Page 12 of Hurricane Love

“Excellent, because it’s karaoke night, and I really want you to come.” Wylie licked his lips and flashed his tongue piercing, gauging the reaction he got from Diego, as the double entendre was entirely intentional. Diego cleared his throat and blinked his beautiful Bambi eyes. Wylie was hella interested, just in case Diego had any doubts. The man only had to say the word.

“I don’t drink,” Diego said at last.

“Cool, you can be my DD, because I am going to get white-girl wasted.”

“As much as I’d love to witness that, I close tonight,” Diego said, a weak excuse.

“With Martin, right?” Wylie knew already because he’d checked the schedule and spoken to Martin about it.

“Yeah, why?” Diego’s eyes narrowed, suspicious.

“Martin will give you a ride.”

“He…what?”

“Martin’s coming, and he’ll give you a ride.” Wylie tried to look innocent, even under Diego’s critical gaze.

“Did you ask him to do that?” Diego demanded. The man was so aggravatingly independent, wouldn’t ask another person foreven the slightest favor. Wylie didn’t understand it. He was all about community.

“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t want to pay for an Uber, and I really want you to be there,” was his answer.

“Well, what if I don’t want to?”

That stung a little. Wylie had already imagined what a fun night they might have together, as well as how it might end, but he wasn’t going to beg. Not that he was too proud to beg–hedefinitelywasn’t–but because he doubted that strategy would work with Diego. He’d been studying the man closely. Diego needed a little persuasion, but not so much that he became intractable. It was a delicate dance.

“Then tell Martin you don’t want to go out with us. It’s not like he’s going to kidnap you or anything. But I would be a really sad birthday boy.” Wylie made the track of a tear going down his face. “The saddest.”

Diego shook his head, fed up or impressed by Wylie’s antics, it was hard to tell. “Where do you get your nerve?”

It was a good question, and the answer was probably his mother. As an ER nurse, she’d had an unshakable confidence in her ability to handle just about any situation. Similarly, when Wylie had a goal in mind, he pursued it with a single-minded interest. “When I want something, I go after it,” he said simply.

Hopefully Diego could smell what he was cooking. And perhaps he did, because Diego’s gaze turned heated as they stared each other down. Competitive with an edge of aggression–could this be the prelude to something that included both of them being naked? Wylie couldn’t wait to channel that banked sexual tension into mutual, mind-bending orgasms. He wondered if Diego might even cuddle afterward. A boy could only dream.

“Customer,” Diego said at last, tersely, like the word had been torn from his throat.

Wylie’s smirk reflected this small victory. “See you tonight,” he said with all the charisma he could muster before returning to hispost at the window to deal with his other reason for coming to work, which was his job.

They were slammed for the rest of the afternoon, so Wylie wasn’t able to flirt with his paramour, sadly, but he did manage to catch the man’s eye after an exchange with a particularly snippy customer, which Wylie navigated with his exceptional service skills, throwing in an extra side of coleslaw to soothe their ire at having to wait. Diego gave him another of those reluctant grins, which was a birthday treat all its own.

Hannah passed by toward the end of their shift and said her mother was keeping Kayla overnight, so that both herandFuckface MacPherson could come out, which wasnotwhat Wylie had in mind for his birthday celebration.

“Hannah, don’t bring him. He sucks,” Wylie complained, never one to mince words on his opinion of the man’s character.

“He’s doing better, Wy, and he wants to come out with us. Give him another chance.”

Wylie grumbled. “Every time I give him another chance, he does something shitty and pisses us both off. You know how I feel about that…individual. He’s a good-time ruiner.”

“Wy,” Hannah said, batting her eyelashes, and even though Wylie was gay as fuck, he still appreciated the sweet talk. “I promise Brian will be on his best behavior tonight. He knows it’s your birthday.”

Wylie groaned loud enough for the entire kitchen to hear, just in case there was any doubt about his feelings toward Brian MacPherson. “If he acts up, I’mma beat his ass.”

Hannah gave him an indulgent smile. “Sweetie, when have you ever beaten anyone’s ass?”

“Only because I’m a lover, not a fighter,” Wylie wailed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Diego smirk at that. “All right, I’m going to head home and pre-game with the old folks. Want me to pick you up?”

“I’m riding with Brian,” she gently reminded him, and beforeWylie had a chance to bitch and moan again, Hannah turned to Diego, “You’ll be there, right?”

Diego was slow to respond, maybe even trying to think of yetanotherexcuse not to come, but at last he said to them both as if it pained him, “I’ll try.”