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Okay, stop.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Worrying is my job. How was Emmett?” he asked, clearly in no hurry.
“Miserable.” I didn’t feel like reliving any portion of my day, though. I aimed a short nod at the table behind me, thinking I’d remind him that he had someone waiting when I noted movement in my periphery. “Hey, your date’s on the run, Chief.”
Reg widened his eyes and pulled a yikes face. “Well…shit. And that was going so well.”
I barked a laugh. “I bet Jason didn’t get far. Go catch him.”
“Hmm. I do enough chasing. Mind if I join you?”
I motioned to the empty stool next to me.
Reg slid onto it, his knees brushing my thigh as he called the bartender over to pay for the drinks at the abandoned table and start a new tab. Once he was settled with a fresh beer, he raised it in a mock toast.
I tapped my glass to his, unnerved by a renewed zing of awareness.
“What are we drinking to?”
“Getting away for a few hours.” Reg scrubbed his bearded jaw. “I do feel kind of bad about being ditched, though. I don’t do this often…and it shows.”
My lips quirked. “Me either. In my defense, I don’t know the lay of the land in Wood Hollow, and I definitely wouldn’t want to hit on the wrong guy at the Black Horse Tavern.”
“The Four Forest area is pretty progressive. That’s not to say we don’t have a few assholes, but they’re a dying breed.”
I sipped my beer, narrowing my eyes. “Then why are you two hours away from home, Chief? Surely you don’t have to travel all this way for a booty call.”
He ignored the jibe. “My ex has the kids for the week, so—”
“You followed me to Burlington,” I finished.
“I didn’t follow you. I’d been planning to get out of town for a while, and my trip just happened to coincide with yours.” Reg tapped my cell meaningfully. “I gave you my number.”
True.
“Why?”
He huffed in exasperation. “To get a bite to eat or a drink. I was being nice.”
“I thought so, but…it’s weird, ya know?”
“How is that weird?”
“Maybe it’s not. Maybe I’m reeling over your gayness. Did you follow me here…to this bar?”
Reg rolled his eyes. “For the last time, I didn’t follow you, asshole. I was here with Justin.”
“Jason,” I corrected.
“Him too. I didn’t stalk you. I promise. This”—Reg gestured between us—“is a happy coincidence.”
“Still weird.” I wrinkled my nose. “Did you know I’m bi?”
He considered me thoughtfully. “I suspected…maybe. You have a habit of—sort of…staring at me.”
“Fuck off. I do not,” I lied, laughing at the absurdity even though it was the damn truth.
