Shane grinned at Snow. “I stole a kiss from him in the locker room. Mistakenly thought we were alone and he looks damn good in a towel.”
“I’m aware,” Snow replied. “So you two dated?”
“Briefly. We decided we’re better off as friends who occasionally fuck.”
Jude shook his head and frowned. “Way to get off to a good start, Stephens.”
Shane chuckled and surprisingly, so did Snow. Jude looked at him in shock.
“What? You think I believe you never fucked anyone before me? You’re too good at it for that.” Snow’s mouth turned up on one side. “I expect you’ll run into one or two from my past as well. Probably more.” He shrugged. “It happens. Plus, you won’t be fucking anyone else now.”
He didn’t say it with anything other than flat, utter certainty and Jude’s dick jerked in his jeans. He loved that Snow had so much faith in them.
Shane whistled. “Damn. I see why I haven’t heard from you in a while, Jude. Partner, did you say?”
Nodding, Jude glanced around for a waiter before remembering it wasn’t that kind of club. “It’s still pretty new, but yeah. For sure. Hey, you still have fierce love for tequila? Plan to stick around? I’ll get us some shots.”
“Sounds good.” Shane tilted his head. “Unless I’m honing in on a date?”
“Tequila sounds good,” Snow said to let him know he was welcome to stay.
Shane nodded at him, then looked into the dancing crowd. “Hopefully, I won’t be lingering single for too long here tonight.”
The way Shane looked…no, he wouldn’t. Even Snow eyed the man with appreciation. Jude had wondered before why he’d never totally clicked with Shane. They got along, had the same interests and the sex had always been good. Shane wasn’t classically handsome, but he held a rugged, earthy sensuality that had drawn Jude in on more than one occasion. But he’d never felt the soul-deep burning need to spend every moment with the man—not like he did the general. He hadn’t shaken with the need to be inside him—hadn’t wanted to stay wrapped up in him twenty-four hours a day.
He looked at Snow, at his square jaw and piercing, light-blue eyes, at the raw sex appeal that called to him like the man was at heart, a siren. And then, there was that mouth. That sexy, talented mouth that could pull moans out of him faster than anyone ever had before. He hadn’t known what truly great sex was until he’d been with this man, and it had everything to do with how he felt about him. About their connection.
Jude stood, gave Snow’s always-sensitive ear a lingering kiss, enjoying the slight shudder Snow couldn’t fully suppress, then walked through the crowd to the bar. He placed an order for two shots each, smiling politely back at the man sitting at the bar next to him. The man dressed like…he had to pause for a second…Wonder Woman. He was most definitely dressed as the superheroine and he was casually seated at the bar by himself. Jude glanced over his shoulder to see Snow laughing at something Shane was saying, his head thrown back, eyes closed.
He was glad there wasn’t any jealousy because it meant Snow knew he had nothing to worry about.
Fuck, that was hot.
But it was the way it had been from the moment they’d gotten together. With one kiss, he’d known this was something rare. The spark they shared tied them together like—he looked at the man next to him again—a magic lasso. Smirking at his fancifulness and complete and utter lovesick thoughts, he gathered the tray of drinks, salt, and lime wedges, and carefully made his way back to their table. Snow wasn’t always easy to live with but he was worth every moment, good and bad.
He passed the shots around when he got back to the table. The liquor burned his throat and the bite of lime made him shudder. It wasn’t often he let himself truly indulge, but he and Snow had both come by cab and not being on call meant they could have some fun. Bareback fun. He shivered in anticipation.
He set the glass down and looked at Shane. “From your comment about not being alone long, I take it you aren’t seeing Brad anymore?”
“Is that why you disappeared? You thought I was dating him?”
“No, I didn’t mean to disappear on you. I actually took a job at UCMC and got caught up in that and other things.” He nodded toward Snow. “I’m sorry I haven’t called.”
Shane clamped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “We were never terribly good about keeping up with each other, but I have missed you. I hadn’t realized you’d switched jobs.”
The music suddenly blasted again and Jude sighed. He preferred the clubs Lucas owned. They had areas where people could talk. He leaned closer to Shane. “Are you still with that CPA firm in Covington?”