Page 66 of Izzy
“For how long?” The patrons whined.
“Don’t know and if you don’t like it, fuck off.” And with that Skippy shut the door in his face.
Ulises hesitated to accept the comfort but eventually he returned the hug.
Izzy stood close as though he was a sentry ready to defend them.
The hug lasted a lot longer than he thought it would and Todd stayed silent the entire time. Ulises wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, but he shut his eyes and rested his head on Todd’s shoulder.
He thought he was over crying, but the tears came anyway. And with them came the slow realization it wasn’t Izzy who’d brought his emotions to the surface again. It was more about the hand he’d been dealt in life. What a shitty fucking hand. He was bound to lose. Nothing would change it.
He tried to be strong. How many times had he smiled when he really wanted to cry? He didn’t want to pretend it didn’t affect him anymore.I’m going to have a party with a bottle of Ronin’s moonshine on the nearest empty barstool but if you have any questions, I’m here for you.
Izzy and I are your mates, Ully. You can’t just forget that.
I’m not.Ulises kept out of Izzy’s reach when he tried to grab his hand.Maybe I’m the one who made a mistake.
Boy.Izzy growled.
“Leave me alone.” And with that he pulled out his wallet and put forty dollars in the jar on the counter before he slipped onto a stool at the end, away from everyone else. When Casper, the bartender saw him, he didn’t have to ask Ulises what he wanted. He just poured Ulises a glass of hooch and slid it in front of him.
How many glasses would it take for him to stop picturing Izzy pounding into Cain? Ulises didn’t know, but he was about to find out.
It wasn’t until he was into his second drink that something struck him as odd about Cain. It was the way he tapped his neck. It was on the same side as Ulises’ tumor. It was as if he knew about it. But it wasn’t visible anymore. Someone had to know it was there. It hadn’t been visible when Cain had started patronizing the club. And he’d come with the dating app guy. That was one hell of a coincidence. Too much of one.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Todd watched Ulises drink himself into oblivion.
Izzy caught the bartender’s attention. The bartender was dressed in nothing but lacy panties. Izzy shook his head. That was all it took for the bartender to stop serving Ulises.
Ulises shrugged and got off the stool. He swayed. His eyes were big as he chuckled and said, “Whoa. When did the room start moving?”
Todd smiled. Ulises was a cute drunk. His cheeks had pink blotches and his eyes were glassy. He waved at them and then watched his fingers move as he waved again. “Neat.”
Izzy smiled but it didn’t change the tortured expression on his face. “He’s cute.”
“He’s a good boy, Iz.” Daruss sipped some clear liquid in a glass. “You hurt him. It’s not going to be easy for him to forgive. Takes time. It won’t just happen overnight. Bonding doesn’t always factor in when emotions are involved.” They sat with Daruss and his boys. His boys were barely dressed. One straddled the other’s lap. They were both very attractive. The bigger blond one had an angelic quality to him that made himalmost ethereal. His name was Jude. The other one was cute in a boy-next-door kind of way. Raylee was the one on top. He wore a thong that left little to the imagination. Jude kept brushing his finger along Raylee’s ass crack.
“Todd and I bonded with him. We chose him. No one else.” Izzy sighed and shook his head. Izzy tightened his arm around Todd, kissing his temple. “Hell, we didn’t even really choose each other. Fate did. But I would have.”
“Me too.”
Ulises swayed too far to the right and stumbled into someone. The guy caught him and put an arm around him, steadying him. Ulises smiled. It was clear Ulises knew the person because he wore a vest similar to Izzy’s. They talked for a moment and then the guy turned to Izzy. His expression was one that said for Izzy to take care of his own problems.
Izzy stood to go to Ulises, but Todd stopped him. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Let me know how he is.” Poor Izzy. He looked defeated, as if he regretted every decision he’d ever made. Ulises not talking to either of them through their link didn’t help.
Todd kissed him. “It’s going to be okay.”
“You’re not going to tell me how much I deserve it?”
Todd shook his head. “Did you make promises to Ulises or Cain?”
“Not then. But I knew Ulises was catching feelings.”
“And so were you.” Todd cupped Izzy’s cheek. “You loved him. Even then.”
