Page 26 of Primary Seduction
Zak nodded, and they slipped into silence for the rest of the trip.
****
They entered Romano’s and were immediately served by the hostess. She asked them to follow her to their table. Max’s eyebrows rose when he saw who is waiting for him. He had assumed it would be the normal crew: Sean, Zak and Ethan, but there was also Eric, Asher and Logan.
“Hey, I didn’t realise you were all going to be here,” Max said. It was a nice surprise.
“Yeah, we thought you could use some extra friends as you’re such a loser,” Ethan said.
Everyone laughed.
“Thanks for that, Ethan. Much appreciated,” he replied sarcastically, sitting on one of the chairs they’d squashed around two tables. They probably could have done with three tables, but they’d manage.
“I hear we need a happy birthday, Max. Is that right?” Rosalia asked.
“‘Fraid so, Rosalia. Another year older but never wiser.”
“You’d be surprised how wise you can get in a year,” Rosalia said with a small smile. “What can I get you gentlemen to drink?”
After a bit of discussion, during which Rosalia was very patient, they decided upon a couple of bottles of wine to share between them. Rosalia told them she’d get their drinks and be back for their food order.
“Let’s decide on our food first, then we can talk. I don’t want to make Rosalia have to wait again,” Max said.
They all agreed and spent the few minutes deciding. Then they moved onto different topics.
“What does it feel like to be another year older, Max?” Eric asked.
“Unfortunately, the same as last year,” Max answered with a smile. Eric was the youngest of their group and was a big-time actor. He was often off doing a film. He’d been in many blockbusters, and he was only twenty-two.
“Life doesn’t get any easier the older you get,” Asher said. Sean nodded alongside him. “If anything, it gets harder.”
“God, let’s not get depressed before we’ve even started, eh?” Ethan joked.
They laughed as Rosalia came back to the table with another waitress to help carry all the glasses. After they were deposited around the tables and had begun to be filled, Rosalia took everyone’s orders.
“Thanks, Rosalia.”
“You’re very welcome, Max. The food should be here in about thirty minutes or so. Have a good evening.”
“So, what news does anyone have for me?” Max asked. “I’ve not seen some of you for a while.”
“Oh, it’s been absolutely ages since you’ve seen us, Max. A whole twenty-four hours. That’s an age!” Sean laughed.
It was so good to hear the genuine happiness coming from Sean nowadays. Since he’d met Asher, he’d become more open, more giving with his emotions than in all the time Max had known him. They’d had a rocky start and had almost not worked out, but words provided by a now friend, Owen, had made Sean see the light. It was lucky, too, because Asher had almost given up hope. Now, they spent as much time together as possible and Asher’s niece, Janie, who Asher had gained custody of when his sister died almost three years ago, had hit it off with Sean right from the beginning, and their relationship grew every day.
“How else am I going to get to know Logan? It’s a good job he’s here. I’d been thinking I’d have to go through the police academy to get to know him better. Well, either that or get arrested, and I didn’t fancy that option.”
They all laughed and so the jokes about what Max would have to do to get arrested set the tone for the rest of the night. Max was really enjoying himself, and he’d finally been able to speak to Logan in more depth. He was a great guy, just a little down on his luck with men. He looked around the table and found that all but Ethan and Zak were gay. He found it funny how gay people seemed to find themselves around other gay people. They seemed to gravitate towards each other. He could understand the reasons behind it. After all, the stigma attached to being gay was still alive and kicking.
Rosalia brought the food out, and they ate with gusto, all catching up with each other. Max hadn’t had this level of camaraderie for years, since university, but that was all for show and homework support, not real-life support. He looked around at everyone, suddenly extremely grateful to have these great people in his life.
Max heard a phone ring but didn’t pay any attention until Asher answered it with, “Hey, Trent…Oh, hi, Samuel, everything okay?” Asher had one finger in his ear as he pressed the phone to the other ear, and Max shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation. “Is he all right…what happened…he’s never mentioned it to me before…yeah, sure…no, no, it’s fine We’ll come over to his place now…yeah, okay…see you shortly.” Asher hung up and turned to Sean. “Hey, sweetheart, we have to go.” He turned to Max. “Sorry, to leave you Max, but we have to head out.”
“Is everything okay?” Max asked, worried.
“Yeah, I think so. Trent’s been having some issues, and Samuel has asked us to keep an eye on him tonight because he has work to do.” Asher and Sean were busy putting their coats on and grabbing their things.
“Can I help?” Max was decidedly more worried now he knew something was wrong, especially as he didn’t know whatexactlywas wrong. Trent had seemed fine when he’d left earlier.
