clearly teased him.
“Yep, you got it bad, my friend,” Ace said, appearing from wherever the hell he’d come from in true Ace fashion.
“Yep,” Jack agreed. He did have it bad, and it was oh-so damned good.
That night they had dinner at a cute little Cuban café that Nash recommended. The food was incredible, though it posed a serious threat to Jack’s decency, what with Fitz making all those sex noises every time he bit into something.
“You know, the mojo pork is good, but I don’t know that it’s that good.”
“Oh, it is,” Fitz said around a mouthful. He did a little dance in his chair, which Jack thought was the most adorable quirk ever. When something made Fitz really happy or excited, he did a little dance. After dinner they had dessert, where Jack knew better than to suggest they share. Fitz wasn’t slender because he didn’t eat. He ate more than Jack and Joker put together. He had a fast metabolism, his body burning energy from food quickly.
Once they finished their meal, Jack drove them to Sapphire Sands. He didn’t intend on drinking that evening because he had to be at work ridiculously early for an installation job a couple of hours away. It was a typical night at the club—busy but not as packed, since it was a weekday. The go-go boys were back on the raised plinths in all their sparkly-blue-shorts glory. Their rowdy group was in the VIP section, thanks to Colton’s membership. It also didn’t hurt that Colton and Frank had been good friends for years.
“Hey, look who it is,” Ace shouted over the music. “Beauty and the geek!”
“Very funny, you delinquent.” Jack playfully smacked the side of Ace’s head before motioning for Fitz to slip into the booth first so he could sit next to Laz. Jack took a seat next to him, his arm around Fitz, who snuggled into him after greeting Laz. “Congrats, Joshua.”
Joshua smiled brightly. “Thanks, guys. And thanks for tonight.”
“You’re going to be seeing a lot more of these troublemakers, so you might as well get to know them better.”
“Hey,” Lucky said with a frown. “I resemble that remark.”
Jack shook his head. And so it began.
Several of the waitstaff brought trays of celebratory champagne over, but Jack asked for a soda.
“Not drinking?” Colton asked.
Jack shook his head. “Driving. Got an early start tomorrow.” He took a few sips of his drink and wrinkled his nose. Maybe he’d order a virgin cocktail or something. He wasn’t a big soda drinker, and this one was a little too sweet for his taste.
“Ah.” Colton nodded and held up his champagne. “To Joshua. Here’s to what I hope is the start of a wonderful work relationship. Whatever happens, just remember, you could have been working for one of these guys.”
“Hey!” The Kings, Jack, and Joker cried foul, teasing Colton before making their toast. They were teasing Joshua when a dark shadow appeared. Jack smiled wide.
“Hey, Frank.”
Frank nodded in greeting, and then his eyes landed on Joshua. Something softened in his gaze, and Jack exchanged glances with Ace, who sat across from him. His friend was bursting at the seams, his smile barely contained. Jack could only assume Ace’s lack of word-vomit was down to Colton.
“Hi,” Frank said to Joshua, voice low and gravelly.
Joshua’s cheeks went pink, and he smiled brightly. “Hi, Frank.”
“Um.” Frank cleared his throat. “Congrats on the, uh… promotion.”
“Thank you.”
With another nod, Frank was gone. The man moved like a shadow. One second he was there, next thing he was gone without a sound.
“Ugh,” Joshua groaned. “What I wouldn’t give to climb that man like a tree.”
King almost choked on his drink. “What?”
“Excuse me.” Joshua got up since he was at the end of the booth and headed toward the bar, where Frank stood talking to one of his barmen.
“What was that about?” King asked Colton.
“Joshua’s had a crush on Frank since the day they met, but Frank is the most stubborn man I’ve ever known,” Colton said with a huff. “Present company excluded, obviously.”
“Ouch.” Ace put a hand to his heart. “Am I included in said present company?”
Colton lifted his drink to his lips and sipped.
And sipped.
Ace narrowed his eyes.
Colton sipped some more.
“You know what, fine, but said company includes you, Mr. I’m Not Leaving Here Until I Get What I Want.”
“What’s so unreasonable about getting what you’re paying for?” Colton asked, eyebrow arched.
“Babe. Honey muffin. Corazon de mi vida. You want a blue that doesn’t exist in the color spectrum.”
Colton