Page 25 of Play Hard

“My phone was still in my…” Robert looked at the kit bag on the floor, then at Liam sitting beside it.

“It did ring.” Liam couldn’t pretend to be sorry. “You were busy.”

“Anyway,” Ben said, “I wanted to let you know I was coming back for my PI exam notes so Evan could help me review tonight. Also, I got a brilliant idea while I was watching the match.” He turned and placed a loving hand on Evan’s chest. “Once you were subbed out, I lost interest.”

“A brilliant idea for what?” Robert asked, tying his dressing gown.

“About your project, what we were talking about the other day.”

Robert gasped. “What’s the idea?”

Ben glanced at Liam. “It can wait. Obviously now’s not a good time.”

Liam tried not to sigh too heavily. “On you go. Away and discuss it.”

“But tonight’s for us,” Robert told him.

“Mate, I saw the look in your eyes when Ben said he’d had an idea. And I’ve watched you jump out of bed in the middle of the night to jot down a breakthrough. I know these things can be elusive.” When Robert hesitated, Liam gave his bare calf a light smack. “Go! The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll finish.”

Robert crouched down and kissed Liam. “I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered. Then he hurried down the hall after Ben.

That left Evan, who, when he’d been Fergus’s boyfriend, had felt like a brother-in-law to Liam. Now that Liam knew the full circumstances of that breakup, he no longer hated Evan, but they’d never again be mates. Evan’s previous job as a spy made him a wee bit terrifying, and his current work as a private investigator was no less intimidating.

“Want a drink? Robert has good stuff.” Liam got up from the floor and beckoned Evan to follow him into the kitchen. “And as our boyfriends have abandoned us, we’re within our rights to steal a dram.” He opened a cupboard and took out the bottle of single-malt whisky.

“It’s not part of my usual post-match recovery regimen, but this is shaping up to be an unusual night.” Evan crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, fatigue rimming his blue eyes and sweat still darkening the blond hair at his temples. Their Warriors kits were equally grimy, yet Evan somehow looked miles more put-together than Liam felt. “It’s good of you to give Robert time to confer with Ben.”

Liam made a noncommittal grunt as he poured the whisky. It hadn’t been a great sacrifice, as the mood had already been broken by the interruption.

“I’ve been on the other side,” Evan said. “I know what it’s like to have a job where you might save lives.”

“Robert’s not MI5. No one will die if he takes a day off.”

“But in his mind, every minute wasted could be a minute stolen from someone’s life.” Evan held up a hand. “It’s not a healthy perspective, but it explains his drive.”

“Believe me, I know.” They returned to the living room, where the descending sun was streaming through the wide balcony windows. The day had turned reasonably warm, so they went outside to look over the tree-lined, flagstoned St. Andrew’s Square. Along the edge of the balcony were half a dozen empty clay flower pots, artifacts of a summer that now felt far away.

Liam lifted his glass in a quick toast. “To our gamer boyfriends.”

Evan mirrored his movement. “May they never dump us for not sharing their obsession.”

Liam chuckled. “I kinda admire how they can sit still for so long. I’d go absolutely bonkers staring at a screen, even for a job.”

“Talking of work, when will you be starting massage college?”

Liam flinched. “Soon,” he said in a clipped voice he hoped conveyed his lack of desire to talk about it. When Evan stayed quiet, Liam added, “Applications open a week on Monday, and classes start in March, one Saturday a month for nine months.”

“So in a year, your life could be totally different.”

“Aye.” Liam heard his own dread. “I mean, aye! Cannae wait. Very excited.” He glanced at Evan to see a skeptical brow angling back at him. “Really.”

“Okay. Good.”

After a few moments of unbearable silence, Liam said, “I’ll miss the pub, though. Always a new challenge coming through the door at Hannigan’s.”

“Hmm.” Evan just sipped his whisky and watched a pair of pigeons strutting round the bare-branched tree below the balcony.

Liam sensed an aura of judgment. “What?” he snapped.

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