Sloane smiled. “You found me.”
“I did!” Dex exclaimed excitedly. He flung an arm around Sloane’s shoulders, and pressed his body up against Sloane’s, making him shift uncomfortably. The guy’s scent invaded his space, a heady mix of male, sweat, and Dex’s shower gel. The longer Dex stood there, leaning against him, the more the scent seemed to intensify.
“What happened to your friend?” Sloane asked.
“Who?” Dex frowned, his brows drawn together in deep concentration.
“The one with his tongue down your throat.”
“Oh, Chris. Kit? Craig?” Dex squinted thoughtfully then snapped his fingers. “Dan. I don’t know. He left.?
?
“That your type?” Sloane asked, trying to sound casual.
“Who Craig? Nah, he was cute, but too young and too clean cut.” He teasingly scratched Sloane’s stubble under his chin. “I like’ em scruffy.”
Sloane arched an eyebrow at him. “That so?”
“Yeah. I always went for guys who were easy, not like sex easy—though I went for those too, but no baggage, you know?”
Sloane’s jaw muscles tensed and he looked down into his now watered-down Coke. “Yeah.”
“But see, that right there?” Dex pointed at Sloane’s face, his index finger gently prodding Sloane’s cheek. “It’s beautiful.”
“What?” No one had ever referred to him or anything about him as being beautiful. They were too busy running for their lives.
“That pain you try to hide, every day. It does something,” Dex said, putting his hand to his heart.
“I hope you haven’t got some kind of fetish or something, because that’s fucked up.”
Dex shook his head. “Tonight, you laughed. I made you laugh. Knowing what’s in here, and that I could make you feel good, for a little while… I was wrong to dismiss guys like you. You need love.”
Sloane swallowed hard, not quite understanding what Dex was babbling on about, but feeling uncomfortable with where it was heading.
“Guys like you need love,” Dex repeated. “You need love.”
“You are so wasted.”
“I am.” Dex leaned into him and laid his head on Sloane’s shoulder with a small sigh. “You got good shoulders for leaning on, you know that?”
“Not really. No one’s ever leaned on me before.” Most of his life he’d found himself leaning on others until there was no one left to lean on except Ash.
“I’m leaning on you now.”
Sloane worried his bottom lip for a minute before surrendering and letting his head rest against Dex’s. He allowed his eyes to drift shut.
“You’re a big softie,” Dex murmured.
“I can kick your ass, remember?”
“Yeah, but that’s because you’re scared.”
Sloane straightened and turned, intent on asking him what he was talking about. The loss of his shoulder caused Dex to fall into him, and on instinct, Sloane caught him. Their faces were so close, Sloane could smell the beer on Dex’s warm breath.
“You moved,” Dex murmured, his hand sliding around Sloane’s waist to his back.
“Sorry.” Sloane held Dex up, his head telling him to move the guy away, but his body having other ideas. His arms slipped around Dex, gently squeezing his partner to him. “You okay?”