CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Matt tried to lead Oliver toward the left, where the bar was, but Oliver tugged his hand. He didn’t know what that had been about in line, where all that shit had come from with Matt, but he didn’t like Matt to see him that way. It was one thing for Miles and Chance to give him hell about getting laid, but it cut a little deeper with Matt. He didn’t want Matt to think he sat around, never going out or going home with men because he was too damn emotional for anything else.
“Over here,” Oliver finally told him. “We have a table in the corner that we always use.”
Matt nodded at him. This would be the first time Matt saw Miles and Chance in years. Chance would be fine. Chance was okay with everything, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit a small twitch of nerves under his skin when it came to thinking about the interaction between Miles and Matt.
They worked to make their way through all the dancing men and women. When their table came into view, he saw Miles and Chance already sitting. Dare, the owner of Wild Side and his boyfriend, Austin, stood beside them.
“You’re late,” Miles said when they approached.
“Shut up, Miles,” Chance said as Matt replied, “It was my fault.”
Chance stood first. His skin glistened slightly with sweat, telling Oliver he’d been dancing even though he didn’t work tonight. He wore a T-shirt cut off so that it showed his lean stomach and a pair of form-fitting jeans.
“Hey, Matty. It’s good to see you,” Chance told him as Oliver let go of Matt’s hand and watched the two men hug. He caught Miles’s eye over the two of them and Miles rolled his before he stood as well.
“You look good,” Matt told Chance when they pulled away. Chance winked at him.
“I know.”
“And you haven’t changed, either,” Matt replied, chuckling. He turned to Miles next. “Hey, man. Long time no see.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since you’ve been out. Glad you were able to make time,” Miles replied, and Oliver had no doubt that Matt heard the subtle dig in there.
“There won’t be that much time in between visits again,” Matt replied to him before they gave each other a brief hug.
Wanting to derail any opportunity for drama before it started, Oliver said, “Matt, this is Dare. He owns the bar, and this is his boyfriend, Austin. Austin works at the LGBT Center. He runs a great teen program over there. Dare and Austin, this is Matt.”
A crease formed between Dare’s brows. “You look familiar…”
Oliver inwardly groaned. He didn’t think Matt would want to go there tonight. Hell, he wasn’t sure Matt ever wanted to go there.
“Just one of those faces, I guess.” Matt smiled. “Great bar you have here.”
That got Dare off the subject of Matt’s face. They spoke for a few moments about Wild Side, the LGBT Center and surfing. Dare was a long-time surfer and Austin had started getting into it with him since the two men had stepped out of the friend zone and into a relationship.
Dare and Austin weren’t able to stick around for very long. Dare promised to send drinks over and Austin was going to head to Dare’s office to read. He’d recently told Oliver he’d read his books, which Oliver appreciated but was still something he struggled to get used to. It was awkward sometimes to have people he knew read his books. What if they hated them? He also didn’t want anyone to ever feel obligated just because they knew him.
“Miles told me about Postnasal Drip!” Chance said to him when the four of them were seated at the table alone.
“Postnasal drip?” Matt asked.
“The dude Ollie was dating. We were discussing the pros and cons of getting head from the guy because apparently, he had mucus issues. He solved the problem for Oliver when he tried for the threesome. We all know our boy doesn’t go there.”
“Hey!” Oliver nudged him. “I could have a threesome if I wanted to,” he replied.
“You didn’t tell me about the snot,” Matt added, a smile pulling at his lips.
“There’s a reason for that,” Oliver told Matt and then looked at Chance. “And seriously, I could have a threesome. I just didn’t fucking know that guy from Adam and Eddie sprung him on me.”
“I want to have a threesome with a guy named Adam…or Eddie,” Chance said and Oliver wanted to smack him. “Oh, minus the phlegm, though.”
Everyone at the table erupted into laughter except for Oliver.
“Gee thanks, Matty. I thought you would be on my side. Can someone explain to me why every time we get together we end up discussing my sex life?”
“Or lack thereof.” Miles winked at him and even though he wanted to kick him under the table, there was a part of Oliver that was glad Miles involved himself in the conversation, even if it was at his expense.