Page 22 of More Than a Spark

“Yes. I came out to him a while back.” He shrugged a shoulder.

“So, do you want things to be serious with Milo?” I narrowed my eyes at him. I was sounding like an older brother again. Iwasolder than Milo, only by about nine months though. But I needed to know what Milo was walking into here. And maybe…maybe if this guy was good enough for Milo, I’d be able to tone my feelings down.

“I guess so. It’s my first time trying to date a guy. I don’t know where it will go, but I wanted to give it a shot.” He quirked the corner of his mouth. “Milo and I uh, we hit it off pretty well in bed. The guy’s wicked.”

With my chest squeezing, I coughed into my hand and struggled for a breath. “Shit.” I didn’t need to hear that.Wicked?What did that mean?

He patted my back and gave a sharp laugh. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m not freaked out.” As I breathed in deeply, I rubbed my brow.

Simone set new beers down in front of us and sauntered off.

I snatched my beer and took a few gulps.

“You sure you’re not freaking out?” With a wry smile, he held his beer up. “Maybe you need another shot?” He snickered.

“No, I have to drive home at some point.” I drew deep breaths and calmed. This should be my last beer and I should probably go after the next set. I didn’t want to be here when Milo asked Archer to go home with him. Nope. And I certainly didn’t want to imagine whatwickedthings they’d be doing in bed tonight. Especially with Milo dressed the way he was. A hot poker ran through my chest. Damn it.

“So, tell me what um, what did Milo say about me?” I let my gaze land on his. Maybe there’d be something I could hold onto, something to lessen the sick knot in my gut.

“Oh, well, he said you were pretty much the best person in the world.” He turned to face the bar and sipped his beer. “Yeah, you can basically do no wrong in his eyes.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. Would Milo still say that if he knew I was keeping a big secret from him? I toyed with the edge of the square, paper napkin under my beer glass. “Okay, but what did he say exactly?”

“He loves you.” His gaze snapped to mine. “As a friend, you know, he loves you.” He nodded. “Your friendship is really important to him. He said it’s what got him through a lot of shit in his life.”

I nodded. “Yeah, like his dad cheating on his mom while she was working in a NICU as a nurse.” I clenched my jaw. “It almost wrecked him. His dad’s a douche.”

“See? He never even told me about that. He won’t talk about his dad with me.” He faced me, then propped his head in his hand. “Maybe you two should be dating?” He arched a brow.

“What?” Milo stepped between us, grabbed my beer, and took a sip. “Damn, I’m parched. Playing a gig is a workout.”

Archer ticked his chin at my beer. “See? He drank your beer, not mine.”

“What does that mean?” Milo planted a hand on his bare hip and edged into my side.

My arm flinched. I wanted to wrap it around Milo and hug him to my chest. I wanted to keep him away from Archer, even if Archer was a nice guy. Fuck me. This wasn’t working.

With a coy grin, Archer said, “It means you two are very, very close.” He snapped his brows up, then drank his beer.

“Yeah, I told you that.” Milo glanced at him, then focused on me. “What have you two been talking about?”

“You.” Archer hooked an arm around Milo’s waist and hauled him between his open legs, resting his cheek on his shoulder beside Milo’s head. “How hot you are tonight. How great your band is. You’re the full package, Milo.” He kissed Milo’s cheek.

Milo’s face flushed. “Yeah? Thanks.” Wrinkling his brow, his gaze crept to mine.

“I need to take a piss. Here, keep my seat for me.” With pain slicing through my chest, I hopped off my barstool and strode through the crowd, bumping people along the way. This wasn’t working. No way could I sit there and watch them.

As I walked into the casino, the hum of the slots filled the air and lights flashed over the machines. I covered my eyes and beelined it for the bathroom sign, hanging on the wall in front of me. As I stepped inside, my chest exploded. “Fuck!” I couldn’t hold it back anymore.

I paced the room, quickly scanning the stalls. Empty. I was safe to lose my shit. “Fuck, Milo, God damn it.” I balled my hands into fists and pressed them into my temples, striding back and forth in front of the mirrors and the fancy grey tiles on the walls. A knot crept up my throat. In a choked voice, I said, “What the fuck is wrong with me?”

A toilet flushed.

I halted in my tracks and stared at the stall on the end. The door was closed, but it was the goddamned disabled stall. I hadn’t seen it. Whoever it was probably thought there was a crazy bastard in the bathroom with them.

The door opened and Gabe peeked out, his curly blond hair framing his face, his light blue eyes wide. “Uh, hi.” He gave me a stilted wave. “So…Milo, huh?” He worried his lower lip, then washed up at the sink.

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