“Fine,” Ridley says. “Boring, but fine.”
He saunters off as well, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Tonight was cool. Better than cool. It was refreshing to be with someone who was so excited to be with me. It was just the pick-me-up I needed.
Speaking of… I feel the need to check in on him. Is that weird or considerate? Fuck if I know. My normal post-hookup activity consists of forgetting the dude ever existed.
“Why the face?” Indy asks, swinging around me to grab a glass of water from the bar.
“Perfect timing.” I lean across the bar. “Let me pick your brain.”
“Sure.”
“When you and Salem first hooked up, what did you do after?”
“After? Like, immediately after?”
“Yeah. Did you call?”
“Our situation was complicated. Why are you asking?”
“I met a guy tonight.”
Indy grins. “Guy in the sweater? I saw you sneak out.”
“Yeah. He’s new to dating men.”
“Yeah? That’s cool. How’d it go?”
“Awesome. It was nice.”
“He’s older, right?”
“Forty-eight. He teaches at the university.”
Indy raises an eyebrow. “Well now this is interesting. How did it even happen?”
Shaking my head, I grin. “I don’t know, man. There was just something about him that caught my eye. I think I’m burned out on my normal choices.”
Indy frowns, squeezing my shoulder. “I’m a shitty friend. I didn’t know you weren’t having fun.”
“You’re not a shitty friend. You’re in love and I’m happy for you.”
“And you want that for yourself?”
“Slow down.” I laugh, shoving his arm. “It’s not like that. Maybe just a little more substance would be good for now.”
“Fair enough. So you want to know what you’re supposed to do now that you’ve fucked?”
“We didn’t fuck,” I blurt out. I’m feeling weirdly protective of this guy. “We messed around, and I plan to see him again. Should I text him to just check in, or is that weird?”
“Fuck if I know. Let’s ask Salem.”
He pulls out his phone and sends a text, and mere seconds later, Salem shows up.
“You rang, lover?”
Indy’s eyes heat as he wraps an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. “We have a dating question.”
“Sure. What’s up?”