Page 17 of Demon's Heart
He cut a sidelong glance at Dante. The big man frowned at the painting, shaking his head, then moved on to the next one.
Ollie suppressed a smile. At least he didn’t seem to be the only one not feeling it.
“What’s your usual scene?” Dante asked as he inspected the painting before them. For some reason, this canvas was much smaller than the others. “If you weren’t here tonight, what would you be doing instead?”
“Probably hanging out at home with Harper. Working on Saturday mornings kind of kills my Friday nights.”
Dante shifted to face him. “Do you like going out?”
Ollie shrugged. “Sure. I like dancing and letting loose. You?”
Dante’s brow furrowed. “I don’t really dance. I suppose clubbing hasn’t appealed for quite a while.”
Ollie looked Dante over. How old was he? Dante seemed older, but there couldn’t be more than, say, ten years between them. He wasn’t approaching silver fox territory or anything.
“No clubbing, hm? Don’t tell me you won’t even go out after nine p.m.,” Ollie teased.
Dante grinned. “I’d need a very good reason to do something that late.”
Ollie bit back a smile. “You’re a Millennial, aren’t you?”
Dante blinked. “A…what?”
A laugh bubbled out of Ollie. “Oh yeah, you totally are. You’re like thirty-five or something, right?”
“Thirty-five. Yes, good guess.” Dante sipped his drink, the crease in his brow deepening. “And you must be much younger. So, in other words, you’re saying I’m old and boring?”
He sounded disappointed, and Ollie’s heart sank. “No. I’m just hassling you. You’re not boring. Not that I’m in a position to judge. My biggest hobby is playing PlayStation. It’s not like I’m terribly interesting or original.”
Dante’s dark eyes seemed to spark. “You like gaming?” The hint of excitement in his voice lit Ollie up.
“I do.” Ollie leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. “Beats clubbing, if I’m honest.”
Dante grinned, leaning down to whisper back. “Agreed. I love video games. They’re fascinating.”
A weird way to put it, but Ollie’s insides buzzed like Dante’s enthusiasm was contagious. “What do you play?”
Dante straightened, pulling back, and Ollie realized how close they’d been. “Anything I can. I have a whole room set up with all the different consoles.”
“Nice. A whole gaming room. Perks of being old, I guess.”
“Hey.” Dante’s eyes widened, expression adorably betrayed. “You said I wasn’t old.”
“No, I said you weren’t boring.” Ollie patted Dante’s forearm,his skin temptingly warm. He quickly withdrew his hand. “It’s okay to be old. I’m not holding it against you. We’ve each got to bring our own thing to the friendship, and don’t worry, I won’t try to take you clubbing.”
“I’m not worried.” Dante frowned, lips pouting.
“You look worried.”
Dante’s expression smoothed out. “Not at all.” He placed a hand on Ollie’s lower back. “Come on, I think we’ve seen enough of this painting. Let’s make way for someone else.”
Ollie let Dante steer him to the next piece, enjoying the touch more than he should. It wasn’t a very we’re-just-friends move, but Dante’s hand didn’t linger, so maybe he meant nothing by it.
They circled the room, examining the rest of the paintings, which became more appealing as they moved along. Ollie preferred the more friendly-looking pieces, and the final one was actually really beautiful.
A man with bright-blue hair and pale skin appeared on Dante’s other side. “What do you think?”
Dante nodded, stroking his chin. “I like it. Nice progression.”
