“Bring me some wings and that chipotle shrimp back when you come back,” Syn threw over his shoulder on their way out of the door. “And don’t take forever.”
“K, Sarge,” Tech answered, then gripped Free in a playful headlock and pulled him out of the doors.
“Let me go.” Free shoved his best friend.
“Not until you tell me everything that happened last night. Don’t think I didn’t notice you never came back to your camper.” Tech was speaking low enough that Ruxs, Green and Steele couldn’t hear them. “Must’ve gone really well. Did you give him the massage like I said?”
Free didn’t try to hide his smile. “Yes! It worked great. He loved it.”
“Every man loves that.” Tech laughed.
They climbed into Tech’s SUV, Free taking the passenger seat. The restaurant was only fifteen minutes away with no traffic. He was buzzing and he hoped the car full of detectives didn’t pick up on it and start an interrogation. He didn’t think he was ready to make his and Hart’s budding romance the talk of the office.
“Do you want us to follow you to the RV park tonight and help you get settled in?” Steele asked from behind him.
Oh damn. Free hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Tech that he’d made other arrangements. “No, Steele. That’s okay, thanks.”
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go by yourself,” Tech added reaching over and squeezing Free’s thigh. Tech was always protective of him, and in turn it made his boyfriend extremely protective of him as well. And all the guys he worked with.
“We can all come by. Get you set up. Pull out the grill and put some dogs and burgers on. I’ll bring some fresh guac and chips,” Green said.
Free dropped his head in his hands. “You told them I hate RV parks, didn’t you?”
Tech didn’t bother to look guilty. “I only told them you loathed RV parks and you thought they were dangerous and lacked proper security.”
“Glad that’s all you told them.”
“So, it’s settled. We’ll come by around six-thirty. You said it’s the one in Marietta, by Lewis Park?”
“Right,” Tech said, turning onto the main street.
“Actually, I’m not taking it to the RV park in Marietta.” Free still had his head down as if what he was looking at on Facebook was so interesting.
“Oh good. You found another place closer. Which one?” Tech stopped at a red light and turned to face him. “Well?”
“Iv—. Um, Hart. Said it was fine for me to park it in his driveway for a while until I make other arrangements.”
The car was dead silent except for the hum of Tech’s V8 engine.
“No shit.” Ruxs chuckled. “Cap ain’t wasting any time, is he?”
“It’s not how it sounds, guys.” Free knew he was red-faced the more the men ribbed him.
“It’s about damn time. You guys were driving people insane with all the side looks.” Steele’s deep laugh brought on more ribbing.
“And if I have to hear another one of Hart’s ridiculous made-up excuses for coming downstairs I’m gonna tase myself,” Ruxs added.
Free had to laugh at that. He did remember one time that Hart had come into their department and said that he was out of staples and wondered if Free had any extra in his desk. The guys had whooped and teased Hart so badly for passing his own assistant’s desk and the office supply closet to hunt for staples in Free’s desk that he’d started coming up with more believable reasons. It had been then that Free suspected that his crush on Hart wasn’t one-sided.
As the guys went on about how good it was to see Hart trying to have a personal life, he realized he liked talking about this with fellas. With his friends. He hadn’t had this kind of camaraderie in so long he’d almost forgotten that these kinds of friendships existed. Selfless ones. Free had been on guard—from users—for so long, it’d become second nature to be tight-lipped and distant. Now he had genuine relationships with buddies who sincerely cared about how he felt.
“I guess you don’t need any help getting settled at Hart’s place. I’m sure he’ll take care of that.” Tech beamed at him.
“Whatever.” Free turned his head to stare out of the window at the foot traffic as they made their way farther into downtown.
“Mmmhmm,” Tech hummed.
Free chewed on his thumbnail as another wave of excitement coursed through him at the feel of Hart’s house key in his pants pocket. It was burning a hole through his denims. He only had a few more hours left to work. He wondered if he should be inside the house or just stay in his camper until Hart got in. What if it was real late? Free didn’t want to seem weird, sitting in Hart’s living room alone at midnight waiting on him to walk through the door like a creepy stalker. Yeah, he’d wait in his place.