We stopped at The Firehouse after dinner so we could have a drink and figure out what we wanted to do next. The DJ working that night sucked. He was a new guy, but I doubted he’d make it through the summer.

James didn’t seem to agree. He was singing along with the Donna Summer’s song. At first I thought he was just fucking with me, but as his head continued to bob in rhythm to the music, I finally rolled my eyes and let it go.

Country music and disco. I should have asked him about his taste in music before starting to fall for him.

James was leaning against the edge of his stool alongside the tall table. He pulled me against his lap and laid his arms over my shoulders. His hands beat the rhythm of the song on my chest.

I had to admit that the man had rhythm. I was looking forward to getting him home later and having him show me all the other moves he might know too.

“Listen to that beat, Evan, how could you possibly not like this song?”

Held tightly against his body in the mostly empty club, I forced myself to stop hating the music enough to enjoy the moment. His strong hands rubbing my stomach made it easier to do. Ever so slowly they were sliding down to my bellybutton and then down inside my jeans, and then lightly with one fingertip stroking the side of my cock which sprang to attention at the bold move.

I flinched, but James didn’t move an inch when Sean said, “Here’s your drinks. If you’re planning on handjobs, please take it out to the alley.”

James’ finger moved just far enough away that it wasn’t touching my dick anymore, but stayed down my pants and against my skin.

If I wasn’t so set on us not being the kind of guys who only ever fucked, and never talked or went out in public, I would have begged him, on my knees if I had to, to take me home.

Sean sat down across from us. Within a few seconds, our table was surrounded as Topper, the bouncer; Owen, the bartender; and some guy I recognized as the drummer from one of the local bands joined us.

Regrettably, James removed his hand from my pants as the crowd gathered.

Owen and Sean, both reliant on tip money, were complaining about the lack of visitors to the bar over the last few days.

I was having trouble paying attention to the details, though, because James’ lips kept sucking on my neck just below my ear. It wasn’t until I felt his body stiffen and his head snap up as he started to pay attention to my friends that I was able to hear what they were saying.

“Don’t play, Liam,” Sean said to the drummer. “You know it’s because they were gay. Three men? All gay? It’s a hate-crime spree for sure.”

Liam shook his head. “I’m not saying it’s not. I’m just saying that we don’t know. For all we know it could just be some crazy psycho who happens to be targeting people in the same little area. It could be a coincidence that they were all gay just because we have a higher percentage of gay guys that hang out around here because of this club.”

Sean waved off what he clearly thought was a ridiculous statement with the back of his hand. “Get out of here. Believe whatever you want if it helps you sleep at night, I guess. But pay attention when you’re out in the streets.”

Owen nodded in agreement. Even Liam seemed to agree with that too. “Of course. No point being stupid.”

James’ voice, already so close to my ear, seemed like thunder when he asked, “What are you guys talking about? I’ve only heard about the one death, and I patrol in this area pretty regularly.”

Owen laughed. “Imagine that, guys. A cop doesn’t know about the recent crimes against us gays in town. Big shocker.”

I had to stop myself from nodding my agreement with the rest of the group. It would be a hard habit not to immediately assume that all cops were idiots.

James wasn’t about to be ignored, though. “There was a kid killed in the alley a couple blocks over a few days back. I heard rumor that he was gay. What else happened?”

Everyone seemed to realize what it meant for me to be dating a cop. All of their old fears and biases suddenly made them mute after years of bragging about how tough they’d be if they ever had the chance to give a cop a piece of their mind.

Since no one clearly was going to speak up, I pointed at them all one by one and said, “Tell him what’s going on. We always talk shit about how the cops never give us any protection, and now there’s one right here, asking what he can do to help, and you’re all going to clam up? I better not hear any of you whining if you don’t start talking now.”

Liam pointed back at me and said, “How long have you two been together? Are you sure he’s here to help? Don’t go being stupid just because he’s a good lay.”

Sean piped up before I even had a chance to yell back. “Shut up, Liam. Not everyone’s out to get you. I’ve talked to James enough times to know he’s one of the good guys.” Turning his attention back to James, he continued, “We don’t really know that much, to be honest. You know about the guy that got shot. He was gay. Like most of the college kids that come around here, none of us really knew much about him. The other two guys are both okay other than some bumps and bruises, like the first guy, they were just college kids. I don’t think any of us even know any of their names. But when three guys who have all been seen in this place in the last couple weeks all get beat up or even killed, you don’t have to be a mathematician to add that up.”

James banged his fist against the table. “Shit. I agree with everything you’re saying, but, if that’s all you have, I’ll have to agree with Liam. It might be that, or it might be some other connection. Or just shit coincidence. Is there any other info?”

Owen laughed, and leaned back with his hands across his chest. “Oh, big shock. The man in blue, who just decided that he’s gay the other day, has trouble believing that hate crimes exist.”

I spun and put a hand on James’ chest just to make sure he didn’t overreact to Owen’s words. I knew I would have.

James didn’t though. Instead he said, “I’m not saying it isn’t a hate crime. I’m just saying that as a cop, I gotta make sure I don’t blind myself to what could really be happening just because of what I think might be happening. There are other problems down here on The Strip. Prostitution, drugs, I’ve even heard rumors that there’s been some point shaving going on at the college. So I have to look at all the facts. All three were gay. Fine. Is it possible they all played on the football team? Were they somehow mixed up in one of the other crime scenes around here? See what I mean. I have to keep an open mind about everything. You guys, though, should treat it as a hate crime and take whatever precautions you need to. Buddy system to the car, that kind of stuff. Keep your eyes open and report anything that looks suspicious, okay?” With that last word, he locked his eyes on mine, making sure that I understood his concern.

It was strange feeling like the police were on my side for once. Normally, if I had to choose between the cops, and the bastard criminals in the town, I would choose to make myself as invisible as possible and let them fight each other. It was comforting to know that someone as protective as James was on my side. Especially since he might be able to make sure the rest of the police had our backs, too.

I nodded and gave him a quick kiss.

The other guys around the table started to relax as the tension that had been building disappeared.

Sean hopped up from his stool and stretched his back.

Before any of us could say anything else, another guy walked up to our table. I’d never seen him before. And I would have remembered. Tall and strong with a face that wore a few scars as trophies of all the fights he’d survived, and a Mohawk at least five inches tall, the man would have stood out anywhere. Instead of the confident powerful voice I expected, he mumbled something to us.

Sean said, “Don’t be afraid of us, dear. We don’t bite. Well, sometimes we do, but we know how to make it feel good. What are you looking for?”

The man cleared his throat. “Luca. Looking for a man named Luca. I heard he works somewhere around here. You know him?”

We all looked at each other and shrugged.

Owen answered the stranger. “Don’t know a Luca. If you want to stick around and have a couple of drinks and tell us a little more about him, maybe we’ll be able to help you figure something out.”

The man shook his head, raised his hand in a quick wave, and backed away from the table. He was out the front door a few seconds later.

“Damn,” Owen said. “I wouldn’t have minded kicking him out of my bed tomorrow morning.”

We all laughed.

“Strange dude,” Liam said.

Everyone except James agreed. James’ eyes were still on the front door. I couldn’t tell if James was watching him because he thought the man was hot or if he thought the man was suspicious.

I wasn’t going to be that guy and show how jealous his attention on the other man was making me, though.

When one song ended and another began, James jumped to his feet and dragged me to the dance floor before I even recognized the tune. A few seconds later all of us were in the middle of the dance floor dancing to “YMCA.”

I’d never danced to disco music in my life, but dammit, waving my hands in the air with James and my friends that night made me understand that not all disco music was horrible.