Dancing Around The Cop

by Lisa Oliver

  yeah, it might have looked like he was going for an outdated

  1980’s look, better seen on a girl. But Terry didn’t think it looked

  that bad. Zander’s pride at his wearing it, more than made up

  for it.

  “It’s Zander’s if you must know. I had an accident with my shirt

  earlier so he loaned me one of his.”

  “Accident, what accident?”

  “What happened to your shirt?”

  “Where the hell have you been, your landlord said you’d moved

  out of your apartment?”

  “Who the hell’s Zander? I thought you were going out with

  Richard.”

  “I’m going out with Richard.”

  “You went out with Terry’s boyfriend, you slut!”

  Stunned, all five men stopped talking. Joel, Charlie and Max were

  looking between Roy and Terry as though none of them could

  work out what to think. Charlie’s face was bright red. Not

  surprising given that he was responsible for the slut comment.

  “We need coffee,” Terry said decisively, moving through his

  friends to the couches he had in the corner. “Clearly we’ve all

  got a lot to catch up on.”

  Sitting them all down, Terry explained how Richard had just been

  taking him out as a friend, and that he knew Roy had gone on a

  date with him, the same night he went out with Zander. He

  reminded Roy of who Zander was, and while his friend could

  remember all of Zander’s attributes and described them in great

  detail to the others, he didn’t look very happy. Terry finished up

  by saying that he had moved in with Zander after Zander had

  asked him too and that they had been spending all their time

  together, getting to know each other.

  “Terry, sweetie,” Max said quietly. “Surely it would have been a

  better idea to get to know the man first, before you moved in

  with him.”

  And see, this was the problem with having human friends. No

  matter how much Terry could explain how Zander was so much

  more than his hard exterior, he couldn’t explain about them

  being mates. Damn, he should have given his situation a whole

  lot more thought before he had opened his mouth. But his

  friends were like family and they deserved to know at least some

  of the truth.

  “I don’t know what to tell you guys,” Terry said. “Zander is the

  one for me. I know he is, so I didn’t see the point in waiting.”

  Okay, that sounded lame, even in his head, and he could see his

  friends were geared up to let him know what he’d done wrong.

  “He might be great in the sack honey, and I’m sorry but you

  don’t have the experience to even judge that, but you don’t go

  moving in with someone just because they took your virginity,”

  Joel said seriously. “I thought you wanted to trust someone to

  be your first.”

  “But that’s it,” Terry said, standing up and pacing the floor. “I do

  trust Zander. I can’t explain it but I know he won’t hurt me.”

  “The chances that he’ll stray on you are pretty high, Ter, you

  know that. I mean a man like that, straight as a die. Richard told

  me he usually dated women.”

  “Richard had no right telling you anything about Zander,” Terry

  said, flashing a cold look at Roy. “I didn’t ask him about your

  date, or dates, because I trust you to tell me things yourself, if

  you want me to know. Zander has dated women, and been with

  other men, but he’s with me now, and we’re a committed

  couple.”

  “You can’t know that,” Charlie said, coming over and giving Terry

  a hug. Terry let himself be drawn back to the couch even though

  his thoughts were jumbled and he didn’t know whether to lash

  out or cry with frustration. “Sweetheart, this isn’t some romance

  novel. A man used to sampling a smorgasbord isn’t going to

  settle for one type of meat, no matter how good it is.”

  “I can’t explain, but Zander wouldn’t cheat on me,” Terry said,

  giving up on his anger. His friends were just worried about him,

  and from a human perspective, Terry couldn’t blame them.

  “He’s like my soul mate,” Terry continued. “I know you think

  that’s rubbish that can only be found in fiction, but Zander and

  I have a connection – I can feel it every time he looks at me. My

  skin tingles as though waiting for his touch. My body hums until

  he gets closer. My heart leaps every time he walks into the room,

  and I can’t help but smile at him. He’s such a caring man in every

  way, I couldn’t see my life without him.”

  “Sounds like a strong dose of lust to me,” Max said, adding

  quickly, “not that I can blame you. I’m sure this guy is really

  good looking, charming and everything else you say. But Terry,

  you don’t know him and he’s the first bloke you’ve been with. To

  give up your apartment and just move in with him…”

  “It’s just a bit irresponsible, and that’s not like you Terry. I

  suppose he told you he loves you and he’ll never look at another

  person again. It’s a common con, hon, and you can’t tell us that

  he hasn’t done that.” Joel finished his boyfriend’s thought and

  then added his own.

  “No, he hasn’t told me he loves me. I know it’s too soon for that

  and I’m not stupid.” Terry remembered the feelings he had

  experienced when he’d been with Zander earlier and knew they

  weren’t all from him. But Zander hadn’t used the “L” word, and

  Terry was just too shy to say it first. He knew his own heart

  though. He was just waiting for Zander’s to catch up.

  “I do hope you know what you’re doing sweetie,” Charlie said,

  patting his hand. “There are so many predators out there who

  would snap up a sweet young thing like you in a flash. I know

  you think you are doing the right thing, but no one can know a

  person in such a short space of time.”

  “I’m getting to know him, more and more every day. I know he

  seems all hard and stuff on the outside, but inside he’s just really

  lonely. He wants me, I know he does and despite what you all

  might think, he’s not the type to play around.”

  “These big guys will control you, they’ll pull you away from your

  friends and before you know it you’ll be homeless crying in the

  gutter because you’ve got nowhere to go. You have to take a

  tough line with these older guys sweetie, and make sure that he

  doesn’t cut you off from the people who love you.” Roy wasn’t

  happy, but surely he knew enough from Richard to know Zander

  wasn’t like that. Terry made a mental note to talk to his friend

  privately later. He didn’t want Roy having a hate on for his mate

  before he’d even had time to get to know him and he didn’t have

  a clue what Richard might have said about Zander.

  “That’s a good point, Roy. We haven’t met him, and even though

  your already cohabitating, I do think we need to check him out.

  Let him know that you do have friends who care for you and

  won’t let you be bullied or controlled,” Joel said firmly. “Why

 
don’t you bring him down to the Watering Hole tonight? We’ll

  have dinner, and a few drinks. Have some laughs. It’ll be fun.”

  Terry wasn’t sure what to say. It was one thing for Zander to

  say he wouldn’t hide their relationship. It was a whole different

  scenario going out with a group of men who were out and proud

  and didn’t care who knew it.

  “He might be working, but I’ll ask him,” he said. That was the

  truth at least. Zander could be working – drug dealers didn’t just

  operate between 8 am and 5 pm. Although Zander had already

  told him he would be home by 6 pm.

  “If he’s working, you can tell him to meet us there,” Joel said,

  and Terry could tell his friend wouldn’t be dissuaded. “Get

  changed and we’ll see you down there in an hour. No later, or

  we’ll send out search parties.”

  Terry wanted to explain that he had a dress to finish, and he

  didn’t even know if he should text Zander in case the man was

  busy. But he smiled his agreement, seeing his friends out of the

  studio and then sat down on the couch again with a thump. Why

  did life have to be so complicated? Zander was going to hate

  this, he just knew it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Zander refused to tug at his clothing like a teenager, as he stood

  just inside the doorway of the Watering Hole, looking around for

  Terry and his friends. But for the first time in longer than he

  could remember, he felt uncomfortable, and that wasn’t a feeling

  an Alpha wolf could ever get used to. When he’d gotten Terry’s

  text explaining about the dinner and drinks invitation with his

  friends, Zander’s first instinct had been to beg off, citing that he

  had work to do. But Zander had been getting some pretty weird

  vibes from his mate through the afternoon, and guessed that his

  little Omega was finding it difficult explaining their bond to the

  nosy humans who shared his life.

  Zander had never been an overly sociable man or wolf. When he

  had lived with his home pack, he’d been a strong Alpha, next in

  line to lead the pack. Most of the other wolves weren’t

  comfortable being around him too often. The same thing had

  happened when he’d joined the Police Academy. There was

  something in his nature, in the way he held himself, or the sheer

  power that he knew emanated from his body, that seemed to

  make humans wary around him. Only Sully hadn’t been bothered

  by it and that was why the two had become such fast friends.

  It wasn’t just his innate nature that was causing him problems

  now. Oh, his wolf wanted to find Terry. In fact his wolf never

  wanted to be apart from the man, no matter how impractical

  that might be. That was a shifter thing. No the problem was the

  venue and the fact that he’d dated two of the women that

  worked there. The potential for awkward confrontations, and

  that was without taking his relationship with Terry into account,

  was huge. Zander squared his shoulders, reminding himself that

  an Alpha never ran from anything.

  “Hey, you got here, I didn’t think that you’d show up.” Terry’s

  voice came at him suddenly, and Zander turned to see his mate

  standing to the side. Terry had obviously been home and

  showered, as his dark hair still seemed a bit damp on top. His

  tight green t-shirt was in direct contrast to the shirt Zander had

  loaned him and showed off every inch of Terry’s trim physique.

  Zander felt his body respond and acting on instinct he took the

  two paces to stand in front of his mate.

  Don’t I get a kiss hello? He felt the mind link gave them some

  modicum of privacy.

  I didn’t think you’d…I didn’t want you to be…

  Oh fuck. Right there. That was the reason Zander was so blessed

  to have Terry in his life. His little Omega was worried about him,

  putting his needs first. Worried about how he’d cope with openly

  gay friends in a very public situation. Worried that Zander would

  react badly to basically being “out” with a capital O. The

  realization settled Zander in a way he couldn’t explain and he

  had no hesitation in leaning down and brushing his lips across

  Terrys’.

  “Lead me to your friends, precious,” he said quietly. “We’ll do

  this and then we’ll head home and I can do all the delicious

  things I’ve been thinking about all afternoon.”

  “Do they involve me?” Terry said, arched brow flashing along

  with a quick grin, as he turned and treated Zander to another

  look at tight ass muscles flexing in tight jeans. Without doubt,

  Zander’s favorite sight in all the world. Actually second favorite,

  he amended. Naked would be better.

  Terry led the way to a booth in the far corner of the room. No

  wonder Zander hadn’t seen them when he walked in. The

  Watering Hole was a large open bar, with tables well-spaced

  apart for patrons and waiting staff alike. Along one wall was the

  bar itself, lined with gleaming bottles of every shape and size,

  the glasses hanging from a rack above the serving space. It was

  clean, bright and welcoming to everyone as Terry’s friends

  looked right at home.

  Terry slid into one side of the booth, scooting over so that there

  was room for Zander. The only man Zander recognized was the

  other dark twink that Terry had been tending to the night they

  met. Roy and, well, look at that, Richard Thorne sitting beside

  him looking like the cat who’d got the cream. Or a wolf sizing up

  a steak. Didn’t take long for that Alpha wolf to change his

  affections but Zander was pleased. He really didn’t want to fight

  Richard for the right to be with his own mate.

  Terry rattled off the names as Zander sized them all up. He

  hoped he was being discreet about it, but it was second nature

  to him. He didn’t stop being a police detective when he clocked

  out of the office. Roy was dark, pretty and semi-hostile as he

  shook Zander’s hand. Richard just smirked at him and told Roy

  that they had already met. Max, the only other big guy at the

  table was smaller than both Richard and himself and looked like

  a decently muscled boxer. He took Zander’s hand in a strong

  grip, just beyond the bounds of politeness. Okay, someone to

  watch out for.

  Joel, Max’s partner was almost as small as Terry, blond where

  Terry was dark, with a thin face. Max clearly adored him, had no

  problem in showing it, and from what Zander could see, the

  feeling was mutual. Charlie was quiet, another dainty man who

  seemed to have a love for purple shirts, and jeans. Zander

  couldn’t resist and peeked under the table. Nope. Not purple, the

  man’s sneakers were bright yellow. Maybe Charlie was making a

  fashion statement he didn’t know anything about, or maybe he

  was colorblind.

  Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Zander rested an arm across

  Terry’s shoulder, encouraging the man to snuggle into him and

  looked at Richard. “So how’s life as a big criminal lawyer.”

  He and Richard had met throug
h one of their cases. Richard had

  his own practice and occasionally defended big name clients

  although Terry had said he’d met the man through his contract

  with Houston Pride week. But given as he really didn’t have

  anything in common with anyone else at the table, Zander felt

  he had to say something. Unfortunately it didn’t look like the

  others were happy to let him get away with any social chit chat.

  “Oh no,” Roy said, breaking in firmly before Richard could

  answer. “You guys are not going to talk about work. We’re here

  to make sure this big Detective is good enough for our friend.

  So spill Zander. Family, likes, dislikes, dating history – men and

  women, and why you felt the need to have Terry living with you

  after only three days. God, you only went out on one date.

  Should we be worried that we’ll find Terry’s decomposing body

  in a landfill somewhere sometime in the future, or are you just

  some kind of a control freak?”

  Beside him Terry giggled and then laughed out loud. “Really

  Roy? If you’d been any taller you should have been a cop. And

  if Zander was a serial killer do you honestly think he would admit

  that to any of us?”

  Roy glared at Terry but didn’t say anything. Zander covered

  Terry’s hand that was warm on his thigh, and Terry entwined

  their fingers. He was grateful for the support. Looking around

  the table, Zander figured he could give them the potted version

  of his life – the one he normally trotted out for humans.

  “I was born just outside of New Haven in Connecticut, my mother

  died at birth. I was raised by my father. When I left home I

  wandered around a bit then went to the Police Academy. I moved

  to Houston after I graduated and have worked my way up to

  Detective. I phone my father once in a blue moon. There are no

  siblings that I know of. When I’m not working, I watch sports on

  television or go out for a drink, usually with people I work with.”

  “I don’t have a dating history,” he continued when he saw Roy

  open his mouth. “I used to go out to get laid. Sometimes it

  meant dinner and dancing first. Sometimes it didn’t. Men or

  women, didn’t bother me. I was a heartless bastard and I’ll be

  the first one to admit it. I’ve never lived with anyone, never been

  on a date that lasted longer than twenty four hours and no one