Page 116 of Asystole

Stone and I take up position next to Hanlon and Chase. We keep a respectable distance between us, unlike our partners, but it’s more comfortable than I ever thought this could be… not that I ever expected this to happen in the first place, but life is weird.

Eventually, Chase straddles Hanlon’s thigh and desire courses through me. I’m no longer jealous of Hanlon, and I trust Chase, but I just want it to be me he’s rubbing on. And I want it to lead to more.

Moving behind him, I wrap my arms around his waist and whisper in his ear, “Mind if I cut in?”

Chase leans forward and, with lightning-fast speed, grabs Stone’s face and kisses his cheek.

“Congratulations. Be good to him, or I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.” He pulls Hanlon into a bear hug next and buries his face in Hanlon’s shoulder so that I can barely hear him as he chokes out the next words. “I fucking love you, Hanny. I’m so happy for you.”

“I love you, too, man.”

Then Chase spins around and engulfs me in his arms, planting a kiss on my lips.

When he breaks the kiss, I grin.

“What?” he asks, confused by my smile.

“How much have you had to drink?” I ask, swaying back and forth with him as though the song was slow and not a club remix.

“Not enough not to know exactly where I am, what I’m saying, and whose arms are around me.”

I wish I could show some self-respect and stop grinning like a fucking moron, but I can’t.

Being with Chase makes me happy. He helps me see the world with an appreciation I’ve never felt before.

Guests have begun swarming the happy couple next to us, and I recognize that our turn to hog their time and attention has come to an end.

I lick the sweat from Chase’s neck, relishing the salty taste. So much of him is familiar to me, but there’s still so much I have left to discover. After everything, I’ve learned that I’m a confess my love first, fuck his ass later kind of guy, but now that I’ve confessed my love…

“I don’t want to cut the celebration short, but is it time to make our escape yet?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” Chase says, squeezing my ass.

I take his hand and catch Stone’s eye.

Upnodding, I tell him congratulations again and make an offer I never thought I’d make.

“We’ll have to have you and Hanlon down to Boston sometime before the winter season starts.”

Chase’s eyes widen as he smiles in surprise.

“You mean it?” he asks.

“Absolutely,” I tell him. “It’d be a lot of fun. We can catch a Sox game, take them to Derringer’s, and Stone would totally love that indoor skydiving place we’ve been meaning to try and haven’t had a chance to,” I say, growing more excited about the idea. “If we had company, it would sort of force us to get out and do something besides work, you know?”

“Maybe we can even show them our new place,” Chase says with a hopeful look that fucking guts me.

“Yeah,” I say noncommittally. “Maybe.”

Chase’s brows furrow, and I know he knows something’s up.

After completing our goodbyes, including those to his parents and Hanlon and Stone’s parents, Chase opens my door to his Jeep, and I climb inside. But instead of closing the door, he leans in, planting one hand across my lap on the center console.

“What’s going on?” he asks, making me swallow hard.

Blowing out a sigh, my head falls against the headrest. It seems the time has come.

“I was fired two nights ago.”