Tanner spotted Tucker right away. He was surrounded by people, checking IDs before letting anyone inside. Tucker stood nearly a foot taller than everyone else. He was huge and hard to miss. Since they were the same height, Tucker spotted him at the same time. He nodded and urged people aside so Tanner could join him at the door.
“Hey. I thought you had a weekend-long job?”
Tanner nodded. His gaze swept the crowd. He couldn’t look Tucker in the eye while admitting he had been used… again. “I did too. Looks like I’m free.”
Since Tucker was a good person, he didn’t hand Tanner the I-told-you-so he deserved. Tucker had been warning Tanner against Henry every step of the way, telling him Henry was only using him. He was a rich man’s toy. It would have served Tanner right for Tucker to gloat. He didn’t. “That’s too bad. But hey, I’m glad you’re here. Can you do this for me for a minute while I run inside?” He laughed. “I’m about to piss all over myself.”
Tanner tried not to blanch. He didn’t know shit about working the door of a nightclub. “Sure. I just check IDs, right?”
Tucker rolled his eyes. “You’ve got this, dude. Two minutes.”
With a nod, Tanner slid into Tucker’s spot and started checking dates. It took him a second to calculate birth years and ensure he wasn’t letting anyone under eighteen inside. Ten or fifteen people into his new gig, he had things moving right along. He was a little proud of how professional he seemed. Then a driver’s license appeared beneath his nose. There was a hot pink post-it note stuck to the ID.
Please say I’m banned so I can go home.
A snort escaped Tanner before he could call it back. He quickly smothered the sound. Tanner looked up and into the lightest eyes he had ever seen. They were almost otherworldly. His mouth went dry.
“Step to the side, please,” Tanner said, motioning the man to the side. He kept a hold on the man’s driver’s license as he waved the rest of the group inside. “The rest of you, go ahead.”
One young blond man lingered, but a stern look from Tanner got him moving. Once the guy was free from his friends, Tanner glanced down at his license again. “So, Orion Moon.” Tanner smiled at the name. The dude definitely had free-spirited parents. He passed Orion’s ID back. “You’re officially free of your friends.” He eyed Orion from head to toe. The guy was skinny and dressed like he gave no fucks. His jeans were baggy, and one leg of his pants was tucked into the top of his work boot, but there was something a little adorable about him. “Unless I can convince you to stay for me, that is.”
Orion looked confused. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would you want me to stay for you?” Orion sounded damn pragmatic and not the least bit interested.
It was Tanner’s turn to be confused. “Because I think you’re hot. Why are you in such a rush to go home? You obviously have friends who want to spend time with you.”
Orion shifted from one foot to the other and rubbed his arm. “Those aren’t my friends. We work together. Also… I got a new book today.”
“A book,” Tanner repeated, wondering if he had heard that right. At Orion’s disgruntled expression, Tanner decided to run with it. “What’s it about?”
Orion’s gaze shot from side to side, as if he thought to run. “Um, bears.”
Tanner checked a few more IDs while keeping up his end. “Bears.” Tanner didn’t know why he couldn’t stop repeating everything. “The animals or the hairy dudes?”
To Tanner’s surprise, Orion focused on him without an ounce of artifice. His gaze didn’t move. Orion’s eyes were gorgeous. Tanner couldn’t look away. “Both, actually. Bear shifters.”
This was such an odd conversation. Tanner couldn’t stop. “Do you—”
“Kodiak.”
Tanner turned his head at the sound of his last name. He tossed a wave at the guy in line who had called out. They went to the same gym. Like everyone else who couldn’t tell his brothers and him apart, the guy had fallen back on Tanner’s last name.
Tucker reappeared, setting him free. “Whew. Thanks, bro. I might survive now. I’ll take over.”
“Cool. I’m going to…” he turned his head. Orion was gone. Tanner scanned the crowd. He caught a glimpse of Orion’s retreating form, weaving his way through the parking lot. Without a backward look or explanation, Tanner took off after him. “Orion, hold up.”
Orion’s shoulders visibly fell. Tanner suppressed a laugh as Orion turned, looking defeated. “Did you need something else?”
“Yeah. Your number.”
Orion’s expression never changed. He wasn’t the least bit tempted in any way. It was written all over his face. Honestly, it was refreshing. No one felt like a friend since he started Cubs for Rent. Everyone wanted something. All Tanner wanted was Henry and that wasn’t going to happen. Orion was a nice distraction.
“Why would you want my number?”
Tanner shook his head. “Jesus. It’s like you’ve never been hit on before.”
Something unnamed passed over Orion’s features and disappeared as quickly. “People don’t flirt with me.”
“I call bullshit.”
Orion didn’t smile. “People don’t ask for my number.”
“I just did.”
A line appeared between Orion’s brows. “What are you after?”
Tanner didn’t back down. “Let’s go do something.”
“I want to go home,” Orion said, refusing to give an inch.
He didn’t know Tanner. Tanner didn’t quit. “Then take me with you. If I annoy you, you can put me out on the side of the road.”
For a moment, Orion stared at him with zero emotion. Finally, his chin dipped slightly. “Fine, but just so you know, I own a gun.”
Tanner shrugged. “It’s Texas. One was assigned to you at birth.”
Instead of laughing, as Tanner hoped, Orion gave him a sharp nod and turned away. Tanner raced to catch up. Maybe he was looking for a distraction from his breaking heart, but Tanner knew a good deal when he saw one. If nothing else, at least he wouldn’t be alone tonight with his thoughts. That was something.
Howling Twister turned out to be a bar that was swarming with people. For several minutes, Henry sat in his rental car and stared at the front door. His chest hurt. He had come to Texas for the weekend, fully intent on spending time with the only person he cared about. Now everything was a wreck and he didn’t even understand what happened. One second, they had been kissing and the next Tanner was done. They had never truly fought about the money aspect of things. Henry paid and Tanner returned it. That was the end of things. Henry never suspected that Tanner harbored so much resentment over that. He wanted to apologize. Talk things through. Henry didn’t know where to start. He only knew he had to try. Tanner had said they were real. He had stunned Henry with that one, and then walked away. Henry had to fix it.
A bar was bit intimidating, especially this one. The place looked like a backwoods honkytonk where people came to drink bad beer and line dance. Henry didn’t fit the scene. He didn’t know if he could storm a place filled with people in their twenties and scream his feelings over the loud music drifting all the way out to his car. That wasn’t the only fear keeping him glued to his seat. Tanner stood with one of his brothers at the front entrance already surrounded by a ton of men. It was funny that Henry knew which of the identical men was Tanner. They held themselves differently. There was always a hint of melancholy in every move Tanner made. His entire demeanor was darker than his brother. Part of that was Henry’s doing. The rest… Henry didn’t know what caused Tanner’s solemn nature. All he knew was, he wanted to fix it. The problem was, Henry wasn’t brave. He never had been. Henry came from an overbearing family that had always demanded perfection. He was supposed to be quiet and never embarrass his name. No one taught him to stand up and stand out. He didn’t know how to follow his heart. But he had to start somewhere, because he couldn’t lose Tanner.
As Henry looked on, Tanner
darted from the door. Henry watched with his heart in his throat as Tanner spoke with a skinny guy who couldn’t have been more than eighteen. He recognized Tanner’s smile. It was the flirtatious one he usually reserved only for Henry. After a minute, Tanner’s smile grew, and he fell into step beside the boy. When they reached a small maroon car, Tanner slid into the passenger seat. Henry was helpless to do anything but watch as Tanner left with someone else. There was no one to blame but himself. That didn’t make losing Tanner any easier. Henry was always his worst enemy.
A loud knock on his window sent Henry’s heart racing into his throat. The other triplet stood, waiting to be acknowledged outside. Henry patted his chest as he rolled down his window.
“Have you decided to take up stalking?”
Henry imagined it looked that way. Maybe he had. “No. It just seems I have incredibly unfortunate timing.” He rubbed the spot between his eyes where pain bloomed. “Which brother are you?”
“Toby.”
“I don’t suppose I can convince you to pretend you never saw me? This day has been bad enough without the extra helping of humiliation.”
Toby chewed his bottom lip, visibly thinking it over. “Tell me why you’re sitting here, watching Tanner leave with someone else, and I’ll consider staying out of it.”
That seemed fair. “I came to apologize for being a jackass earlier today. It was my bad luck I got here just in time to see him leave with someone else.”
Toby held up a finger, gesturing for him to wait. As Henry looked on, Toby circled the SUV and opened the passenger side door. He hopped in with all the confidence Henry wished he possessed. “Let’s go for a drive, babe. I think there are some things you need to hear about my brother.”
That didn’t sound ominous at all, but what choice did he have? Henry was falling for Tanner. If he ever hoped to stop fucking up, he had to start somewhere. Maybe Toby had the answer.
A mile from Howling Twister, Tanner already fought the urge to text Henry and take everything back. He couldn’t do that. Being weak never worked out for him. Tanner rubbed his chest and focused on the man behind the wheel. Orion had both hands on the steering wheel like it was his sanity. His eyes were locked on the road and he couldn’t have been more rigid if he tried. Tanner was a little worried Orion might pop a blood vessel in his attempt to ignore Tanner’s presence.
“So, those were your work buddies. Where do you work?”
“I don’t know that I would call them buddies. We had a meeting tonight and I sort of got dragged along to the bar afterward.”
Tanner couldn’t stop himself from teasing Orion. He was way too serious. “Well, I mean, you drove yourself. You could’ve just not gone, and then made up an excuse the next time you saw them.”
“I drove.”
A bark of laughter escaped Tanner. He tried swallowing the sound. “You just left all those people at the bar with no way home.”
To his surprise, a dimple appeared in Orion’s cheek. His shoulders visibly relaxed. “To be fair, I fully intend to blame you for not letting me in.”
“Meh,” Tanner said with a shrug. “I don’t really work there, so…”
Orion cast him a quick glance before he roared with laughter. The sound shocked Tanner and made him smile. Orion was every bit as real in his laughter as he had been in his irritation. He didn’t play games, Tanner surmised. Orion swiped at his eyes. “Do you have some sort of weird fetish where you start doing other people’s jobs for no reason? Or was checking IDs a ploy to pick up men? If so, is this the first time it’s worked?” He glanced Tanner’s way again. “Never mind. I’m sure it works every time.”
For a moment, Tanner questioned if he should be insulted. “None of the above,” he said, deciding to let it go. “The bar is donating tonight’s profits to help out a guy who was recently injured, but they needed volunteers. My brother donated his time to working the door. I was giving him a break.”
“Oh. I might’ve stayed if I’d known about the donations. Crowds make me uncomfortable. I feel like everyone is looking at me.”
“That’s because you’re hot.”
Orion snorted. “It’s because I don’t fit in. I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Wow. You really took one look at me and decided not to like me, didn’t you?”
Orion tapped his thumb on the steering wheel in his first show of nerves. “It’s not that. You just seem pretty polar opposite of me. I get the impression you’ve never been anywhere you didn’t fit in and people didn’t automatically flock to you. Be honest. You’ve never stood on the sidelines wondering why you can’t talk to anyone, have you?”
Tanner started to blow off Orion’s accusations. His life had not been easy, and he felt like Orion believed it had been. But the more he thought about Orion’s question, he recognized Orion was right. While Tanner’s outside didn’t match with his insides, he never had any problem fitting in. In fact, he was almost chameleon-like when it came to crowds. He had learned how to survive almost anything by flirting.
“Mhmm. That’s what I thought,” Orion said after a moment. “You’re Mr. Perfect.”
Before Tanner could form a response, Orion pulled into the driveway of a small picturesque house with yellow siding, perfectly manicured lawn, and abundance of flowers. After parking, Orion led the way to the back door. Tanner kept his hands clasped behind his back and at least five feet between them. He didn’t want to make Orion any more uncomfortable than he already had. After all, Orion really didn’t have anything to fear and Tanner wasn’t unaware of his large size. He looked just like his dad, and that man had been the master of using his size to intimidate people, especially his sons.
Orion turned lights on as he went, illuminating each room as they passed. Tanner didn’t miss his chance to inspect each. The entire place was military level clean. Almost as if no one lived there. The kitchen and living room were completely void of comfort. Everything looked sterile and unwelcoming until they reached the den. Tanner knew immediately this was where Orion spent most of his time. Mismatched bookshelves lined the walls—like the man had bought a new shelf each time it was needed with zero fucks given if it looked anything like the ones he already owned. Books were stacked on the floor in front of the shelves, as if—at some point—Orion had given up trying to find places for them. There was a big recliner in the corner with an end table bursting with junk—ink pens, paper, a laptop, and empty cans lined every inch.
Since there was only one chair, Tanner moved to the closest bookshelf and eyed the titles. There didn’t seem to be any particular theme or system to anything. The only similarity to any of the books was that they all seemed to be fiction. Otherwise, science fiction sat next to romance and paranormal. Shirtless men hung out next to women draped in historical dresses and the next book would have a spaceship on the cover. It seemed Orion liked everything. He spotted a familiar cover with a set of dog tags on the cover. He pulled the book off the shelf and flashed it Orion’s way. “I’ve read this one.”
Orion barely spared a glance for the book. “Yeah. That’s a good one. What does the tattoo on your wrist mean?”
Tanner’s gaze skirted away. “It’s a weeping Willow. My mom’s name was Willow.”
“Was?”
Tanner nodded and focused on returning the book to its spot. “She died when I was seven.”
“What happened to her?”
A humorless smile tugged at Tanner’s lips. “My father killed her.” Tanner dropped his hands to his sides and focused on Orion. “I mean, he never really laid a finger on her, as far as I remember, but between always being high and the constant cheating, he slowly sucked all the life from her until she faded away.” That was really what it was like to have an endless supply of money and fame. It made men feel like they could get away with anything with zero consequences and even less concern for the people they destroyed. Tanner had hated his father with something akin to insanity for a million different reasons, but for what he had t
o done to Tanner’s mom, Tanner couldn’t forgive him. Tanner shook his head. “Where’s this new book?”
Orion looked almost relieved for the subject change. Tanner couldn’t blame him. He never talked about his parents. Tanner didn’t know why he had. Orion picked up a hardback next to his chair and passed it Tanner’s way.
Tanner read the back. It didn’t sound half bad. “My brother would love you,” Tanner said more to himself. He glanced up. “His room looks a lot like this with books stuffed everywhere. You should come over tomorrow.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Against his will, Tanner’s forehead furrowed. “Why?” He thought they had gotten past this awkward stage.
Orion motioned between them. “We’re very different. In my experience, different doesn’t work out well for me. I’m that guy people only pursue when someone else got too hard for them.” He shrugged. “I guess I look like a soft target.”
Tanner fought the way Orion’s words hit home. That wasn’t who Tanner wanted to be, yet he was here. There was only one way he could prove Orion wrong. “Come over tomorrow.”
For a solid minute, Orion chewed his bottom lip and stared at Tanner. Finally, his shoulders fell. “Give me your address. Maybe I’ll come if I get bored.”
A smile exploded across Tanner’s lips. He would take it. Tanner needed to begin moving on somewhere. Orion seemed like a nice place to start.
Henry sat in the center of Tanner’s bed and waited. If he didn’t come home tonight, Henry didn’t know what he would do. Go home, he supposed. There was a very real possibility that Tanner would move on and stay the night with that guy he had approached in the bar parking lot. Henry was well aware he might have screwed up for the last time. He really, really hadn’t meant to hurt Tanner. Everything about them was so damn confusing, but talking to Toby helped. The guy was oddly easy to confide in, which was nuts, but whatever. Henry had obviously convinced Toby his feelings were genuine, since Toby had let him into Tanner’s room to wait. Toby had been equally forthright with Henry about their childhood, shocking Henry with a few details. Now, Henry understood where he had gone wrong and he was determined to make things right. He just needed Tanner to come home and hear him out before tossing him out. That was a tall order, considering he didn’t really believe he was worth keeping around. Fuck. He was in trouble.
First Loser Page 3
