Steam (Homecoming Hearts #4)(64)

“Is that your dog?” the guy asked. He looked up at Ashby and placed his hand on his chest. Gay, Ashby immediately identified. The guy gasped and smiled. “Do you mind if I pet him? I just love puppies so much.”

“Sure,” said Ashby. “He’s not my dog, sadly. He belongs to someone on the staff, but he seems to like me.”

Mr. Goatee looked up at him from where he was crouched with Merlin on the floor. For once, Merlin didn’t seem too interested to say hello.

“Oh,” Mr. Goatee said. “Wow, I love your accent. You from England? You sound like Harry Potter.”

“I’m a Hufflepuff,” Ashby said like he did whenever people mentioned the famous book series. As usual, it created an immediate bond with whoever he was talking to.

“No way, me too,” Mr. Goatee said, jumping back to his feet. He held out his hand toward Ashby. “Dez. Nice to meet you.”

“Ashby,” he replied.

“Hey, you want some company?” Dez asked. He gestured toward Ashby’s eReader. He had been so lost in his thoughts he’d not even opened up a book.

“Sure,” he said automatically. Then he realized how that might look. Gordon would flip his fucking lid if he caught Ashby talking with another guy without him. Trent wasn’t like that, but Ashby wanted his cards on the table from the start. “I, um, have a boyfriend,” he said. He and Trent hadn’t specified relationship labels yet, but it was the easiest way to say he was with someone and not looking.

Dez waved a hand at him. “Oh, no, me too,” he said with a scoff. “But he’s not here yet and I get bored so quickly. If I buy you a drink would you tell me about England for a while?”

Ashby nodded as Darnell came over to them. Seeing as it was midafternoon, the bar wasn’t that busy, so he could serve them himself. Trent was working out for a couple of hours, then had a call scheduled with his manager, so Ashby had given him some space for the day.

“Can I get you guys something?” Darnell asked as Dez slipped into the seat opposite Ashby. Darnell glanced about to check Bob wasn’t around, then winked at Ashby. “I’ve been working on my cocktails,” he said excitedly.

“Ohh,” Ashby said with genuine enthusiasm. “Well done, you. I’m so happy to hear that! Surprise me. I’ll take something fruity.”

“Me too,” said Dez, smiling sweetly. They watched Darnell make his way back to the bar and begin flipping bottles again, much to the delight of the three middle-aged women drinking cosmos at the counter. “So,” said Dez, swinging his feet under the table. “You here with your boyfriend, huh?”

Ashby bit his lip. His heart fluttered whenever he thought of Trent, but he had hardly gotten to speak about him to anybody apart from Maeve yet (who had demanded to hear everything) so he couldn’t help but be enthusiastic.

“We met here, actually,” he said. “So, it’s new and exciting. But…he’s special. I think it could be going somewhere.” He tried not to blush, but he couldn’t help but be happy. “What about you and your boyfriend?”

“Oh,” Dez said dismissively. “High school sweethearts. Not new or that exciting, but, you know, true love, yada yada.” He smiled, then leaned back as Darnell came back with their drinks. “Oh, yummy!”

Ashby felt a little sorry for Dez and his lackluster interest in his boyfriend, but they moved on to talking about London and the cool places to go. Dez had never been but always wanted to visit. Ashby was more than happy to talk about Soho, Carnaby Street, Shoreditch and the best Indian restaurants on Brick Lane. “Honestly, you’ve never had curry until you go there,” he said with a giggle. The drinks were kind of strong on an empty stomach, but Dez was already waving at Darnell to get two more. They were delicious.

Dez was so impressed when Ashby talked about the kind of parties he usually went to. He wondered if that didn’t make Dez a little shallow for being impressed because Ashby brushed shoulders with C-list celebrities. But it was nice to have someone think what he did was cool for a change. And Dez seemed sweet and harmless.

“So, this is your ex Gordon, huh?” Dez asked when they were on their third cocktail.

He was thumbing through Ashby’s Instagram. A lot of people followed him, he was ashamed to admit. Just because he was pretty and went to places with people who were vaguely famous. Ashby didn’t like seeing Gordon’s face again, but he wasn’t going to delete the photos from his feed. He needed to remember not to let himself get in that kind of relationship again.

“Or does he know he’s an ex yet?” Dez asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Urgh, no, he’s gone, out, bleurgh,” Ashby said pulling a face. “Trent is a million times better than him.”

Dez sighed, then looked at the clock on his phone. “Oh, shit! Is that the time? Oh, sweetie, I have to go! I’m so sorry. But I’ll message you on Insta, okay?” He made noisy air kisses and hopped down from his seat. “See you soon, okay?”

Ashby barely had time to wave goodbye before Dez had run out of the bar. Ashby frowned and looked down at Merlin. “Weird,” he said to the puppy, who grumbled and rolled onto his side to continue sleeping.

Ashby didn’t really mind, though. He had another drink to keep him company and he skimmed through his various social media accounts, catching up with people. Darnell was kind enough to bring him some water and a bowl of pretzels, so he sobered up a little bit.