Sloane shrugged. He’d been so relieved to get rid of the guy, he hadn’t given it much thought after that. “He disappeared one day. Probably moved on to someone else.”
“Wow.”
“Yep.” Sloane finished his beer, noticing Dex had gone quiet. He dared to glance over and saw his partner nearly busting at the seams. “Just do it.”
Dex burst into fits of laughter, his face going red as he doubled over. Every time he tried to get a hold of himself or say something, he’d end up snorting and laughing again.
“I knew you were going to laugh.” Sloane pursed his lips, his eyes on his partner who he assumed was trying to say sorry, but instead ended up sounding as if someone was letting air out of a balloon. The lights dimmed, the music blared, and people started heading for the dance floor. Dex jumped from his stool, and Sloane swiveled to face him.
“Ooh, they’re playing my song.”
“Seriously, this is your song?” He listened to the disco-styled melody, the drums thumping away before a high-pitched male voice started singing naughty lyrics.
“Not really, I just like it,” Dex said, subtly moving his body.
“Wait, your dad said you didn’t know any songs after 1989.”
Dex let out a bark of laughter. “Oh my God, and you believed him?”
“Right, because it’s such a farfetched notion,” Sloane said, rolling his eyes.
“Well, he was joking. I simply prefer songs from before 1989, but I occasionally listen to something a little modern.” He puckered his lips and gave Sloane a come-hither look. “Let’s dance.”
“Fuck off,” Sloane said with a laugh. “I’m not dancing to this. Isn’t this a song about turning tricks?”
Dex shrugged and started to move his ass in time to the music, singing at Sloane in a high-pitched voice about being a ghetto princess.
“I’ll bet you are.” Any other drunken guy, Sloane would have walked away, but for some obscure reason he couldn’t understand, he leaned back, his arms folded over his chest as he watched—not to mention, permitted—Dex shimmy closer. His head was telling him he should rein in his partner before the guy made an ass out of both of them, but the silly grin on Dex’s f
ace was making it difficult. Besides, it had been a rough day on all of them and after his chat with Dex, he knew this was the first time in a long time the guy was getting to have a little fun.
“Come on, Daddy.”
“No, and if you ever call me Daddy again, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Fine, be that way.” Dex spun on his heels and threw his arms up, “Ladies! Dance floor!”
Sloane watched Dex shimmy his way to the dance floor with half a dozen women, including Rosa and Letty, joining him.
“Shit. Rookie’s got moves.” Ash put in his order at the bar, leaning against it while he waited. “If I knew he could pull like that, I’d have asked Maddock to bring him on sooner.”
“I doubt Dex is going to agree to be your wingman,” Sloane muttered, chuckling when Ash flipped him off, grabbed his beers, and strolled off. With a smile, Sloane went back to watching Dex and the easy way he moved his body. Two women sandwiched Dex, the one behind him grabbed his hips while the one in front of him slid her hand up his chest, both grinding their bodies against him as they danced. Dex lifted his arms and kept dancing, a sexy lopsided smile on his face. He was having the time of his life, not caring what anyone else had to say on the matter, or that the women were feeling him up. By the second chorus, he had a harem of women around him, and he gave each and every one a smile, took turns dancing with them, teased them, and made them laugh.
A yuppie kid in his late twenties sidled up to Sloane, his hands shoved awkwardly in his expensive trousers. “Hey.”
Sloane didn’t bother looking up. “Hey.”
“That your boyfriend?” the guy asked, nodding toward Dex.
“What?” The idea that someone might have caught onto his definitely-not-a-crush, but too-many-sexual-thoughts-not-to-be-something thoughts had Sloane sitting up straight.
“Your boyfriend is hot.”
Sloane shook his head. “He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my partner. I mean, work partner. We work together.” Smooth.
Yuppie Guy’s smile nearly split his face. “Oh, so you don’t mind if I dance with him?”
“Go for it.”