It felt so good to be pressed up against Justin’s body. For just a minute there it was like we were exactly where we were supposed to be. Then Emma started going nuts over her castle, and he tensed up. Friends, just friends I told myself as I stepped away from him.

“I’m up here in your castle, sweet pea,” I chuckled, calling down to her. I hopped down and swept her up into my arms. “Did you have a good time with Mommy and Bampás?”

“Yes, I got to feed Charlie out of my hand like Mommy does, and it was so cool, but now I’m home, and I have a castle. And it has swings and a slide, and they are pink. You know pink is my favorite color, and now I have swings that are my favorite color. Who is that?” she asked, pointing at Justin.

“That’s my friend Justin. He came over to help build your swing set.”

“It isn’t a swing set.” She sniffed. “It is a castle. Did you help build my castle, Justin?” she asked so seriously.

“Yes, I did. Your daddy told me there was a beautiful princess who lived here, and nothing would do but for her to have a beautiful pink castle to play in. So I rushed over and helped him, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful princess. Have you seen her anywhere?” he asked, looking around dramatically.

“I’m right here, silly.” She giggled. “I’m the princess.”

“Oh?” He feigned surprise. “It is so nice to meet you, princess.” He bowed and Emma busted out laughing. Then she looked at him for a minute like she was trying to decide something, and then she proclaimed, “I like you, Justin; you’re funny. You should come play in my castle with me and Mr. Monkey sometimes.” And then she was off. Climbing and checking out her castle.

Watching him with her was amazing. He was so good with her. He was born to be a dad. It made me wonder why he was so dead set against it. But really, I don’t guess it mattered why. What mattered was that he was, and that’s why we were drawing the line at friends. Emma was the most important thing in my life, and I couldn’t see being with a man who made it very clear that he didn’t want kids.

“Who is the new guy?” Suzie asked, looking over at Justin.

“Just a friend.” I tried to sound like Justin being here was just like having Nathan and Linc here. Because that was exactly what it was. Just friends.

Suzie burst out laughing. “Yeah ‘cause you always look at your friends like you want to lick them all over.”

“Just friends,” I said to her firmly.

“Whatever you say,” she agreed, still laughing.

“How was home?” I asked, hoping to move the conversation away from Justin.

“It was good. Pretty much same as always. Carol Ann and Bob are getting divorced, Mike and Cynthia are having another baby, and I’m still the horrible bitch who cheated on you and turned you gay.” Suzie’s expression was somewhere between sad and disgusted.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

“No, it isn’t your fault. They’re closed-minded small-town assholes, and I’m just glad we don’t live there anymore.”

“Me too. Moving here was the best idea you ever had. Do you guys want to hang out with us? I don’t know how long the guys are staying, but I can toss something on the grill if you want.”

“No.” She shook her head. “We’re beat. My mom sent us with food like always. I just want to heat some up, eat, and collapse into bed. I swear that ride gets longer every time we make it. I’m sure Emma is tired too. She sleeping at our place tonight?”

“Yeah. I missed her this weekend, but since I didn’t think you would be back yet. I planned to go to work for a while tomorrow morning so she should probably stay over there. I’ll come get her when I get off, and she can sleep at my place tomorrow night.”

“He’s cute.” She took one last look in Justin’s direction.

“Just friends, Suzie. Just friends.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “For now.” She chuckled and headed to her house, calling for Emma to come on.

I went back to where the guys were sitting on the deck, and man, it was good to be sitting down after spending all day putting that swing set together. It was pretty awesome looking though. “I think we’re going to put in a pool next. At least that is what Tom and I were talking about.”

“Man, you guys are seriously strange. Why don’t you just share a house like Lincoln said earlier?” Justin asked.

“Because that would just be weird. I mean, seriously, living in the same house with your ex and her husband? No way.” I laughed.

Brad got up to go. It was obvious he was in a hurry to get over to my sister’s house so he said his goodbyes and left.

Nathan and Lincoln also got up and started getting everything all cleaned up. “I know you have an early morning tomorrow, and Nathan and I both do too so we are going to head out. Are we still on for the game Friday night?” Lincoln was a huge hockey fan.

“Yeah, we are. I’m looking forward to seeing Cleveland get their ass kicked. You should come with us, Justin. Are you a hockey fan?” I hoped the answer was yes.

“Well, I’m more into baseball, but I wouldn’t mind trying a hockey game. So yeah sure, I’ll go, sounds like fun. Do you guys go out to eat or for beers or anything after?”

Nathan grabbed the hot pink tool bag he’d brought with him but hadn’t used, and I smirked. “What? A guy has to have a good set of tools, but nothing says they can’t be pretty. And yes, Justin, to answer your question, we usually go to a pub right down the road from the game. I am glad you are coming; it’s fun. Mark, I’ll talk to you later.” He and Linc headed out. Leaving just me and Justin sitting there.

“So, I want to ask you something I have always wondered. What is the deal with Nathan and Lincoln? I mean we’ve all seen them out at the clubs, and I know they usually leave with other people but do they ever…you know?”

“Oh God no!” I laughed. “I wondered that too at first, but no, they are like brothers. They’ve been best friends since they were in high school. Nathan’s parents gave him a choice: straighten up—literally—or get out, and Linc’s family took him in. It’s kinda funny because on paper, they are perfect for each other. Both are in the medical field, so they get the weird hours, Linc loves twinks, and Nathan loves a bossy top, but neither is interested at all. They are pretty much attached at the hip though, so most people assume they are a couple.”

We talked about everything and nothing for a while and then he got up to leave.

“I’m glad I came. It was fun. You have a great group of friends.”

“I’m lucky to have them. Even if I am about to go in the house and get my ass handed to me by Nathan.” I laughed.

“What do you mean? I thought Nathan just left,” he asked, confused.

“Yeah, he did, but did you catch his ‘I’ll talk to you later’? Tonight is our normal gaming night. He’ll be waiting for me on the battlefield, ready to kick my ass.”

“Really? What game do you play?”

“We play The Quest for Zoran, have since Nathan and I saw it demoed at a comic-con last year.”

“Cool. My friend Matt and I play Zoran too. Maybe we can play sometime. What classification are you? Let me guess—A Healer?”

“A healer? No way, man; I’m a Fae all the way. Here, let me give you my username, and we can play sometime.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you at the game on Friday.” And with that, my new friend headed home.

* * *

As it turned out, I loved hockey. Who knew? I had never been to an actual game before, and it was a blast. So far, I had been to three games with all the guys and one just with Mark. We had also been playing Zoran online most nights. Mark was a lot of fun and a kick-ass Fae, and before I knew it, it had been a month since we’d first met. I was really glad I’d gone over there that day. We mostly texted, but he was a great guy to hang out with.

Tuesday:

Me: Hey I have a friend who is having a gallery opening tonight. Want to go? It’s photography.

Mark: Tuesday is a weird day for a gallery opening; let me make sure Suzie doesn’t need me to have Em. If not, I’m in.

Me: Great just let me know. We would need to be there at 8:00

Mark: Looks like I am good to go. Clarify for me what kind of friend.

Me: Why?

Mark: Just like to know what I am walking into.

Me: SHE is a former patient and a great photographer.

Thursday:

Mark: Took Suzie over to see your friend’s pictures. She loved them as much as I did. I bought one for my office, and she bought one for Tom’s. I think we just put your friend’s firstborn through college.

Me: I know her stuff was expensive huh?

Mark: Yeah but amazing.

Me: Which one did you buy?

Mark: That one of the bridge that we both liked.

Me: I figured it was that one. It fits you.

Mark: Hey, are we still on for hockey tomorrow night?

Me: Yep, game’s at 7:30, right?

Mark: Yes. See you there.

Friday:

Me: I had something come up at work, and I can’t do hockey tonight. Sorry.

Mark: No problem, man. Hey, we are having a cookout at our house Saturday. The guys will all be there if you want to come hang out. Probably the last one before the weather turns.

Me: Sure, what time?

Mark: Around 4:00 or so I guess.

Me: Sounds good.

I hated that I couldn’t go to the hockey game. All the guys were going to be there, and it was supposed to be a good game, but I needed to stay and evaluate a new patient they were bringing in from a smaller hospital. He needed specialized care that they couldn’t provide, and he was being brought in by ambulance. I was looking forward to the cookout though. The few times I’d met Suzie and Tom, they were fun to be around.

I went up to the front desk to check my schedule, and my friend Matt was up there. He was a speech therapist here at the hospital, and a lot of the time we worked together as part of a care team for a patient. He was a seriously good-looking guy. But rule number two meant all I ever did was look. Trust me, workplace hookups were never a good idea, no matter how good looking the guy was.

“You headed out to the warehouse district tomorrow night?” Matt asked. “Casey and I are headed over there.”

“I don’t know. I’m going over to a friend’s house for a cookout tomorrow, so I’m not sure what time we’ll be done.”

“Seriously, man you need to come out. We haven’t seen you in like a month. I think Chris’ birthday was the last time. Are you like seeing someone or something?”

“Seeing someone? No dude, you know me better than that. I’ve just been busy. It hasn’t really been that long, has it?” I stopped to think about it, and I guessed Chris’ birthday had been the last time I’d seen them. The weekend after his birthday was when I’d gone back over to the East side and met Mark, and we had been doing stuff on the weekends since then. “Well I’m working tonight, and I have the cookout tomorrow, so this weekend is out, but I’ll plan on seeing you guys out soon. I picked up a few shifts over the holidays, so it is going to be crazy for a couple weeks, but after that, we’ll find a time to go.”