Chapter Sixteen
With the move coming up this weekend, I decided to take everyone who was helping me out to dinner. As luck would have it, despite his crazy schedule, Sailo said he’d make it, and promised to meet us there.
I drove Ethan and Rhett, and we planned to meet Adam and Dale at the restaurant. They’d all insisted we could just grab beers at a bar, but I refused. For one, I owed them better than that. But also, tonight was one of those nights when baseball and football were both happening, and Seattle crowds were enthusiastic to say the least. No way in hell were we walking into any place that had TV screens broadcasting anything, or we’d all be deaf before the end of the night.
So, we settled on one of the quieter places over in Queen Anne—still kind of a bar and grill atmosphere, but no televisions. Perfect.
As soon as we walked in, Dale waved at us from a table against the far wall. The place wasn’t all that crowded, but I was glad to see they’d commandeered one of the few tables that could comfortably seat six.
We joined them, Ethan and Rhett sitting at one end, across from each other, with Rhett next to Adam and Dale, and an empty seat for Sailo next to me.
As we settled into our seats, Dale leaned toward me, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “All right, Greg. I need you to level with me.”
I straightened. “About…?”
Arching an eyebrow, he asked, “Is Ethan fucking with me again, or do you have a boyfriend?”
“Uh, well.” I cleared my throat. “We just started seeing each other, so—”
“No shit?” His eyes widened. “How did I not know you played for our team?”
“Because I’ve been married to the other team for the last twenty-seven years?”
“Oh. Hmm. Yeah, true.” Gesturing at the empty chair, he added, “And he’s coming tonight?”
“Mmhmm. He should be here in”—I checked my phone—“five or ten minutes.”
“Oh good.” Dale flashed a mischievous grin. “I am really curious about this guy.” To Rhett and Ethan, he asked, “Have you guys met him?”
“Not yet,” Ethan said. “I’ve seen him, but I haven’t actually met him.”
Dale eyed him. “Meaning…?”
“He works at Wilde’s,” Rhett said.
Dale’s jaw dropped. “No shit?”
I couldn’t help grinning. “No shit.”
“Nice one.”
The waitress came by and took our drink orders, and while we waited for her to come back, Adam turned to me. “Hey, uh, sorry to hear about, you know, things with Becky.” He shook his head. “I’ve been down the divorce road—it’s rough.”
“It is, but I think I’ll be okay.” I paused. “I’m just glad the kids are grown. It’s still hard on them, but I think it would’ve been tougher if they were still young.”
Adam nodded. “I don’t have any kids, so I can’t even imagine what that would’ve been like for them. They’re doing all right, though?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand. “They’re not thrilled, but they’re doing fine.” I hope. Right then, thank God, the restaurant’s front door opened, and when I looked up, my heart skipped. “Oh, there he is.”
“Oh, your new man?” Dale twisted around, craning his neck.
“Way to be subtle, Dale.”
“You’re one to talk.” Rhett met my gaze, his lips quirked as if he were tamping down a smartass comment of some sort.
“What?” I asked.
He batted his eyes. “Nothing. Nothing.”
“You’re grinning about something.”
“Me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I would have pushed the issue, but Sailo was walking toward us, so I let it go.
He came around my side of the table and greeted me with a light kiss. “Hey you.”
“Hey.” I kissed him again and turned to everyone else. “So, I guess I should introduce you to the guys. Sailo, this is Ethan and Rhett. I’m staying with them for the time being. And this is Dale and his husband, Adam.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sailo said, and shook hands with each of them in turn. As he did, I cringed a little, wondering how wise it was to turn Dale and Ethan loose on him. At least they had their respective husbands here to rein their smartasses in if needed.
We all took our seats, and everyone focused on the menus for a moment. Once decisions had been made, we flagged down a waitress. She brought our various drinks and took our food orders, then disappeared into the back.
Dale sipped his beer. “Ah, that’s what I needed.” He raised the glass. “Thanks, Greg.”
“Don’t mention it. Thanks for agreeing to help me out this weekend.”
“You know,” he said, “most people don’t take their movers out to dinner until after they move.”
“I know.” I grinned. “But this way I make sure you all actually show up to help me move.”
“You bastard,” he hissed into his glass.
Adam laughed. “Well, he bought you a beer. The covenant is sealed now. No bailing.”
“Hey!” Dale scowled. “Whose side are you on?”
“Not picking sides.” Adam lifted his own beer glass. “Just saying…beer’s a sacred covenant. So, he’s got you.”
“Dick,” Dale muttered.
I just laughed. That pair had always cracked me up. Dale was the smartass of the entire group, the one with no filter whatsoever, while Adam was a little more reserved. Still, he could throw a barb in there sometimes and render Dale speechless, which was impressive as hell.
As we always did, the group shot the breeze and took playful swipes at each other. We ate, we laughed, and damn, it was good to be with friends who completely accepted that the man beside me was my lover. Not that anyone at this table had a leg to stand on when it came to judging gay men, but given how long it had taken me to accept this about myself, I wasn’t looking this gift horse in the mouth.
“Anyone else need a refill?” Sailo asked after a while.
“I’m good,” I said.
Ethan gestured with his empty glass. “I could, if you don’t mind.”
“Me too,” Dale said.
Sailo stood. “Ethan, you had a Fat Tire, and Dale, yours was…what again?”
“I’ll take an Elysian Spacedust.”
“Got it. Spacedust and a Fat Tire. Be right back.”
“Thanks,” Ethan and Dale both called after him.
After Sailo was more or less out of earshot, Dale turned to me. He shielded his mouth slightly and said in a stage whisper, “Well done, darling. He is a stunner.”
I winked. “You don’t have to tell me.”
He laughed and patted my arm. “Never thought of you as a cradle robber, though.”
“What?” I rolled my eyes. “Ten years is not robbing the cradle.”
“Ten—” His head snapped toward Sailo. Turning back to me, he narrowed his eyes. “Bullshit. You’ve got way more than ten years on him.”
I shook my head. “Thirty-seven if he’s a day.” I paused, glaring at him. “Or were you implying that I’m older than forty-seven?”
“Well.” He shrugged. “I figured you had to be around Ethan’s—”
“Hey!” Ethan elbowed him. “That’s enough.”
“Uh, actually,” Rhett said. “You guys are pretty close.”
Dale snickered. “Told ya.”
Ethan and I both muttered curses and shook our heads.
A moment later, Sailo joined us again, distributing beers before sitting down beside me. “What’d I miss?”
“Just shit-talking about all of us being old men,” I said.
“Except him,” Rhett helpfully added.
Sailo laughed. “Hey, I don’t get to be the youngest in the group very often. I’ll take it.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet you’ll take it,” Dale mumbled.
Sailo waited until Dale was taking a drink, then shook his head and said, “Actually, I’m a top.”
Dale nearly sprayed me with beer but clapped a hand over his mouth in time.
Adam howled. “Oh my God. Well done.” He reached across the table to shake Sailo’s hand. “Well played, Sailo.”
Sailo snickered. “Kinda seemed like he was asking for it.”
“He was.” Adam patted Dale’s shoulder. “He definitely was.”
“As usual,” Rhett said.
Sailo turned to me. “Is this normal with you guys?”
“Yep.” I nodded. “We may all be old enough to be grandfathers, but none of us behave like it.”
“Old enough to be grandfathers,” Adam said. “But only one of us is one, so…”
“Yeah, yeah. Enjoy it while it lasts.” I tilted my beer bottle toward Ethan and Rhett. “Won’t be long before I can start firing grandpa jokes at the two of them.”
Dale chuckled. “I think Sabrina knows better than to make them grandparents before fifty.”
I started to make a comment, but paused, shifting my gaze toward Ethan and Rhett. Dale didn’t know? Shit.
Rhett and Ethan exchanged glances, and they both grinned.
“Actually…” Rhett put his arm around Ethan. “Looks like we’re going to be grandparents sooner than we thought.”
“Oh really?” Dale’s eyes lit up. “Congratulations! When is she due?”
“Not for another five or six months,” Rhett said, beaming like only a grandfather-to-be could. “But I’m not sure if her mother knows yet, so just don’t mention anything on social media.”
“We should get something to celebrate.” Sailo picked up one of the menus the waitress had left. “Do they have a senior menu on here?”
“Hey!” I elbowed him.
“What the hell?” Ethan clicked his tongue. “You need to keep that boy in line, Greg.”
Sailo snorted. “Right. Because he’s the one in charge.”
Dale choked on his beer. Ethan’s jaw dropped. Rhett’s eyes widened. Adam just chuckled.
Sailo turned to me, his expression half amusement, half “did I go too far?”
I laughed, wrapping my arm around him, and kissed his cheek. “Something tells me you’re going to fit into this group quite nicely.”
“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.”
“Man, he is quick,” Ethan said.
“Tell me about it.” I put a hand on Sailo’s leg. “But I’m sure he can slow down if you have trouble keeping up.”
Rhett and Sailo both choked on their beers, and the rest of us burst out laughing.
“My God.” Dale clicked his tongue, gesturing at Sailo and me. “You guys are a scary good match.”
Sailo and I exchanged glances. He winked, and I grinned.
Yeah. Dale was right. We were a pretty fucking good match.
* * * * *
After I’d paid the bill, we all headed for the parking lot.
“Thanks again for agreeing to help me move this weekend,” I said. “Seems like a much less daunting job with more people involved.”
“Don’t mention it,” Rhett said. “We’re always happy to help.”
“Especially if there’s beer and dinner involved,” Dale said.
“Always the altruistic one, Dale.” Ethan laughed. “Never change.”
As Adam and Dale headed for their car, Rhett turned to me. “So, we all came together, but, uh…” He glanced at Sailo. “If you want to go with him, we can take your car back to the house.”
I looked at Sailo. He gave a your call shrug.
“You don’t mind?” I asked Rhett.
“Not at all. And I only had two beers, so I’m good to drive.”
“Are you—”
He nudged my arm and smiled. “Go.”
I hesitated, but really, was I going to say no to spending more time with Sailo? So I handed Rhett my keys, and judging by the grin Sailo flashed me, I’d definitely made the right decision.
We said our good-byes to Ethan and Rhett, and after more handshakes all around, they headed to my car, and I went with Sailo toward his van.
As we walked, I turned to him. “So, you had a good time?”
“I did.”
“You didn’t mind being the youngest in the group?”
Sailo laughed. “Not at all. Your friends are fun.” He slid his hands over my waist. “And I get to be with you, so…”
“Likewise.” I wrapped my arms around him. “You do realize I’m going to be physically useless this weekend, right?” I grimaced. “I don’t see a lot of activity in the bedroom for a few days.”
“Well.” He drew me closer to him, until our lips were almost touching. “Then I guess I’ll have to get as much out of you as I can before the weekend, won’t I?”
“Jesus, I love the way your mind works.”
He gave a quiet laugh and then kissed me. “Doesn’t give us much time, does it?”
“Just tonight and…hmm, I don’t suppose I can talk you into meeting me tomorrow night?”
He smiled. “I have to be at Wilde’s at eight, but I would love to see you before that.”
“Text me where, and I’ll meet you.”
The smile turned to a grin that weakened my knees. “I was thinking you could meet me at Wilde’s.”
Visions of the VIP lounge flashed through my mind, and my knees almost dropped out from under me. I gulped. “I…can definitely do that.”
“What about tonight?”
“I don’t have anywhere else to be.”
“And I don’t want you to leave.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I like having you here.”
“I do like being here.” I kissed him softly, but my heart sank a little. “Except…you probably won’t like me getting up and heading out at four in the morning.”
Sailo wrinkled his nose and playfully shoved me away. “Ugh. No. Get out.”
We both laughed and pulled each other close again.
“I could stay a little while,” I murmured. “Catch a cab back to Ethan and Rhett’s.”
“I’ll split the cab fare with you, assuming I don’t drive you myself.”
“Deal.”
* * * * *
It was almost midnight when I climbed into a cab and headed back to my temporary home. Aching, grinning, almost nodding off with postcoital fatigue, I felt amazing.
And it wasn’t just from the sex. Sailo had an effect on me that I hadn’t felt in years. Grinning like this, I probably looked like a complete idiot to anyone who happened to glance my way, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t felt butterflies in far too long. The thought of someone looking forward to seeing me as much as I looked forward to seeing them—amazing. Just amazing.
God knew where this was going. Was it too soon? Was it just a rebound fling to get me back on my feet after my divorce?
I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I loved living from one date to the next. From one feverish fuck and sleepy workday to the next. There were still bumps in the road as I slogged through the motions of getting back on my feet, but being with him was enough to make me forget about all of that for a little while.
Because right now, with Sailo, I was living again.