Page 93 of His Temptation
Did I regret hooking up with Cason?
At the thought, a memory of him laughing entered my mind, followed by the warmth in his brown eyes when he smiled. No… I didn’t regret him.
“You need to talk to your boy.” Jay pulled a cigar from his front pocket and lit it up. “This shit is between you and him.”
“You’re right.” I took another drink, feeling the coil of nerves in my gut begin to unwind a bit.
“I know I am.”
The band started to play, and Jay looked at the stage. He seemed more interested in them that night.
“You know this band?” I asked.
“Never heard of them.” Jay pressed the cigar to his lips and blew out a cloud of smoke, his gaze locked on the stage.
No. Not the stage. One of the members in particular.
The guy at the piano wore a black fedora and had his suit jacket folded beside him on the bench. The other guys in the band were older, but he looked to be mid-twenties at the oldest. His undershirt was pushed up on his toned forearms, and as he played, he smiled and moved his upper body to the music. The guy was hot.
“Ah,” I said, drawing Jay’s attention. “I see what’s going on.”
“What?” His brow pulled together, but not even the wrinkles from the action took away from his good looks. “Why the hell are you smiling like that?”
“Someone has a crush on the piano man.”
Jay scoffed and placed his cigar on the ashtray in front of him. “I don’t get crushes, Cross. I see someone I want, and I pursue them. Simple as that.”
“So, why haven’t you pursued Mr. Fedora over there?”
“Because fuck you, that’s why.”
“Someone’s getting defensive.” I finished my beer and pushed the bottle toward the edge of the table for the waiter to take.
“He’s not my type,” Jay said, an obvious lie. And maybe the dim lighting was playing tricks on me, but it looked like his cheeks darkened.
“Wow, I’m speechless here, Foley. I’ve never seen you get like this before.”
“If you’re speechless, then why are you talking?” He picked his cigar back up and took a puff. “Be quiet and enjoy the music.”
The waiter brought us another round of beers, and I smiled when Jay looked back at the stage. He couldn’t keep his eyes off the guy.
“Ask him out,” I said, when the band took a break and the members got off the stage to grab drinks and walk around a moment.
“Why are you so interested in my sex life?” Jay downed his beer before ordering something stronger. “I told you. He’s not my type. So drop it.”
“Okay.”
He eyed me over his glass as he took a drink. After setting it back on the table, he started talking about a case we were working on. A master at changing the subject.
Maybe I’d been wrong and misread the signals. Wouldn’t be the first time.
However, when the band returned to the stage, and that piano started playing, Jay stopped mid-sentence and looked over at him again. But then he turned his back to the guy and picked back up where he’d left off in the conversation.
Interesting.
But I let the topic drop. It wasn’t my business anyway.
“Another beer?” Jay asked.
