Page 11 of Gamble
Who the fuck was he to give advice on relationships? BDSM mechanics, sure. Even BDSM power dynamics, but genuine relationships… Hell, he’d been wrong about Shane Covington and Nalani being good for each other. And there was no way he’d have ever thought Nolan Boeing and Piper Kole could be in the same room without killing each other, let alone be getting married.
I clearly haven’t a clue on what makes a good relationship.
“Screw this. I need a drink,” he spat back, already shuffling his way through the throng of people until they were back in the comparatively quiet bar.
The urge to tell Crawford to fuck off and leave so he could get back to work was strong. Instead, he pushed his internal angst down and headed for the two open spots at the end of the bar.
The men had only sat down when the back entrance door from Runway opened and Avery came in balancing two trays loaded with food.
Like the southern gentleman he was, Kent jumped up, rushed toward her, and grabbed one tray just before she dropped it. “Let me help you with that, darlin’. Looks like you have your hands full.”
Elijah’s stomach growled on cue. This was one if his favorite times of the night, when Avery brought down the leftover appetizers and desserts she’d made for Runway but that hadn’t been eaten when she closed down the kitchen. She was always so thoughtful, knowing that the crew of Black Light would be working well into the early morning hours and wanting to make sure they had some snacks.
“Right on time,” he greeted the head chef placing the trays of food in front of him.
“I even have one more upstairs,” she said a bit out of breath. “I knew I never should have made another batch of the mini mushroom quiche when we ran out around eight-thirty. The only reason I made them was I knew they were one of your favorites.”
He loved Avery’s sassy smile as she held the appetizer out for Elijah to snap up.
“Thanks,” he said, his mouth half full. “But for the record, I’ve never eaten anything you’ve made that I didn’t like.”
Elijah knew Avery still had at least an hour of clean up before she could go home. The nice thing for him to do would be to offer to run upstairs and bring the final tray of food down so she didn’t have to. The only thing stopping him was his aching hip.
Without even discussing it, Kent jumped in to offer instead. “I’ll be happy to grab the last tray if it means I get to escort this lovely lady upstairs.”
Avery’s face lit up, and for the briefest of seconds, Elijah felt like an outsider at his own bar watching the instant connection the chef and his buddy had.
Kent stretched his hand out. “My old friend here is falling down on his host duties. I’m Kent. I’ve known this old man here for over twenty years,” Kent said, thumbing in Elijah’s direction.
“Wow, that’s a long time,” Avery said, still holding hands as she added. “I’m Avery, and I’ve only known him for three years. I bet you have some grand stories to share.”
Kent looked his way, a grin on his face before looking back at the chef. “Hell, yeah. And I’d love to share them all with you… say, over dinner sometime?”
It was Avery’s turn to glance at Elijah. He sensed she was looking for his approval—not in the permission sense of the word, but in the ‘please tell me if this guy is a loser’ friend sort of way.
Unsure why it bothered him, Elijah pushed down his annoyance to do the right thing. “He’s a good ole Texas boy, which means he’s old fashioned, but you could do worse,” he joked, enjoying the dirty look Kent threw his way.
Avery just laughed. “Well, with that resounding endorsement, I’ll take you up on your offer. I work Wednesday through Sunday, though so we’d need to make it on a Monday or Tuesday night.”
“Deal. Now let’s go get that other tray of food.”
Elijah sipped on the bourbon Suzi had shoved in front of him while he waited for his friend to return. Each minute of the ten he was gone had Elijah’s blood pressure rising until he was just about to go back to his office when Kent returned with the tray of snacks.
“About fucking time. I’m on the clock here, you know,” he groused.
“Oh, come on, you run the place.” Kent regained his seat on the stool next to him before adding, “I don’t think you are upset you need to work. I saw the dagger in your eyes after I asked Avery out.”
“No daggers. You’re both consenting adults. Do whatever you want.”
“Really? That wasn’t jealousy I saw there?”
He looked Kent in the eyes as he replied. “Avery is like a sister to me. A younger, innocent sister who I feel nothing but a sense of protection for.”
“Well then, you are over the hill. If you look at that woman and see anything other than sexy perfection, then there’s no hope for you.”
“She’s my co-worker,” he groused. “I don’t fuck people I work with,” Elijah groused, hating the grain of truth to his friend’s words.
“Then it’s my lucky day. You sure you’re okay with me asking her out?”
