingly.

“I will neither confirm nor deny such an allegation.”