“All of this is fascinating,” Dylan said dryly. “But how did we wind up here?”
Noah dropped into the seat beside Dylan. “A shameless bribe by Jack Davis. Of course, what he really wants is to capitalize on the award Tyler and Alec are set to receive next weekend.”
“I meant to ask you earlier,” Tyler said to Alec. “Are your parents coming to the ceremony?”
Alec hesitated. “Probably.”
Tyler’s gray eyes studied Alec, and something passed between the two. “Sorry.”
“Me too,” Alec said quietly.
What the hell was that all about? Dylan gripped the armrest of his seat, his thoughts interrupted by Noah.
“This is Jack’s way of persuading us to team up with his hospital for an annual fundraiser.” Noah eyed Tyler. “But some people are being stubborn.”
Tyler looked at Noah, his voice firm but calm. “I said no.” He rose to his feet.
“We’d be fools to pass on his proposition.” Noah looked up at Tyler. “It’s like throwing money away, for chrissakes.”
Ignoring Noah, Tyler went on. “I’m going to get a drink. Anybody need anything while I’m up?”
Dylan needed for the man to be gone. He needed for Alec to quit talking to his ex as if they’d been friggin’ boyfriends for years. Most importantly, Dylan needed to understand why he needed those things.
When Alec murmured no, Tyler headed toward the bar. Noah leaped up to follow, and a concerned expression crossed Alec’s face as he watched the two cross the room.
“Tyler’s perfectly capable of handling Noah,” Dylan said.
“I’ve never seen Tyler so ruffled before.”
Dylan studied the two men at the bar. Tyler relaxed against the counter as he shook his head in refusal while Noah gestured in that melodramatic way of his.
“He doesn’t look ruffled to me,” Dylan said.
“I can tell.”
Yeah, because they’d lived together for two fucking years. Dylan couldn’t commit to a cell phone service for that length of time.
“I think we’ve got a disaster in the making on our hands,” Alec said.
Dylan cocked his head. “A ran-out-of-gas kind of disaster? Or a Titanic disaster?
Alec ticked his gaze to Dylan and smiled, resting his hand on Dylan’s thigh and leaning closer. For a moment Dylan thought Alec was going to kiss him, and Dylan’s muscles grew rigid. Alec must have felt him tense, because, at the last second, he reached across Dylan’s lap and picked up a cheese stick from his plate. Dylan relaxed.
Kissing was good. Kissing Alec was great, but Dylan didn’t do public displays of affection.
He hoped the grin he sent somehow compensated for his stupid hang-up. “Or maybe a Destiny’s Bitch kind of disaster.”
Alec let out a huff of humor. “Much worse than a drag queen show at a poker run.” He dipped his cheese stick in the marinara sauce and sat back in his chair. “Noah has managed to convince a camera guy and a director to volunteer to film advertisements for the bachelor bid.”
“Did he seduce them? Or harass them until it was either surrender or throw themselves off the Golden Gate to end the agony?”
“I don’t know. Either way, if we agree to Jack Davis’ plan, we need a celebrity to shoot the ads. Unfortunately for Tyler, he used to date Memphis Haines.”
Dylan watched Alec take a bite of his cheese stick. “Isn’t he some stunt guy?”
Alec swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “That’s the one,” he said. “But mostly he’s known for his Fifth and Taylor advertisements.” When Dylan’s brow bunched as he tried to place the name of the store, Alec continued. “The designer underwear ads.”
Dylan’s eyelids stretched wide. “The nearly naked dude on the billboards?”
“The very one.”
“How did Noah find out?”
“I…uh…”
A sheepish Alec looked kinda cute, and it was doing strange things to Dylan’s chest.
Alec grimaced and went on. “I accidentally mentioned that Tyler had a famous ex-boyfriend. When Tyler shot me down with his gaze, I had to make something up to cover.”
“Dude,” Dylan said with a laugh, his first since Tyler had arrived on the scene today. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Alec frowned, but his heart wasn’t in it. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.” He blew out a breath. “Anyway, somehow Noah sniffed out the truth. And now he’s harassing Tyler to ask Memphis to star in our ads. Tyler is refusing. Noah says he’ll just visit Memphis himself, using Tyler’s name.”
“Sounds like your usual Noah fuckup waiting to happen.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Alec tucked his hair behind his ear. The thick waves appeared to have been through the wringer, as though he’d spent the day shoving his fingers through the strands in frustration. Dylan wasn’t sure if the frustration stemmed from the friction between Tyler and Noah or Alec’s worries about raising the matching grant money.