Good Together (2 page)

"You've probably seen Zach around the bar. He's a piercer at Adam's tattoo parlor. Zach and Noah actually met there, and the sparks were flying as far as I've heard." Michael laughed, trying to loosen up the awkward silence before heading toward the bar.

"Yeah. I've seen him on the beach with a kid, but we've never met." I smiled at the man in question.

"That was Archer. He's our little golden baby." Noah piped in, grinning from ear to ear, and I could see how approachable he could be. There was something about his easy acceptance of everything that made me want to know him, nail polish and all.

"How about you? What do you do?" Adam suddenly asked, turning his full attention my way, and I pulled back further, not really liking his scrutiny.

"I'm a programmer," I said shortly.

"Yeah? So that's an actual nine-to-five job?" Adam seemed genuine in his curiosity, but the man could have literally picked me up without breaking a sweat, and there was no way I was relaxing around him.

"Eight-to-five with lunch, but yeah." I nodded cautiously.

"Do you like it? I think you're the only one of us at this table doing something requiring a suit." He wasn't looking away from me. It was disconcerting.

"I do. I have my peace and quiet, and I'm good at it. Computers probably fit my personality the best. I doubt I could poke people with needles all day and stay sane."

Noah laughed, and I looked at him in question. "I hear you. I actually love the work they do and have some of it on me. But actually handling the tools? I have to say I prefer the softer kind." His grin was positively wicked and I blushed as the rest of them cracked up, too.

"Do you have any tattoos?" Adam asked, and the whole situation was starting to look a bit suspicious. Were they setting me up?

"No. I don't think pictures would look good on me." I glanced away from his intense eyes, trying not to get buried by my self-doubts.

"How about piercings?" Zach piped in.

"Are you kidding?" I was almost relieved by the interruption. I couldn't handle much more of Adam's all-consuming attention. "You come anywhere near me with a needle, and I'll probably faint."

Michael caught the last of that as he came back and was joking with the rest of them as he pushed a fruity cocktail in front of me.

"You remembered." I must have looked surprised enough because his eyes softened as he said, "Of course. You drank it often enough it's a part of the menu in the bar now."

"So, is there anything new in your life, Troy?" Gabriel broached the subject, and I leaned forward, right into a discussion about my work all the while hoping it would be a good enough excuse to ignore the rest of the unknown crowd.

Adam tried to pull me into conversation a few more times during the night, but other than short answers I wasn't budging. If he really was someone they planned on setting me up with, they couldn't have gotten it more wrong. There was no way I was letting a guy who could have easily been one of my bullies lay a finger on me, let alone his lips.

"Will you come out with us again?" Michael asked as I was getting ready to leave, and while I was somewhat skeptical about the crowd the night had turned out well, and I could use more of the same.

"If you call, I'll come. It was really nice seeing you two." I smiled at him and let him pull me into a hug.

"Budge off, it's my turn." G pushed Michael away to give me his tight squeeze, and it made my night even better.

I said my goodbyes feeling satisfied and happy and for once looking forward to the next time.

Adam

Pulling off my gloves I gave the client an aftercare pamphlet and exchanged pleasantries that seemed more and more of a rote recitation than actual conversations. I stretched my back, hearing the bones crack and looked at the clock, groaning at the three hours still left until I was done.

"Hey, old man. Jill says you can take a break. The next client is late." Noah popped around my station curtain and winked at me.

"Noah. I had no idea you were even here." I stood and pulled him into a hug.

"Just got back into town and wanted to see Zach. Couldn't wait until tonight." He sat in the client chair and spun around.

"Been here long?" I asked as I started cleaning out my station.

"Maybe an hour. He's got a genital one now so I cleared out. Gonna go pick up Archer in a minute. I've missed the little one."

"We should go out soon. My head's been a mess since last time, and I could use getting drunk this time round." I finished wiping everything down and sat, then leaned back in my chair.

"Oh, yeah. That was a cold shoulder of the like I haven't seen in years." Noah chuckled, pushing the wheel of my chair with the tip of his boot.

"You noticed? What was that, man? Like instant bitchface and ice in veins." Moaning, I looked at Noah, wanting his thoughts on it.

"I have no idea. He disliked you from the get go and pretty much pretended you weren't there for the rest of the night. I don't think anyone's reacted to you that way before."

"Not that I know of. I could tell he didn't think he was better than me or some such bullshit. More like we'd met before and I'd screwed him over or fucked with his sister. It was venomous." I was annoyed again and couldn't help it but roll my eyes, frustrated by the unwelcome feeling.

Noah laughed at me. "Chin up. There's more ass in the world."

"Yeah, but that's the thing.  I actually liked him. Those preppy clothes, the shyness, even when he talked about his work I was interested. Not that he found it in himself to speak to
me
about it."

"You can't be head over heels after being ignored for four hours. We'll find you someone else."

"I know, I know. But that seriously stung. I'm off my game."

Noah rolled closer and squeezed my shoulder. "It's just a guy. Zach and I'll take you out next weekend. Maybe we could go dancing to take your mind off things… and to get you laid of course." He smirked.

"But we have to go for drinks before that. Just the two of us." I looked at him, my head tilted.

"Consider it done. I'll get you drunk." We bumped fists and I just managed to clean the chairs as the next client came in, and it was back to work for me.

*~*~*

Later in the week, when I was just about ready to close up and had already sent Jill home, Zach stopped on his way out. "Do you wanna come with us to the diner?"

"Who is
us
?" I raised my eyebrow at him.

"The twins, Archer, Troy, and me." He had one hand on the door as he waited for my answer.

I thought about it. I was kind of hungry and only had two-day-old Chinese in the fridge. The company I would probably appreciate, but Troy gave me pause. I wouldn't mind seeing him, but I doubted he would appreciate my just dropping in.

"Yeah, I don't know about that. Troy could have done without me last time." I wasn't inclined to go where I wasn't wanted.

"I saw that, but honestly, you're our friend, and if he doesn't like it he can just take a rain check. You coming?" Zach opened the door.

"Yeah. I'll come. Just help me close the shop." I rushed through it and in a matter of minutes we were walking toward the restaurant, ignoring the slight chill in the air.

"Noah's away again?" I pushed my hands in my pockets.

"You know it. Bugs me on occasion, but then I see how he is with the two of us, and each time I realize, he's worth the wait." Zach shrugged.

"God, I envy you sometimes. You're sappy and sweet enough to give me a cavity, but I still want all that. I guess I've kind of outgrown hookups." I stared into the distance, not really comfortable just putting all my thoughts out there, but feeling as if I could.

"Give it a bit of time. Thirty-eight is not ninety."

"Sure, but it's not twenty-five either."

Zach bumped into my shoulder. "Do you want us to set you up?"

"No way. Don't even think about it. If you haven't introduced me to them by now I don't want to know them." I almost shivered at the thought. The last thing I needed were stilted conversations or crazies following me home.

"You have a point. Well, Noah said he's gonna get you drunk as soon as he's back. So maybe you end up meeting someone in the sober part of the night." Zach snorted.

"I just bet I will." I shook my head. "The twins were watching Archer?"

"Michael. He had a day off. Makes me feel guilty how they spend almost more time with him than I do."

"That's normal. It's rare for parents to just stay at home and raise their kids. Besides, it's easier now with Noah helping, isn't it?" I looked at him and noticed the small smile.

"It is. I don't know what I'd do without him. Noah is Archer's father despite the lack of DNA. He probably was from the first moment Archer noticed him. I never thought I could be this happy."

"You deserve it. Noah does, too. I'm glad you lucked out." Patting him on his back, we turned and entered the restaurant right after a family of three.

The guys were already at a table and they weren't quiet about it. Archer was sitting in G's lap, drumming with his spoon and chatting excitedly with Michael. Troy looked at them with a pretty little smile, and I instantly regretted coming in the first place.

"Hey, guys," Zach said quickly, then leaned down and started softly conversing with Archer who'd squealed as soon as he'd seen his father. Zach could have said whatever he wanted, that kid knew very well who his father was and loved him to bits.

I nodded at them then asked for one more chair from the passing waiter. Thankfully he was fast, but he tucked the fucking thing right next to Troy. All of a sudden that Chinese seemed way more appealing than it did twenty minutes ago.

"It's good to see you, Adam." Michael added and I nodded both at him and at Troy, who didn't seem as inclined to just turn his head away from me this time.

"What are you two idiots up to, anyway? I keep seeing you together and G's been suspiciously lacking any bruises in the past few months." I leaned forward and cradled my chin in my hands as I looked at them.

Gabriel blushed—not that I could really see the flush in his cheeks, but I knew his expression well enough. He ducked his head toward Archer with more purpose than I thought necessary and then proceeded to pretend he missed the question. Michael on the other hand narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. "We've been maturing in our spare time. Checking out how the adults have it and so far we've been thriving." He was all but laughing at me, but I could tell from his expression that he would speak to me about whatever was happening with them at some point. I tilted my head slightly in acceptance.

Only now Troy was looking at them suspiciously, his gaze even a little bit distant before he widened his eyes then snapped his mouth shut and focused on the table. Overall the situation was too good for me to resist, so I nudged his shoulder and leaned down enough to ask him.

"Is it anything you'd be willing to share?" My words were barely a whisper against his skin but he gave a full body shudder, and I was beyond curious as to what else would cause the same reaction. Here's to hoping I would one day find out.

Troy moved away slightly and really looked at me for the first time. I can't say I was ready for the piercing energy of his green eyes or the way they made him seem utterly vulnerable. "I don't really think it's my place to gossip."

"Ah, so it's something serious then. I can wait until they're ready." I smiled at him, hoping he would stay less on guard next to me.

Surprisingly enough, Troy returned the smile and followed up with a question. "You've known them long?"

"Yeah, it's been years now. I met them when I moved the last time, changed the scenery." I shut down significantly at that point. My past wasn't something I really liked to talk about. Even after so many years, it hurt.

Then the waiter dropped in and picked up our orders promising to be back quickly.

Troy was still looking at me, and for the first time I realized he saw more in people than an average person. He seemed to assess the situation then act based on his conclusions. People were rarely born that way, and Troy must have had a bitch of a life for his scars to be that visible. "You like what you do now?"

"I kinda love it." I grinned at him, feeling like I could lean into him more again, share a secret and whisper to him about my infatuation.

"That's good. Most people get stuck in jobs they hate and there are enough things in life to make it difficult. It would be a shame to spend so many hours each day miserable." He lifted his elbow on the table and leaned his chin on his fist, now seemingly fascinated by me.

I had enough years behind me to handle casual interest, but Troy's stare still made me squirm in my chair, thinking about the possibilities and all but blushing because of them. "Do you like anything else besides your job? Like a hobby or whatever?"

That made him look away, and I missed the stare immediately. There was something seriously wrong with me. We'd barely exchanged a few sentences and I was falling head over heels for the guy. "Not really. I often take work home. Sometimes I watch movies. You?"

"Hockey. I train kids three days a week," I said, barely feeling that constant pang of sorrow for a past life.

"Oh, wow. I swear you just glowed for a minute." Troy laughed at me, and this time I did feel my cheeks heat up.

"Sorry. I love hockey." I ducked my head, and if I moved and inch closer to him, I'm sure no one noticed.

"It's perfectly all right. I don't know a thing about it, but I can tell it's something you like doing. I haven't often seen such passion in someone. It's refreshing." There's no way he was leaning more toward me, but suddenly there was a lot less space between us, and I allowed myself to feel that sliver of hope again. That if I asked him out he would say yes.

"Dear God, don't ask him about hockey. That conversation will last the whole night," Michael suddenly said, and I moved away from Troy the same time as he leaned back in his chair and looked toward the rest of our company. I could honestly say I'd forgotten about them, and I felt a bit embarrassed.