Page 12 of Inevitable

They walked out of the building side by side with their shoulders and arms pressed together. Bas had made reservations for them at a nearby restaurant, so they decided to walk. Dinner flew by, and once they were done, Drew didn’t feel like going home yet. When they passed a bar after leaving the restaurant, he stopped and looked at Bas questioningly. Bas just shrugged, excitement lighting up his eyes as he towed Drew inside.

It was Wednesday, but the place was packed. They made their way toward the front. The bartender was busy at the other end of the bar, so Bas leaned his elbow on the counter, and Drew settled in next to him.

Drew took advantage of the crowded space and didn’t move away, instead enjoying the feel of Bas’s solid body against his. He got a whiff of Bas’s shampoo every time the man moved. It was difficult not to bury his nose in Bas’s hair and inhale. He shuffled a bit to his left. No need to make himself crazy.

Drew wasn’t sure what made him look up to the other side of the room. There was a current in the air that made him pull his attention away from Bas to figure out what had caused the strange tingly feeling at the back of his neck.

His eyes clashed with Ezra’s as if the other man had summoned him. Drew blinked in surprise, and a smile appeared on his lips almost involuntarily. Ezra’s eyes, on the other hand, narrowed as he scanned over Drew and Bas, taking in the way Drew was pressed against Bas. His brow furrowed as he kept staring at them.

Bas cocked his head to the side. Drew could feel his gaze, but he couldn’t turn his eyes away from Ezra, allowing Bas to immediately find the culprit that had stolen Drew’s attention.

“Wow. Hot.” Bas tilted his head up and murmured the words into Drew’s ear. And just because he was Bas, he also took his sweet time giving Ezra a once-over.

“That’s him,” Drew said.

Bas’s brows shot up as he returned his attention to Drew. “Ezra?”

Another spike of lust shot through Drew’s body at the way Bas’s tongue curled around the name, managing to make the word sound like a dirty promise.

“Yeah.”

“Go talk to him.”

Drew pulled away to stare at Bas. “What?”

Bas peered over Drew’s shoulder. “And better hurry. It doesn’t look like he’s planning to stick around.”

Drew whirled back around and, as if on cue, saw the back of Ezra’s head as the man made his way toward the exit through the crowd.

“Go.” Bas was laughing as he gave Drew a push.

Drew had no fucking clue what he was doing or why he was chasing Ezra down through the crowded bar.

I’ll just see if he’s all right.

Making his way through the thick mass of people was a slow endeavor. By the time Drew made it to the front door, he couldn’t see Ezra anywhere. He pushed his way outside and managed to catch a glimpse of him disappearing around the corner.

Drew registered the backpack and the duffel Ezra was carrying. He frowned. Not the usual accessories to go barhopping.

“Ezra!” he called as he jogged after the man.

Ezra looked over his shoulder, but he didn’t stop. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his flimsy jacket, his breaths forming a white mist around his head.

Drew caught up to him at the end of the street. He grabbed Ezra’s elbow to stop him. “Hey.”

Ezra wrenched his arm away from Drew’s grasp and scowled at him. “What the fuck do you want?”

Drew had no idea what to say to that. What the hell had he planned to accomplish by chasing Ezra down? The truth was, he didn’t have a plan. He’d just seen Ezra and felt a need to go to him, especially after Bas had urged him to do it.

“I just…” He breathed harshly, cold air making his throat hurt. A single snowflake landed on Ezra’s cheek, and Drew glanced up. It looked like they were in for another couple of inches.

Ezra glared at him impatiently. “Just spit it out.”

“I guess I wanted to see if you were all right.”

The eye roll that followed confirmed that it hadn’t been a fluke—Ezra’s crabby attitude definitely did it for Drew. Not because he was a masochist and liked to be toyed with emotionally. It had probably more to do with the fact that Drew highly suspected the attitude was more of a shield Ezra carried to hide the tender parts of him away from the world. Judging by the bursting-at-the-seams duffel, something was definitely going on, and Drew felt a bone-deep need to help.

Savior complex, Bas’s voice taunted in his head. Maybe it was, but Drew had walked almost that exact same path Ezra seemed to be treading. On his own with nowhere to go. Only he’d had Bas. Ezra seemed to be completely alone.