Page 134 of Sapphire Sunset

“He’s got a sling now, though. Apparently at yourrecommendation. So he got something out of the deal.”

“I don’t remember saying that. I don’t remember much abouthim, to be frank.”

“He gave me an idea, though.” Connor put his elbows on thetable and leaned forward.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Maybe we could do a role play thing later. You could treatme like one of your Grindr tricks.”

Logan nodded, pursing his lips as if he was considering the idea.“You think that’d be hot, huh?”

“I won’t know until we’ve done it.”

“Yeah,” Logan said. “We could do the part where we bothundress in a hurry without looking each other in the eye because we don’t reallywant to see who the other person is. Or we could do the thing where we startwith the door unlocked and you face down on the bed, so I never have to lookinto your eyes at all.” Logan, it seemed, placed a very high premium on lookinginto Connor’s eyes, and this realization made the way they’d fucked the nightbefore seem all the more special and intense. But Logan wasn’t done. “Or wecould do the cat thing. That was my favorite.”

“Thecatthing?”

“Yeah, that’s where I ask you in chat if you have a cat andyou say you don’t, but when I show up I smell a litter box and try to do asearch for it on the fly because I know if you lied I’ll start to snot all overyou during sex because I’m allergic.”

“Wow. That does sound hot,” Connor said.

“Right. Endless role play opportunities.”

“Yeah, on second thought…”

Logan’s stare was intense now. “Sometimes it scratched an itch.Mostly it filled the time. But it never led to someone like you or somethinglike this. And that’s why I deleted it off my phone three days ago.”

“I like how proactive you are. Deleting apps off your phone.Answering questions I’m too afraid to ask.”

But there was another question Connor wanted to ask aboutLogan’s past. The thought of it, however, brought a painful memory of thehandsome cowboy fondling Logan without regard for who he might have come to thebar with.What was your rule?

“Yeah, and there’s something else…” Logan’s voice trailedoff, and it looked as if he was searching the table between them for his nextwords. “I’m sorry about what I said in the car.”

“Which part?” Connor asked, face hot.

“Notthatpart. No, the part where I implied Islept with all my first dates. I’ve felt weird since I said it. That’ssomething you say with your friends when you’re trying to show off. It’s notsomething you say to someone you feel about the way I feel about you.”

“I’m not sure I saw it exactly that way, but I appreciateit, and I accept.”

“Well, I saw it that way, and I promise not to do it again.”Logan stood and extended his hand. “Since you accepted my apology, will youaccept this dance?”

It was a slow song, a female vocalist, something bittersweetwith lyrics about love. He didn’t recognize the song or the singer. But that’sbecause he didn’t know much about country music. After tonight, that wouldchange. He’d learn. If only to keep all the positive associations of thisevening alive in his mind, his precious memories of their first real date.

And, it looked like, their first real dance.

“We’ll have a lot more room than we did in the caves,” Logansaid.

Connor took Logan’s hand, and suddenly they were on thedance floor, surrounded by other swaying couples. A true first now. A slowdance in public. With another man. This man.

His man.

When a voice in his head started to speak up again, he wasn’tsure if it was fueled by doubt or if the question he had was a valid one.

“Logan?”

“Yes, baby,” he said.

“The cowboy said you had a rule.”

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