Page 18 of More Than a Spark

“Is Archer going to be okay with that?” Ryder tensed his jaw.

“Archer?” Lifting his brows, Axel focused on me.

I slumped my shoulders. “Archer is a guy I hooked up with a few times. He’s coming tonight. He?—"

“Wants to date our little Milo.” Ryder, chewing his thumbnail, ticked his brow at Axel.

“Oh…” Axel rose up enough to shift his chair in closer. “How do you feel about that, Ryder?”

Under my breath, I said, “Fuck…” Leave it to Axel to start shit. I knew he had a good heart about it, but…

“Well, I’m cool with it as long as this guy treats Milo right.” Ryder pursed his lips.

“In your view, what does treating him right look like?” Axel asked, lifting his chin.

The whole table went silent, and everyone’s attention drew to Ryder.

Ryder scanned the table. “Well, uh…” He bit his top lip for a heartbeat, then said, “Milo needs a good, stand-up guy who won’t hurt him, won’t lie to him, and certainly won’t cheat on him. He should have someone who dotes on him and”—with the hint of a grin, his gaze met mine—“makes him happy. Milo should be the center of this guy’s world.” His throat dipped with a hard swallow.

My heart swelled with emotion. Ryder could be all those things, except he was fucking straight.

“Damn.” With a grin, Axel stood from his chair and clapped. “I think you just described my boyfriend, Remy.”

“Jesus, Axel.” With a chuckle, Remy dipped his head, his long brown curls veiling his reddening cheeks.

“This Archer better watch himself with you around.” Axel squeezed Ryder’s shoulder, then pushed the chair back to its table and sauntered back to Remy.

I sipped my beer, peeking at Ryder. What if he didn’t like Archer for some reason? My chest clenched. But Ryder liked everyone, and Archer had given me no indication that he was a dick, so we’d be okay.

Simone waltzed to our table and dropped off our dinner.

SIX

RYDER

As we finished our dinner, I bounced my leg under the table. The more I sat here and chatted with these guys and waited to meet Archer, the more I felt like an asshole. I needed to tell Milo what happened with Tate. And I needed to figure out why I was having such strong reservations about meeting Archer. It was like I already disliked the guy, and I hadn’t even given him a chance. I ran my gaze around the table, doing my best to remember who all the guys were. We had Silas, sitting next to Cash, then a guy I’d just met, Caleb, who played bass guitar and was dating an older professor named Eric. At the end of the table were Devin, the singer and his boyfriend Brandon. Too many names to remember...

Milo ate a fry, then widened his eyes. “Oh, shit, there’s Archer.” He wiped his fingers on his napkin, then stood up.

I twisted in my chair and frowned as my gaze caught on a tall, built guy with wavy blond hair and chiseled features. He was a hockey player all right. His muscled arms bulged under a mauve shirt and his black skinny jeans stretched over his leg muscles.

As Archer approached the table, a broad grin swept across his mouth. “Milo, damn, you lookhot.” He held his arms out to Milo.

Milo fell into his arms and wrapped him up in a quick hug, then released him, keeping one arm hooked around Archer’s waist. “Uh, Archer, this is my friend, Ryder.”

“Hi, Ryder.” Archer stuck his hand out.

With my heart caught in my throat, I stood up and shook his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Archer.” I dropped into my seat.

“I seriously love this get up, Milo.” Archer ran his finger along the lace on Milo’s hip, then planted a long kiss on his lips.

My chest heated and I squirmed in my seat. What the hell was wrong with me? Tenting my hands over my plate, I stared at the rest of my food. I wasn’t hungry anymore.

As Milo broke the kiss, he asked, “Have you eaten yet?” He kept his focus on Archer.

“I have, as a matter of fact.” Archer perused the table. “Are these all the guys in the band and their boyfriends?”

“They are. Come on and I’ll introduce you.” Milo threw a glance at me, pursed his lips, then twined his fingers in Archer’s and led him around the table.

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