Page 26 of Pivot Point

A smile touched my lips as I watched the guys. Rafael hadn’t really hung out with my skaters before, joining us briefly for meals in the apartment but otherwise keeping his distance. He’d still been his usual quietly stern self since we’d headed out to the restaurant, but the other men’s enthusiasm for the food he loved had obviously warmed him up to them a bit.

“Well, now I feel a lot better about letting you do the ordering for all of us,” Jasper said with a relaxed grin of his own and perked up at the arrival of our server. “And here come the main meals!”

Rafael nodded to my partner’s heaping plate as the waitress set it down in front of him. “That ropa vieja should be full of flavor. If it doesn’t kick you in the taste buds, I’ll just have to make my own version for all of us one night.”

Jasper dug his fork into the shredded steak and hummed happily as he chewed. My mouth watered as I took in the Cuban sandwich arriving in front of me.

When I raised it to my lips for a massive first bite, Rafael shook his head at me. “I can’t believe you. Out of all the traditional things they have on this menu, you go for the sandwich.”

“Hey, I like what I like.” I shot him a teasing smile. “You should be glad I didn’t insist on us going out for Polish instead.”

Niko peered at me with curiosity. “You don’t like Cuban food, Lou?”

“Not everyone’s into the food of their background,” Jasper pointed out. “And Lou isn’t even Cuban—your family was from Mexico, right?”

“Yeah, four generations ago—pretty distant.” I waggled my sandwich. “And I don’t dislike it. I just like other stuff more.”

Niko had turned to Jasper. “You aren’t one to talk. You weren’t even born in Canada but you pour maple syrup all over everything.”

Jasper mock-glowered back at him. “I’m not that far removed. My parents only immigrated to the States a couple of years before they had me. Anyway, maple syrup objectively makes everything better." He glanced down at his ropa vieja. “Well, maybe it wouldn’t work on this.”

“Lou’s nanny when she was a little kid was Polish,” Rafael put in with a fond glance my way. “Got her hooked on pierogies and cabbage rolls. It’s a goddamned tragedy.”

“They’re, like, the most comforting foods ever,” I protested. “And pyzy—oh, man, if you’ve never tried those…”

Rafael pointed his fork at me. “You’re not allowed to drool over Polish food while you have a Cuban sandwich right there in your hands.”

I shrugged innocently and took another big bite. The savory pork was an awfully good treat too, but I wasn’t going to admit that to him while he was heckling me.

“It makes sense that everyone has their own tastes,” Niko said, between bites of his braised short ribs. “But I wouldn’t trust a fellow citizen who doesn’t love Calpis.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure not everyone in Japan loves milky soda, Niko.”

“Everyone with good taste does.” Niko smirked at him. “And one day I’ll convert you too.”

Jasper let out another laugh, and his free hand brushed across Niko’s thigh. The other man’s gaze darted to the gesture, and a soft flush colored his cheeks that I didn’t think had anything to do with the spice in his food. He scooted his chair a little closer so their knees rested against each other.

I couldn’t restrain a grin as I watched. The romantic side to their relationship was so new and fresh—it warmed me up knowing that I’d helped them finally figure out what they both wanted.

Maybe after Jasper got a little more comfortable with the physical side he’d never really explored before, the three of us could have a lot of fun, all together. Not that I’d mention anything along those lines just yet. Knowing Jasper, too much of a nudge would send him running in the wrong direction.

I squirmed a little in my seat with the pang of desire set off by the images that’d formed in my head and shelved them for another day. Seeing the way their faces lit up when their eyes met and they exchanged smiles, I knew we’d get there.

Then Jasper turned to Rafael. “You’ve obviously known Lou for a long time. How did you get into the bodyguard business anyway? That doesn’t sound like something you’d find a job posting for online.”

Rafael snorted. “No, it’s a pretty different side of job searching.” He paused, looking down at his plate for a moment, with a hesitation I didn’t totally understand.

Was he still uncomfortable about the fact that we were hooking up now after he’d known me as a kid?

I reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze. “My mom’s… operations were pretty prominent. Anyone in town who wanted to get into that kind of work would have known she was the person to impress.”

Rafael’s odd reaction appeared to have smoothed away with my interjection. He nodded. “It’s not the kind of thing most kids dream about, but I ended up getting wrapped up in the life… I still wanted bigger things than the local gang I started out with, though. Working for the Cordovas offered more opportunities.”

Niko cocked his head. “Even when you ended up mainly protecting one person.”

“One very important person,” Rafael said firmly. “And I did get to travel a lot with the family. It wasn’t all kiddy stuff. Especially once this one got older and wilder.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“As you should very much appreciate,” I retorted with a cheeky flash of my teeth, but the conversation had reminded me that I’d never gotten much of Rafael’s history out of him before. I knew I’d asked him basic questions when I was younger, but from what I remembered, he’d always deflected them.

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