Tried & True

by Charlie Cochet

“Hey, I resemble that remark.”

  Sloane let out a playful growl, and Dex yelped before taking off downstairs, Sloane on his tail. He caught Dex before he reached the kitchen, grabbing him and lifting him off his feet, making him laugh. Sloane lived for that sound. It was full, rich, and genuine. When Dex laughed, it formed little creases at the corners of his beautiful eyes. Sloane put him on his feet, and popped a kiss on his lips before heading into the kitchen.

  Dex went about making his latte while Sloane got started on breakfast. Thankfully, he managed to do so without incident.

  “Everyone got back to me about tonight. They said they’d be there, so I texted Bradley to let him know to expect us around eight,” Dex said before taking a sip of his coffee, then releasing a moan that went straight to Sloane’s groin every time. He placed the plate with a breakfast sandwich in front of Dex and earned himself a dreamy sigh. “Sexy and a great cook. How did I get so lucky?”

  Sloane took a seat beside Dex and turned on his tablet while Dex ate. He held back a smile. “Hm, funny that. I’m pretty sure two days ago you said I had—what was the word you used? That’s right, cuckolded. I had cuckolded you, and was trying to kill you with my food. Where did that word even come from?”

  Dex narrowed his eyes at Sloane. “I’d just finished reading one of Hudson’s smut novels. Cuckolded was used several times, and Lady Amelia’s husband was totally onto something. Like him, I had been cuckolded by my love! You said you were making breakfast burritos. I expected some yummy burrito goodness in my mouth, and instead I bit into a load of birdseed. There was birdseed in my burrito, Sloane. Why was there birdseed in my delicious breakfast burrito instead of bacon and cheese?”

  “I already told you, it was quinoa.”

  “It was birdseed. And I don’t care what you say, seaweed belongs in the ocean. Do I look like a mermaid to you? Do mermaids eat seaweed? Never mind. Stop trying to feed me things that have no right being called food.”

  Sloane hid his smile behind his mug, but there was no way he could keep his shoulders from shaking. Dex bit off a huge chunk of his sandwich, then stilled.

  “There’s bacon and cheese in this,” Dex said around a mouthful of food.

  “I know.”

  Dex gazed at him dreamily and grinned around his sandwich. “I lub you.”

  Sloane winked at him and playfully nudged his cheek. “I know, sweetheart. I lub you too.”

  “COME ON, people! That the best you got?”

  Dex played air guitar across the stage, his fingers moving in time with the sweet riff. He switched to drums as he sang into the microphone, shouting out at the crowd when there was a pause between lyrics.

  “Come on, you all know this.”

  The bar broke off into cheers and sang the chorus of “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner. Dex hadn’t been able to help himself when he’d scrolled through the song list and it popped up. The best part was that every time the chorus sang “stars in his eyes,” Dex met Sloane’s gaze and Sloane blushed.

  Sloane was right. Dex needed this. After their little training session yesterday, he wanted to cut loose and let it all hang out, so to speak. The bar was packed, the regulars all fired up and joining in as he rocked out. Those who weren’t singing along were dancing. Dex winked at Sloane, then motioned for him to come up. The crowd cheered, and Sloane had no choice. He shook his head, his eyes lit up in amusement, and his face flushed as he joined Dex up on stage.

  Dex grabbed the microphone and sang loud, the music pumping through his veins, thrumming and reverberating through every inch of his body, deep to his soul. He tapped his foot, his hands grasping the microphone stand. Sloane wrapped an arm around him from behind, and Dex leaned back into him, slipping a hand to the back of Sloane’s neck as they moved together. Everyone whooped and cheered. Dex picked a song list guaranteed to keep everyone revved up, passionate, and excited. Tonight they were all family. They were invincible, the fire in their spirits never to be extinguished. This right here? He could never lose sight of this. Even Ash was laughing and enjoying himself from the table where Cael sat on his lap as he sang along.

  The song ended, and the next one in the queue started up. The crowd went nuts as Dex started singing Kiss’s “Rock and Roll All Nite.” When the chorus came, he tilted the microphone stand out, prompting everyone to join in, and they did. West was jumping around Dom, fist up in the air as he sang at the top of his lungs. Hudson was laughing as Seb played air drums while Taylor and Angel sang loud, Taylor’s arm around Angel’s shoulders. Cael was playing kissy-face with Ash, while Calvin and Hobbs did their best Lady and the Tramp impression with a mozzarella stick they were sharing, both snickering like a couple of schoolboys. Rosa and Letty were rocking out, and everyone was having a great time.

  After a couple more songs, karaoke time was over, and Dex bowed as everyone cheered. He waved at them and took Sloane’s hand in his, then gave him a kiss on the cheek before they walked off the stage together. Sloane resumed his seat next to Ash, and Dex sat next to him, thanking Bradley for the frosty bottle of water he brought over to him.

  “Killed it again,” Bradley said. “This place gets crazy when you do karaoke. They love it.”

  “You should sell tickets,” Hudson teased, winking at Dex.

  Ash rolled his eyes with a groan. “Please don’t encourage him. His ego’s big enough. Next thing you know, he’s going to hire a manager and backup dancers.” Ash cast Sloane a wicked grin. “Wait, he’s got Sloane.”

  “Fuck off, Keeler,” Sloane said with a laugh, everyone joining in. They’d had to put together several tables since their motley crew was growing, with Dom, West, Taylor, and Angel having been officially adopted by Destructive Delta thanks to Seb and Dex. They ordered a truckload of food and drinks for everyone.

  A familiar song came over the speakers, and Dex jumped to his feet. “Holy shit.” He spun around and thrust a finger at Sloane. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”

  Ash let out a long, loud groan. “Bradley, you’re killing me, bro.” He shook his head, his frown deep. “How much is he paying you to play this shit?”

  “Nothing,” Bradley said, his grin wide. “Come on, man. He’s getting married. I couldn’t say no. Look how happy it made him.”

  Dex grabbed Sloane’s hand and pulled. “You gotta dance with me, babe.”

  “Really?” Sloane said, his eyes alight with amusement. “Do I really gotta?”

  Dex nodded. “Yep. We can either dirty dance here, or at our reception where it will forever be immortalized by both photographic evidence and video. The choice is yours.”

  Sloane blinked up at him. “Um, in that case, let’s dance. But I get to be Swayze.”

  “You got it.”

  Ash shook his head in disgust at Sloane. “You know, the word no exists for a reason, pal. You should try it sometime.”

  “Pot, kettle, Keeler,” Sloane called out over his shoulder as Dex led him to the dance floor. They joined several other couples as they got up close and sexy. Sloane put a hand to Dex’s lower back and pulled Dex hard against him, making Dex laugh. He slipped his leg between Dex’s, and Dex ran his hands up Sloane’s chest before wrapping his arms around Sloane’s neck. Dex lip-synched to the song as they moved together. As the song neared the end, Dex gave him a wicked grin.

  “You know. If I—”

  “You are not jumping off a table for me to catch.”

  Dex threw his head back and laughed. “Damn, I’m getting too predictable. Might have to shake things up.”

  After a couple more songs, they headed back toward the bar near where their tables were. Dex listened to their friends from several feet away, and it made his heart swell. He could hear Dom’s boisterous laugh above everyone else’s, and it was hard not to smile. Whatever was going on had everyone in tears. Sloane sat down, and Dex moved his chair in close. He leaned into Sloane as Sloane put his arm around Dex’s shoulders.

  “What’s going on?” Dex asked Cael.

&nb
sp; “We’re playing that game where you ask who’s most likely to be the one to do whatever.”

  “Oh my God, I love this game. What was the last question?” Seeing as how Hudson was taking several sips of his drink, it was clear he’d been the one pointed at by everyone.

  Cael leaned in to reply. “Who’s most likely to get a tattoo while drunk. Then Dom told Seb he should probably keep an eye on Hudson before Hudson ends up with a butterfly tattoo on his ass.”

  Dex let out a bark of laughter. No wonder poor Hudson lost. If anyone thought getting a tattoo while drunk was a good idea, it’d be Hudson. Everything was “brilliant” to Hudson when he had a few too many.

  “Okay, my turn,” Calvin declared. He cast Dex a wicked grin, and Dex knew he was fucked.

  “Who’s most likely to get arrested for running naked down Fifth Avenue?”

  “Why you gonna do me like that, Cal?”

  Everyone pointed at Dex as they burst into laughter.

  Dex flipped them all off, two fingers reserved for Calvin especially. “You can all bite me,” Dex said as he started lining up shot glasses.

  Cael tilted his head to one side, thoughtful. “Didn’t you already do that?”

  Dex’s eyes widened. Holy shit. He slid his glance over at Sloane, who was suddenly fascinated by whatever Cael had to say. Dex subtly shook his head, but his little brother promptly ignored him.

  “Oh my God! You did,” Cael said, loudly. “When you turned thirty, and you took that trip to Europe. You were in Barcelona, and you got drunk.” Cael turned to the table. “He streaked naked through a highly populated area filled with tourists and locals, sporting nothing but a souvenir paper fan to cover his boy bits.”

  The table erupted into full-blown laughter and catcalls. Sloane gaped at Dex, who busied himself taking shot after shot. “You got arrested for streaking in Spain?”

  Dex shook his head. “Nope.”

  Cael let out a snort. “They never caught him. It was in Vegas that he got arrested.”

  The girls were laughing so hard they were in tears, and Calvin was trying to ask him something but couldn’t breathe, much less speak. His friends were ass-hats.

  “What did you do?” Sloane asked, poking Dex in his side. “Tell me. As your soon-to-be husband, I should know these things.”

  Dex shook his head. Was this shot number seven or eight?

  “He went for a swim in the Bellagio’s fountain,” Cael said with a snicker. “Dad had to go bail him out. But wait, there’s more.”

  Dex narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Or you could stop there.”

  Letty shook her head, then wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh, no way. We need to hear this.”

  “Dad was so pissed, but you know what he’s like. He doesn’t get mad, he gets even. Dad threw Dex a surprise party and invited every ex-boyfriend, every guy Dex had ever flirted with, every guy he never called back after a one-night stand, and our aunt Danelle.”

  That did it. Everyone lost it, and Dex turned to bury his face against Sloane’s neck. “Someone shoot me.”

  Sloane wrapped his arms around Dex and kissed the top of his head. “Remind me never to piss off your dad.”

  A thought occurred to Dex, and he pulled back. A smile spread across his lips, and Sloane’s smile fell away.

  “What?”

  “Babe, you got drunk, beat him at air hockey twelve times, and called him an old man.”

  Ash spit out a mouthful of beer that sprayed across the table, causing Calvin, Hobbs, and Dom to dive out of their chairs. Dex couldn’t see through the tears in his eyes, he was laughing so hard. If Sloane wasn’t pressed against him, Dex would have fallen off his chair.

  “Fuck, Keeler.” Calvin got up off the floor, then picked up his chair, which had toppled during his swan dive.

  Ash grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. He gaped at Sloane. “You called Maddock an old man?” Sloane let his head fall back with a groan, and Ash patted his shoulder. “It was nice knowing you, bro.”

  They all teased Sloane, taking guesses at what Tony’s revenge would be. Dex did his best to soothe him, but the fact was, retribution was nigh. His dad did not forget things, and he rarely let them go.

  “Excuse us for a second,” Ash said, getting up. He took Cael’s hand and started leading him away from the table. Well, that was weird. The table went quiet, and Ash gently pushed Cael forward.

  “Keep it PG, Keeler,” Dex called out. He never knew with this group.

  Ash held up a finger in Dex’s direction. “Shut your mouth.”

  Dex opened his mouth to reply, but Sloane leaned in to whisper in Dex’s ear, “Don’t. He’s really nervous.”

  It took Dex a second to realize Sloane was right. This wasn’t just Ash being his usual grumpy asshole self. The guy was genuinely shitting himself over something. What the hell would Ash be nervous about? He walked Cael away from the table to one of the tallboys near the bar.

  “What do you think’s going on?” Rosa asked. She turned to Letty, then gasped. “You know.”

  Letty blinked at her innocently. “Know what?”

  “You know what’s up with Ash.”

  Letty shook her head, her lips pressed together, though she was clearly trying hard not to say a word. Dex was about to charm some information out of her, but then he noticed Ash reach into his pocket. Dex almost had a heart attack when he realized it was a key. Ash handed the key to Cael while saying something. Cael’s eyes went huge as he stared at the key Ash held out. Dex let out a huge gasp and slapped Sloane’s chest.

  “Ouch. Babe, what the hell?”

  “OhmyGod, he’s doing it!”

  “Doing what?” Calvin asked, turning to look at Ash and Cael, who’d just nodded and flung himself into Ash’s arms. Ash squeezed Cael tight to him before kissing him. Then the two walked over to the table, hand in hand. Cael’s smile couldn’t get any bigger.

  Dex put his elbows on the table and let his chin rest on his hands. “So… what’s new?”

  Ash rolled his eyes. He resumed his seat, pulling Cael close to him. “I asked Cael to move in with me, and he said yes.”

  Dex put a hand over his heart as he leaned against Sloane. “Our little lion Therian is growing up so fast.”

  Ash flipped Dex off as he hugged Cael close.

  Sloane sighed. “Seems like only yesterday he was threatening to stab me with knitting needles.”

  Dex let out a bark of laughter.

  Taylor looked over at Angel, mischief in his eyes. “Hey, you know what you should get Cael as a housewarming gift?”

  Angel’s eyes went wide. “Oh fuck. Don’t say it, bro. Please don’t—”

  “A fern.”

  The table broke out into peals of laughter, and Ash glared at Angel. “Why? So you can piss on it?”

  “Fuck me,” Angel groaned. “One fucking time. One time.” He narrowed his eyes at Ash. “Okay, Keeler. You want a fern, I’ll get you a fucking fern farm.”

  “Say that five times fast,” Calvin teased.

  “You think I’m kidding?” Angel nodded. “Just you wait. You’re going to have so many fucking ferns, you won’t know what to do with them.”

  Everyone laughed, and Dex sat back to watch his friends tease one another. God, he hoped none of this ever changed. Everyone in their unit knew what was happening with Destructive Delta, but Sparks was scheduled to make the official announcement in a couple of days. Dex didn’t even want to think of the media frenzy that would follow. Pushing that thought aside for now, he grabbed the bowl of gummy bears and chucked one over at Calvin, intent on smacking him in the face with gummy goodness when Hobbs pulled a Matrix and snatched the little bear out of thin air. He tossed it up and caught it in his mouth.

  He winked at Dex, and Dex peered at him. “Okay, hotshot. Think fast.” He threw one at Angel, and Hobbs caught it. Damn. Big guy got some moves. Dex narrowed his eyes. He whipped out a hand, the gummy zipping toward Rosa. Hobbs dove over three of their friends and c
aught it.

  “Oh my God, my spleen,” Angel groaned. He glared at Hobbs. “Dude, have you forgotten you weigh a fuckton?”

  Hobbs tossed the gummy bear into his mouth and waggled his eyebrows.

  Calvin grinned at Dex. “Ten bucks says he can catch the next one no matter where you throw it from.”

  Dex jumped to his feet. “You’re on, Summers.” They both removed ten dollars from their wallets and placed them on the table. “Who’s in on this?”

  Everyone placed their bets, and Dex looked around the bar. “Okay.”

  Hobbs stood, and Dex crossed the room, garnering the attention of several patrons. More heads turned, curious to see what crazy Dex was up to. He held a thumb up to Hobbs, who didn’t move from beside the table. Weird. Hobbs smiled and nodded, his hand going behind him. What was he up to?

  Dex took a gummy bear from the bowl and tossed it high into the air. He stared stupefied as Hobbs snapped his wrist and one of Bradley’s aluminum plates streaked through the air, hit one pillar, flew across the room, hit another pillar, and then Hobbs dove forward, rolled, and popped up to snatch the plate out of thin air. Dex’s jaw hit the floor.

  Hobbs winked at him, peeled the little bear off the plate, then popped it into his mouth. The bar went nuts cheering, and Hobbs bowed first in one direction, then another. Dex stopped in front of him.

  “Dude, how the—” He gasped, then marched over to Calvin. “Ooh, you took me for a ride.”

  Calvin counted his winnings, then gave half to Hobbs. “And what a sweet ride it was. You should have seen your face. Oh, wait, you can.” Calvin held his cell phone up to Dex, and Dex stared at the video of him and his comically stupefied expression.

  “Hustlers, the both of you,” Dex grumbled, marching around the table to drop down into his chair beside Sloane, then noticed all the nacho chips were gone. Man, it was every guy for himself with this lot where snacks were concerned. “Gonna get some more chips. Want anything from the bar, babe?”

  Sloane shook his head. “I’m good. Thank you.”

  Dex stood, and Sloane smacked his ass playfully. “Oh, you cad.” Dex winked at him before heading for the bar. Dom and West were there, huddled close, talking. One of the barmen came over, and Dex put in his order. West leaned back to smile at Dex.