Page 56 of Out of Reach
Ah.Okay, then. At first Jude had thought he’d seriously misjudged the situation, but Dex was just in the closet.
“I would never break a confidence,” Jude said.
“Thanks,” Dex murmured, then glanced at Jude again. “And I do like Seo-jun. But I’ve never done anything about it. And I really don’t think he likes me back. He stares at everybody. And, since we run together on the beach sometimes and he’s teaching me knife throwing, I think he would have said something to me by now if he did.”
Jude wasn’t so sure, but he wasn’t about to push the matter.
“Okay. Well, I’m sorry I got into your business like that. I didn’t mean to be intrusive.”
Dex’s shoulders sagged. “That’s okay. It’s…it’s kind of nice to admit it out loud.”
“Is this your first time? Admitting it?” Jude asked.
At Dex’s nod, Jude patted him on the shoulder.
“Congratulations. It’ll get easier from here on out.”
Dex looked like he wanted to say something but was having trouble getting it out. Jude remained quiet, giving him time. Finally, Dex took a deep breath and said, kind of fast, “Colt keeps talking about taking me to a club. He’s got this idea that I’m cuter than I think I am or something and that I don’t get out enough. But when he mentioned it the first time, he did it in front of Seo-jun. And I don’t know if I want to go to a club and watch Seo-jun with some girl. Or guy. I have no idea what his preference is.” He turned and looked Jude in the eyes. “Would you be willing to go, too? So, I’ll have someone to stick with?”
“To a club?”
Dex nodded. “They don’t know—that I’m gay. And I don’t know what kind of club they want to take me to. But I do know I can’t do it alone, and I’m running out of excuses. Please, Jude?”
Jude enjoyed the club scene, and he wanted to help Dex, so he didn’t see any reason why not.
“Sure. Make the plans and let me know. But, uh, what if they want to go to a gay club? And they figure out that you’re gay?”
Dex seemed to think about it. “I’m not sure that I care. I know the guys won’t care, most of them aren’t straight anyway. It’s just hard to say out loud, you know?”
Jude nodded. “Okay. I gotcha.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Hawk
Hawk and Logan’s casino assignment turned from a one-week gig into two due to their regular security team battling a virus. By the time it was over, Hawk couldn’t get out of the place fast enough. He was tired of the weird hours and the smelly casino. When he went to sleep early Saturday morning, he set his alarm for mid-afternoon in an attempt to get back on schedule. Rolling out of bed took determination, but after taking a shower, he felt pretty good when he headed downstairs to the kitchen.
Dex was sitting on a high stool, a towel wrapped around his shoulders while Tara stood behind him cutting his hair. Jude sat across the table watching while munching on a dill pickle. Hawk paused to drink in the sight of him before crossing the room to the refrigerator.
“What’s going on?” he asked the room at large.
“I’m giving Dex a trim. A bunch of us are going clubbing tonight,” Tara said.
Hawk nabbed a water from the back of the fridge and turned around to lean on the counter. “I didn’t know you could cut hair.”
Tara gave Hawk a look of disbelief. “I do it for a living.”
“Really?” Hawk frowned. Why hadn’t he known that?
“Don’t feel bad,” Jude told Tara. “We dated for three years and he never knew my birthday.”
“July 20th,” Hawk said automatically.
Jude looked at him in obvious surprise.
“What? I know it now.”
“Not too short,” Dex said to Tara.