A Whole Latte Sass

by Marguerite Labbe

  “I think that’s what my problem was. It went from, I don’t know… we were testing the waters with each other. It was more than a casual thing, but not quite a relationship.” Trask crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “And I realized that, damn, I did want something more with you. A whole hell of lot more, but you came with extras that I hadn’t prepared for.”

  “So you had the confrontation with my dad, and instead of feeling like it was time to walk away, you decided you weren’t going to play hard to get anymore?” Felipe muttered to himself something Trask couldn’t quite hear in another language, and it didn’t sound complimentary. “So why opt out of Thanksgiving if that’s the case?”

  “I wanted your family to get a chance to get to know me, to get used to the idea of me and you before we celebrate a family holiday together. To be honest, the idea of trying to stomach a meal with a lot of animosity….” Trask shook his head. “I had enough of that bullshit growing up. I’m not going to start that with your folks just to prove a point.”

  Felipe pressed his lips together, processing all that. Trask watched the emotions cross his face as if Felipe were trying to decide to be forgiving or aggravated. “So just tell me this. Do you really have someone to spend Thanksgiving with, or was that a lie to make me feel better?”

  “Damn it all, Felipe.” Now Trask was insulted. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  Felipe just softened. There was no other way to describe it. The tension fled from his body, his eyes sparkled, and that heavy bottom lip curved in a sexy smile. Trask’s heart thrummed as Felipe slid his arms around Trask’s neck. “Well then, how about that makeup sex? Right here on this table?”

  Trask stepped out of the reach of temptation. “You are more than an imp. You’re a whole camp of them. We’re still open and this is still my workplace.”

  Felipe wrinkled his nose at him. “You know you’ve been thinking of fucking me on this table ever since we made out right here.” He patted the smooth finish and shot Trask a wicked smile. “Now you’re going to be thinking about it a little more. I can be patient. It’ll make it all the sweeter when you finally cave.”

  Trask shook his head as Felipe grabbed the bag of trash and sauntered out. He had no doubt Felipe was right and they would end up naked back here at some point. He was in over his head. But he had to admit, since he said yes to Felipe, he’d had more fun than he’d had in a long time.

  When they got back to his place, he had every intention of giving Felipe all the back-clawing makeup sex he wanted, and he’d consider the scratches as badges well earned. He shook his head again with a disbelieving chuckle. His imp had him right where he wanted him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  DAKOTA EYEBALLED Brenden as he ran through his spiel, laying out his ideas for the new and improved Chessie Con to a potential vendor. Once Brenden made the commitment, all the parts started to fall into place. Dakota would be very surprised if they hadn’t. Brenden never committed without thorough research and methodical planning. Whereas Dakota just jumped in balls to the wall and got shit done. Together they made a hell of a team. Whether they were trying to kill each other or not.

  Felipe had it all wrong about them. Yeah, they argued all the time. They definitely got in each other’s faces and annoyed each other to distraction. But it was fun. It was one of the many ways they showed their affection for each other. Dakota relished his spats with Brenden, and he knew Brenden did too. Getting along all the time would be dead boring.

  “I think we hooked him,” Brenden said with a self-satisfied note as the man walked away with a flyer and application.

  “The spots are filling up fast.” And they would need to make a hefty payment on the convention hall at the start of the year and squirrel money away for the ad campaign that Dakota designed. Which brought Dakota right back to his current scheme and how the hell he was going to get Brenden to agree with it.

  The best way to get Brenden to go along with Dakota’s plans was to surprise him. And the best way to surprise him was to wait until he was neck-deep in his thoughts and lists. Then Dakota could lay out his idea and hammer Brenden with all his arguments.

  It always came down to strategy and surprise with Brenden, because if he gave the man the time and wits to argue back, he won. He was just smarter than Dakota, even if Brenden hated hearing that. He didn’t like it when he thought Dakota was talking down about himself. But some things were just the truth. Brenden was smarter, but Dakota had all the charm. He’d take that.

  With that in mind, Dakota rode out the con, holding his peace next to Brenden, until the show started shutting down. At least it wasn’t one of theirs. All they had to do was pack up the materials on their promo table and roll out. Brenden would be distracted, but not too distracted.

  “So, I’ve been thinking. Being responsible and all that, making a budget.” Just as he figured, Brenden’s gaze zeroed in on him at the words responsible and budget. “I’m going to move back in with you.” Best not to ask and just lay it out there. If he asked, he’d probably get a hell no. Dakota gave Brenden a sunny smile at that comment and then leaned under their table to grab their packing gear.

  “What do you mean you’re moving back in?”

  Dakota stifled a snicker at the panic in Brenden’s tone. Brenden tried to hide it with his usual cool stare, but Dakota had known him since he was fifteen years old. There was a telling sharp note to his voice, and his eyes had widened before he caught himself. For Brenden that was almost the equivalent of a girlish scream at the sight of a rat.

  “Come on, I’m not that much of a slob. You won’t even know I’m there.” A complete bald-faced lie, and they both knew it. Dakota’s grasp of putting things away was practically nonexistent, but in a way that worked since Brenden had a compulsive need to tidy. In fact, Dakota was doing him a favor by giving him an outlet for his ways.

  “Bullshit.” Brenden put one hand on his hip and shook his clipboard at Dakota with the other. There was something about the prissy line of his mouth that always made Dakota want to kiss him.

  Brenden had shut down that idea years ago, spouting off nonsense about upsetting the family, yadda, yadda, yadda. Whatever, it wasn’t like they really shared genes. And it wasn’t like their family even needed to know. It was just a little kiss and snuggle between friends. One of these days he was going to lay one on him just to watch Brenden sputter and flail. It would be epic. Dakota loved to make Brenden sputter and flail.

  Brenden’s eyes narrowed dangerously and his nostrils flared. “Did you hear a damn word I just said?”

  “You know, you’re awfully sexy when you glare like that,” Dakota said, neatly sidestepping the fact that he had tuned Brenden out the moment he started lecturing him about his habit of leaving clean laundry on the couch. It was clean. What was the big deal?

  “I’m fucking serious, Dakota.” Brenden’s cheeks flushed as Dakota mimicked his words back at him. Damn, he could be so much fun to tease. Dakota adored the anal-retentive jackass. “Dakota!” Brenden planted his hands on his hips. “Please tell me what’s wrong with your place? I thought you loved living in Baltimore.”

  Dakota did love Baltimore. The town was always hopping. He had season tickets for the Os and could jaunt on over whenever he wanted. Little Italy was amazeballs. And Geppi’s was his home away from home. The comics museum was situated right at Camden Yards, so Dakota could indulge both of his loves in one go. It had been his dream to get Brenden up there in Baltimore with him, but Brenden did not seem inclined to dislodge his delectable ass from his little house in Bowie, so apparently Dakota had to return to him.

  Bowie. God save him. Nothing fucking happened in Bowie, Maryland. If he didn’t love Brenden so much and share his dream for this big con, he’d never settle down there. And, truth be told, he missed Brenden. He missed living with him, putting up with him, and just having him around, even when it was damned inconvenient when Dakota’s imagination ran off with all the things he’d like
to do with Brenden if given the chance.

  “Loving B’more is not the point. One day you will understand its charms. Look, it’s like this. We need the capital for that big Annapolis Chessie Con. The bills are piling in the closer we get to it. If we live together, we cut our expenses in half.” Besides, living by himself was starting to get a little boring and lonely. It had been nice at first, no one to complain about him walking around naked, bitching about his dishes and desire to switch off tacos and pasta every other night.

  “I’ve already told you, I’m not taking your money,” Brenden said flatly.

  Dakota drew himself up and drilled his finger into Brenden’s chest. “The fuck you are.” Prideful bastard. “You’ve stretched yourself as far as you can go. And you’re going to take Uncle Trev and Aunt Evelyn’s money when they offer it. Because we’re fucking family, Brenden. Our foster parents believe in us. They believe in this dream of ours, and they know you well enough to trust that you’ll pay back every damned dime whether it succeeds or not. So stuff your attitude before I stuff it for you. We’re partners, right?”

  Brenden threw up his hands with a huff. “Fine, do what you will. You always do. Go ahead and move in if you really think it’s necessary.”

  “Thank you.” It was a good thing Brenden knew when to back down.

  “But this is between me and you, got it?” Brenden gestured toward the Chessie Con paraphernalia. “This is our dream. Trev and Evelyn have done enough for us. We’re not taking anything from them. Okay? Especially with all of Aden’s school bills.”

  Dakota crossed his arms and met Brenden glare for glare. “You know what, I’m going to leave that one alone. If you want to fight them on it, then you can. I’m going to stay out of it. And good luck, ’cause you’re going to get your ass handed back to you with a big ole bite taken out of it.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” Brenden set aside his clipboard and began taking down their banner. “I still think moving in together is a bad idea, disastrous if I’m being honest. Don’t you think we’re both happier in our own corners?”

  Dakota had expected a little pushback, but not this. Brenden was practical to a fault. This was a logical step. Why the fuck was he resisting? He should be happy. Yeah, they clashed, but that was normal, and it was never an ugly clash. Dakota had missed Brenden, and he was a little irked that Brenden didn’t seem to be missing him at all. Especially when Dakota was thinking of the long, lonely drive ahead and wondering if he could get Brenden out for dinner one-on-one instead of their usual group.

  “Seriously, Bren, what the fuck is your problem?” Dakota gave his shoulder a shove. “Do I really make you that miserable?”

  Brenden glanced over at Dakota’s hurt tone, and his expression softened. “No, you don’t. I’m sorry. It’s just, you know how I get. How I like everything a certain way, and I hate changes. I’d just gotten used to being alone it seems like. It’s not you. It’s all me and my issues.”

  Well, Brenden was particular, that wasn’t a lie. But he wouldn’t quite meet Dakota’s eyes, as if the task at hand required his vital attention. It was a little unsettling. Dakota should know where he stood with Brenden after everything they shared. Sometimes it seemed like Brenden was holding back from him, keeping a distance, and Dakota just didn’t get it.

  “I’m glad that’s settled because I already put in my notice to my landlord.” Dakota grinned at Brenden’s long-suffering sigh, but his foster brother didn’t comment on Dakota’s tendency to act a little too soon sometimes.

  “You can have your old room back.” Brenden glanced at his watch and then shook his finger one more time at Dakota. “And I don’t want naked lovers in the living room unless they are my naked lovers.”

  Dakota started to tease him about bringing over someone, but then the idea of Brenden having a lover hit him. He’d always been very circumspect about who he was seeing, to the point where Aunt Evelyn worried that all her boys would be bachelors forever. Brenden was just choosy. Which was a good thing because Dakota didn’t want just anybody dating Brenden. It had to be somebody worthy of him who would appreciate his wit and loyalty, who would tease him when he got too serious, and who’d appreciate his intelligence and drive. Brenden scared off a good many who couldn’t see beyond his sardonic tongue to the gentle man beneath. Idiots didn’t know what they were missing out on.

  Dakota always suspected that when Brenden finally fell for someone, it would be for life. He’d have to make sure they understood how damn lucky they were. And if they broke Brenden’s heart… well, they’d never see Dakota’s fist coming.

  “You’re not seeing someone, are you?” Dakota asked. Not that he really cared. It would be good for Brenden to get laid. Dakota had just been looking forward to the thought of them hanging out like they used to. He was selfish. He didn’t want to share his time with Brenden. They may get on each other’s nerves, but Brenden was his best friend in the end. The one man Dakota trusted to rein him in when he needed it.

  “Off and on.” Brenden folded their banner into its case and checked off an item on his clipboard with the air of a man contemplating the fate of the universe. “You?”

  “Nobody steady, not since prima donna broke up with us.” Dakota looked over his shoulder, searching for Felipe. He’d had a fondness for Felipe that he couldn’t deny. Felipe had a charm all his own, and watching him bicker with Brenden had always been amusing because they could be so much alike at times. It was cool to see Felipe so happy with Trask. He deserved it. “Did you hear about the fiasco at Tiffany’s con?”

  “Oh yeah.” Brenden’s mouth thinned. “It never should’ve escalated to that point.”

  “Don’t blame Felipe on that one.” Dakota neatly stacked their business cards and postcards, then put them in their own boxes. “He shouldn’t have had to take matters in hand. He wouldn’t have had to if we’d been in charge.”

  Brenden’s frown deepened, and Dakota could practically hear the argument in his head. Siding with Felipe just went against his nature. “True,” Brenden admitted reluctantly. “As much as the idea of the prank he pulled annoys me, the fact that there were so many pissed-off vendors for one man’s antics annoys me more.”

  Dakota would never get a better opening than that. “Speaking of that. I think we should make sure that guy doesn’t make trouble at one of our cons. I’m thinking that he should be banned from the cosplay contests, if not the shows themselves.” That would be ideal.

  It had been Felipe’s idea to blackball him, and Dakota agreed with him all the way. But he had to present it as his idea. Brenden had a huge blind spot where Felipe was concerned, even if he’d been easing up on that attitude.

  Brenden paused and set down his clipboard. “Give me an argument for it. On the one hand, I agree with you. This isn’t the first time he’s disrupted a con, and quite frankly, I don’t want to deal with Felipe’s reprisal if he does try it. But so far he hasn’t pulled this shit at any of our shows. We’d be starting the bad blood this time if we made the first move.”

  That was Brenden’s sense of fair getting in the way of things again. Screw fair. The jerkwad didn’t deserve it.

  Dakota pondered an argument that would sway Brenden that would not involve invoking his ex’s name. “You know it’s just a matter of time. A guy like that only gets worse. He doesn’t learn his lessons. So we’ve been lucky so far that we haven’t had to put a boot up his ass, but it will happen. And I don’t want it pulled at the Annapolis Con when we might be too damned busy to deal with it directly.”

  Brenden didn’t look entirely convinced, though he was considering Dakota’s words. “I definitely would agree to not giving him a free pass if he requests one.”

  Dakota glared at him. That was not nearly enough to deter the jackass. “Are you going soft on me, Bren? That’s all based on an if. Not only that, if we’re going to give out free passes, they should go to Felipe and Abby first. Wait—” Dakota retorted and pointed a finger at Brenden when he st
arted to object. “They obey the rules… mostly. We’ve never had a complaint about them from vendors except for that guy from the Den, and he complains about every cosplayer. And they do panels for us. Well-attended panels that people enjoy.”

  “You do have a point.” Brenden folded the tablecloth into a neat little square. Dakota didn’t know how he managed that trick. Every time he tried it, it ended up in a messy pile. “My concern is, if we make the first move and ban him, he’ll consider it an act of war and he’ll immediately hop online with all his jerk buddies, and that’s not the kind of publicity I want at this stage. I have no problem cutting him out when he does act out, and I’ll make sure security knows who he is. That way, he’s always the bad guy and we’re not giving him any excuse for sympathy.”

  Brenden did have a way of troubleshooting all scenarios, and it made sense, even if it irritated Dakota. He was of the “fuck ’em” mind-set, and if the guy tried to start anything, he could do it to Dakota’s face. “You know what, let the bastard come to our shows, but I say give Abby and Felipe free passes for life. That’ll get back to him and make him squeal like a crab going into the pot. Serves the little prick right.”

  A faint smile crossed Brenden’s lips before he quickly suppressed it. “You’re going to make me interact with Suero for life. That’s just wrong.”

  “Admit it, you surly bastard, you like Felipe.” Dakota shook his head as Brenden tried to level him with a warning look. Dakota was immune to Brenden’s 101 death stares.

  “I will not,” Brenden insisted, and then he softened with a shrug. “But dammit, I agree with you on one point. Felipe deserves the chance. He’s really come through for us. And he and Abby make a crazy team. However, I do not want them dominating every contest.”

  “Trask will keep Felipe in line. They seem permanently attached now.” Felipe was way too young to shack up for life. Hell, for Dakota ninety would be too young. “Felipe deserves to be happy. And I like Trask. Oddly enough, they really balance each other.”