Page 27 of Needing More
Looking around the room, Vic observed the decent-sized crowd. With the entrance door opening and closing, he could see that most of the crowd was hanging outside with bottles of beer and eating cups of steaming elote that Eileen and her husband sold from their food truck. With the slight break at the bar, Vic headed down to the other end where Joel was.
"Hey," he greeted.
Joel turned to him and gave him an assessing look before smirking. "Fuck, man," his eyes widened, "you look like yourself for once."
Confused, Vic looked at him and waited for an explanation.
Accepting the cash from the customer who walked away with their drink, Joel turned back to him and gave him a knowing expression. "Don't give me that look. I'm saying you look happy for fucking once. Hell, all throughout dinner you did. Who would have known it would take Sapphire's cooking to revive some of the old you."
A half smile curved at the edge of Vic's mouth. Joel wasn't wrong, just not completely right. Vic braced both hands at the edge of the bar and leaned casually against it as he thought about dinner. "The food was amazing, and getting to hang out again all together was great. I think it was nice just getting to feel normal again."
"Fuck yeah," Joel exhaled in relief as he grabbed a bottle of beer from the cooler and popped the top before handing it to a woman. "I was telling Hayden that tonight felt like old times in a way. Hell, if we’re smart and plan ahead, we may be able to have a repeat of tonight in the future, if we're lucky, of course."
A repeat of tonight? Vic tilted his head as the memories of tonight played in his mind. "That might be flying too close to the sun."
Joel laughed.
The crowd picked up and all three of them were consumed by the constant flow of people. Smatterings of conversations here and there stole each of their attention as they worked to fill orders. By the time the surge died down, Hayden was back out on the floor again working the room, talking to people as he picked up the hordes of stray glasses and brought them to the counter.
Vic stood next to Joel taking the glasses he washed and wiping them with a towel. Vic glanced back up making sure Hayden was well away from the empty bar.
"Let me ask you a question—a personal one," he began cautiously.
Joel's hands paused in the soapy water for half a second before continuing. His blue eyes slid his way, waiting for Vic to continue.
Vic thought of Sapphire, a frisson of heat spiraling through him of his last memory of her. "I heard you mention it once before and I guess I'm just curious. Why do you guys sleep in Hayden's room? Why not yours?"
Joel gave him an unreadable look. "Why do you want to know?"
Vic could hear the subtle challenge in the man's voice and felt his own muscles tense. Glancing back over to his friend he considered him for a long moment. Knowing despite whatever was said he could trust Joel, Vic stepped a little closer to him until their shoulders were only an inch away from one another. He spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know," he breathed, staring down at the wet glass in his hand. "Curious?" he confessed. "Maybe even a little envious. I see what you two have with her. I see how happy you are. How could I…How could I not want that?
Joel still hadn't grabbed another glass from the sink. Looking up, Joel's blue eyes scanned the room and found Hayden standing by the pool table talking to another man. Carefully, Joel turned his head back to Vic and asked. "Want the happiness—or her?"
Knowing he was standing at an edge of an important decision; Vic weighed the knotted feeling in his stomach as he glanced up at Hayden across the room. His normally surly friend's posture was relaxed right now. He was actually smiling for fuck's sake and Vic knew why too. Waiting for him in his bed was a half-naked angel spread eagle, just waiting to be held. Just waiting to be fucked and filled with a man's seed as he listened to his name fall from her lips. Yeah, he'd walk around like a happy fucking bastard too if something soft and as loving as Sapphire was waiting for him too after a hard day's work.
Fuck it. Throwing himself in headfirst, Vic looked at Joel and stared directly at him. "Both."
Joel's eyes went wide. As if the word struck him like a lightning bolt
Joel stood there stock still and stared at him before finally whispering an oath under his breath. "Fuck man. Fucking hell." Shaking his head, Joel pulled his hands from the water and wiped them on a towel. Vic could see the man's mind working at the admission and he waited with held breath for him to respond. Joel didn't speak for the longest moment, he just stared out over the empty bar to the rest of the room where the patrons were slowly trickling out for the night. "I guess," he began after some time. "In a way, I can't blame you, but this is different," he looked sharply at Vic. "Sapphire isn't just some random girl, she's-"
"You think I don’t know that?" Vic hissed. "Goddammit, man. I saw it from the moment I met her. I mean there’s something out of this fucking world about her," he breathed deeply thinking about her face. He could picture her smiling and the shuddering feeling of pleasure the innocent action gave him. "She could make a man crawl through fucking glass to get to her." Vic shook his head. "It doesn’t matter though," he blew out an exasperated breath. "Because Hayden rather see me dead for even looking at her, and worse I know she doesn’t look at me that way."
Joel's shoulder sagged a little and he looked down at the ground, shaking his head. "He doesn't hate you. Honestly…he's just scared," Joel said thoughtfully. "You know how he is. He isn't used to things going well, he always expects the rug to be ripped from under him. You want to know why we use his room though mine is bigger?" He flashed him a tired smile as he grabbed another soapy glass from the water. "Because that bastard needs to hold onto her. He gets a little insane when she's not around. If it wasn't for his anger that day when you called and told us what happened to her, I don't think Hayden would've kept it together. It's like he's been waiting his whole life for her and now she's the only reason he's breathing." The corners of Joel's mouth pulled into a slow grin. "When he's not annoying as fuck, it's honestly nice knowing that I'm not the only one obsessed with her."
Vic wanted to ask what Joel felt about him wanting her but refrained. He didn't think he was ready to hear his answer. Hayden began walking toward them and they both stopped talking.
Setting two handfuls of empty glasses on the counter, Hayden let out an exhausted groan as the last customers waved at them before walking out the door.
"Thank God," Hayden murmured.
Cracking his neck left then right, Hayden walked over to the door and locked it. Joel came around the counter and went to go check the bathrooms. Vic couldn't help but glance up at the retreating blond biker. Despite just hearing that his closest friend also wanted his girl as well, Joel didn't seem any different so far. He probably just needed more time for the news to settle, Vic thought. The idea of Joel waking up tomorrow after thinking over the revelation through the night with a grudge didn’t sit well on Vic's stomach.
Vic bit back a groan. Why the fuck did he have to admit it?
Desperate to change the subject, Vic caught both men's eyes as they came back toward the bar counter. "So, I want to tell you about something I have been thinking about all day today."
