Rubbing One Out - Susan Mac Nicol Page 0,32

have been in a gay bar before, right? That concept doesn’t exist here. I’m beginning to worry which one of you is the novice.” He motioned to Ryan grinding against yet another man on the dance floor. “That young man has more of the concept of what to do here than you do.”

“There’s plenty of others here your beau can focus on,” Ben shot back. “You were encouraging him.”

Dae’s gaze grew speculative with a soupçon of satisfaction. “Son of a banshee, you’re jealous.” His smile widened. “I didn’t expect this side of you. It’s sexy.”

Ben slumped down into the seat Rory vacated. He wouldn’t be getting it back, he thought in victory. “I’m not jealous.” I fucking am. How can I argue that? “It’s rude to hit on another man’s guy when that man’s guy is right here, in his face…” His voice trailed off. Shit, this was becoming complicated. They didn’t have a relationship. All Dae was having was a bit of fun before he granted Ben’s wishes and went back to his magical life in the lamp. This was no long-term thing. How could it be?

Dae sighed and sat back down. He reached over and took Ben’s hand in his. “Listen, I know this is strange. Neither of us anticipated the physical attraction between us.”

Ben stared at him. “Only physical?” I don’t think it’s purely that. I like having you around more than I should.

Dae’s face shadowed. “Well, we both know it can only be that, yes? Anything else would be crazy. After all, we literally come from different worlds. We can’t get emotionally attached.”

Ben’s throat closed up and his stomach clenched. It might be the truth, but did it have to sting so much?

“Yeah, you’re right,” he grunted. “I think I overreacted. I have no right to claim anything about you. Thanks for putting it into perspective.” He stood up. “I’m going to get another drink. Give Rory his seat back. I’ll be at the bar if you need me.”

Without waiting for Dae’s response, he strode into the crowd.

Bollocks. He’d have another drink, get a little rat-faced, then find someone to dance with. Perhaps that would lift his bad mood a little.

***

By Beza’s Beard, he hadn’t handled that well, had he? With a heavy heart, Dae watched Ben fight his way through the crowd. The man’s slumped shoulders made him feel worse.

We can’t get attached, no matter how we feel. It simply won’t work. Is it wrong to admit the truth?

Dae loved his time with Ben more than he should, but he was under no illusion it could last. Ben would make his two wishes, and then Dae would have no choice but to go back to his world. Why did life have to be so damned complicated?

Rory appeared bearing two glasses, and plonked himself down in the seat Ben had recently vacated. “Here you go, mate. A G and T, and a beer for me.” He took a long slurp of his beer then put the glass down with a satisfied belch. “That’s better.” He looked around. “Your, er, cousin, gone then? You managed to sort him out?”

Dae sighed. “He went to the bar. He won’t be back too soon. You’re safe.” The thing was, as much as Dae appreciated Rory’s attention—clearly Dae was something of an attention whore—the only man he wanted sitting opposite him was Ben.

“Fancy a dance?” Rory gestured towards the gyrating people behind him. Dae shook his head.

“I’m okay right now. Maybe later. Please, don’t let me keep you from it. I see a rather lovely young thing giving you the eye from over there. Perhaps he’ll grant you a dance or two.” Rory looked over to see what Dae saw, a handsome young man dressed stylishly in chinos and a tight tee giving him a come-hither look while mouthing the words “I love gingers.”

Rory glanced back at him. “Sure. I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone. There’s plenty of me to go around.” He stood and winked at Dae. “Hope I’ll see you later then. Enjoy your drink.”

Once again, Dae was left alone. He drained his drink, then stood to stretch his legs and see if he could find Ben. He thought he spotted him in the middle of the crowd, but it wasn’t light enough to be sure. The only way he’d make sure was to make his way over.

When he got there, he thought he knew how Ben had felt when he’d seen Rory coming onto Dae. Ben was sandwiched