Page 21 of Surrender

Vee waved his hand, as if to bat my words away. “Of course not! We sometimes have up to thirty people for Sunday dinner. A big crowd makes it extra fun.” He leaned over Tracy and lowered his voice, which apparently was his attempt at being discreet. “Tracy joined us last Sunday and told us what happened when you two met earlier this year. Is everything okay down there? No permanent damage to your polska kielbasa, right?”

“My what?”

“Your stick. Your wang. Your baloney pony.”

Tracy muttered, “He’s asking if your dick’s okay after I bit it.” When I glanced at him, he avoided eye contact.

“Oh, that. Yeah, I’m fine. It was startling more than anything, but no harm done.” Because this clearly was making Tracy uncomfortable, I changed the subject by asking Vee, “So, how did you two meet?”

“I was staying with a friend of mine, who runs a resort on Catalina Island,” Vee said. “One day, here comes this hottie and his friend Gabriel, looking for jobs. It took months, but eventually I got Tracy to open up to me. Big mistake, because now he’s stuck with me for life.” Tracy grinned embarrassedly when Vee planted a big, loud kiss on his cheek.

I asked, “Is Gabriel still back on Catalina?”

“No, he’s currently in Toronto.” Vee took his phone from his pocket and pulled up Facebook as he continued, “He runs a successful lingerie brand, and his husband does makeup. They’re currently in Canada because hubs is lead makeup artist on a big budget action movie.” He showed me a photo of two very pretty dark-haired men at a red carpet event. “This is them. Gabriel’s the one with the long hair and makeup.” Once again, it was hard to imagine what Tracy and this friend had in common.

“So, now I know how Vee and Tracy met, and you all know how Tracy and I met,” I said with a grin. “But what about the rest of you? JoJo, how did you meet your wife?”

“We met the old-fashioned way, in a bar.” She turned to Yolanda with an adoring smile.

“I took one look at her, and that was it,” Yolanda said, as she caressed her wife’s cheek. “I knew my life would never be the same from that moment on.”

“They had the most beautiful wedding.” Lark sounded wistful. “We were all in the backyard under colorful, lit-up umbrellas because it was raining, and it was pure magic.”

While stories and laughter flew around the table, Tracy drank one margarita after another and tried to fade into thebackground. I kept trying to draw him into the conversation, but it seemed all of this was just a bit much for him.

Eventually, the two couples hit the dance floor, and Embry and Vee went to go “hottie hunting,” as Embry put it. That left Tracy and me in the booth. When I asked him if he wanted to dance, he murmured, “No, thank you.”

“Okay, but promise me one dance before the night is over.”

“I don’t dance.”

I flashed him a smile. “It can be a slow one. Then all you have to do is sway.”

“Every man in this club would be thrilled to dance with you. Why don’t you ask one of them?”

“Because none of them are you.”

Before he could answer, we were joined by an attractive couple and two waiters, who were carrying loaded down trays. The brunet in glasses and an expensive suit said, “Forgive the intrusion. I wanted to welcome you to Thrust, Mr. Daley. I’m Preston, the club’s owner, and this is my husband Sebastian. He’s a big fan.”

I slid out of the booth, and as I shook their hands in turn, Sebastian said shyly, “You’re truly an inspiration, Mr. Daley. I had to stay in shape when I used to work as a model, and there were a lot of days when I could barely scrape up the motivation to hit the gym. But then, I found you online, and you were always so encouraging. You made fitness seem like a form of self-love instead of a chore, and that really changed my mindset.”

“Please call me Ever,” I said, “and it really means a lot to me to know something I said made a difference. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

He seemed thrilled when I suggested the three of us take a selfie together. After we snapped some photos, I added tags and posted them to social media, which delighted both men. Then Preston indicated the items his waiters had deposited onour table. “We brought you a few appetizers and a bottle of champagne, on the house,” he said. “If you need anything at all, or if you have a special request, please ask any of my wait staff to come find me. I’ll take care of it personally.”

“Thanks. That’s very kind,” I said, “and your club is truly impressive. You should be proud of what you’ve built here.”

His expression instantly brightened. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

We chatted for another minute, and after they left, I slid back into the booth beside Tracy. “You’re so nice,” he said. “I noticed that at the gym, too. So many people want things from you—a photo, or your time, or whatever. You’re kind to everyone and always try to make them feel good. Is that just because you want them to keep following you?” He was getting tipsy, and I was starting to hear it in his speech.

“No. I was always like this, even as a kid. I love meeting new people, and if I can leave them smiling, all the better.”

“Were you the baby of the family?”

“No, I was the middle child. My brother is two years older, and my sister is eighteen months younger.”

He drained his glass and poured another margarita as he nodded knowingly. “That’s what it is. You learned to get attention from others because you weren’t getting enough from your parents.”

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