Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 01 - Dark Horse (36 page)

“Yeah. I’m sorry I’ve been a bit tense. I just…. The situation with Jeff is making be a bit crazy, and I was kind of pinning my hopes on you. But, really, I’d probably do just as much good if I could just relax a little and go back to having fun, so… yeah. Bring something to swim in… and come up… I don’t know. I’ll be home early, five or so probably. Jeff’ll be there by then, and his friends are coming at six or so, but it’d be good if you were there earlier, so we could swim without worrying about splashing the old folks.”

“Jesus, is there actually gonna be a kids’ table? Just how old are these people?”
“Not that old, but I like to bug Jeff about it, so I’m just getting warmed up. Anyways—come, yeah?”

“Yeah. Okay. Five thirty, maybe?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

They hang up and Dan wonders what the hell just happened. It had all made sense at the time, but… what happened to keeping a little space between him and Jeff and Evan? He puts his phone away and heads back into the barn. He may be taking a see-what-happens approach to his personal life, but he’s still pretty uptight about his work, and he’s got some show planning to do.

Chapter 29
I
T
’
S
uncomfortable going up to the main house.

Dan knows he was invited, but it still feels like he’s intruding on Evan and Jeff’s private space. He’s not sure that he’s wearing appropriate clothes (Evan had said it was casual, so he’s wearing jeans and a button down with his swim shorts on underneath). He’s not sure he’s at the right time (Evan had said five thirty was fine, but maybe he was supposed to add some sort of “stylishly late” half-hour to that). He’s not sure if he should have brought something (actually, he’s pretty sure that he should have, but he’d had no idea what to bring and had finally given up). All in all, he’s really not confident in the whole situation. He feels like he used to when he was a teenager, unsure of how he fit in or how he was expected to act. Of course, as a teenager he’d been able to release his frustrations by picking a fight or breaking something. He doesn’t really think those options would be appropriate anymore.

He’s not sure if he should ring the front doorbell or go around back. He’s hovering around the front walk indecisively when a Mercedes SUV pulls up, and Linda hops out of the driver’s side. “Hey, Dan! Can you give me a hand for a second?” He heads over, and she goes to the back of the car and lifts the hatch. Dan looks inside and sees a strange shape covered in black plastic garbage bags. It’s about the size and general shape of a small body, and Dan wonders if he’s seen too many mob movies. Linda just shakes her head, and pulls back a bit of the plastic to display what seems to be an enormous stuffed fish. “Don’t even ask,” she says. “I really don’t think ‘fish wrangler’ was part of my job description.” She grabs one end of the fish, and he grabs the other, and they steer toward the front door of the house. It’s opened before they get there, Tia sharing a look of amused disgust with Linda, and then Dan helps them get the fish into Evan’s office. They’re just trying to figure out where to set it down when Evan himself appears in the doorway, dressed in board shorts and a T-shirt.

“Hey, fantastic! Dan
and
my fish!” He smiles happily and takes

Linda’s end from her. “I’m not sure where he’s gonna go yet. Let’s put him over by the window for now.” They carry it over, and Dan lifts each end of the fish as Evan peels the plastic away. Evan stands back and looks at it proudly. Dan stands up and exchanges doubtful looks with Linda.

“Uh… did you catch it yourself?” Dan asks.
Evan looks over at him. “Nah, I don’t fish. I won him!”

“It… it was a prize?” Dan’s still trying to figure this out, but Linda looks like she’s just trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, kinda… it’s a contest. My dad and his friends used to do it, and when my dad died, I got in. It goes to whoever’s company has the best quarterly results. And I’m pretty conservative with the business, so I don’t usually have the best quarterlies—I mean, if you looked at it for a year, or better yet, a five-year period, I’d do really well, but I don’t have the same roller-coaster numbers that some of them have.” Evan leans back against the desk and surveys the fish in satisfaction. “But this quarter, I kicked their asses! Mostly because the economy tanked so bad, but still… I won.”

“Wow. Congratulations.” Dan couldn’t care less about the fish, but Evan seems really happy about it. Linda smiles indulgently at him and waves goodbye. Evan waves back and then returns to staring at his prize.

“What do you think, above the desk?”

“How do you even anchor that thing? It’s gotta weigh one-fifty at least….”
Evan waves a hand. “Don’t bother me with details!” He grins. “Somebody will figure it out. Above the desk or over by the window?”

Dan hadn’t really expected to be consulting on home decor when he came over. “Uh… you seem to like looking at it… which direction do you look in the most?”

Evan nods thoughtfully. “Above the door it is, then!”
“Wait a second—what if it falls on somebody’s head?”

Evan just shakes his head and pats Dan on the shoulder. “Dan, my friend, you have got to stop worrying so much! The fish will be fine.” He smiles peacefully, and then his face gets more animated. “Hey, d’ya wanna swim?”

Dan nods cautiously. “You’re not bringing the fish with us, are you?”

“Unfortunately, no. He’ll have to stay in here where he’s safe.” Evan takes one more fond look at the trophy and then leads Dan out of the office. “Do you need to change?” Evan asks. Dan just pulls the waistband of his jeans out to show his trunks underneath. “Efficient. Do you want a beer? Jeff’ll probably have wine when he gets here.”

“No, a beer would be great, thanks.” They head outside, and Evan pulls a couple of beers out of the fridge built into the barbecue cabana. He takes both lids off and hands one to Dan, then holds his out to clink the necks together in a toast. They both take long swallows, and then Evan sets his bottle on the counter and peels his shirt off, and Dan’s glad there’s no beer left in his mouth because he thinks he might have drooled it all over himself. He’d known Evan was fit, but the man’s torso is a little bit unbelievable. Almost literally. Dan’s lean and muscular because he has a physical job. Evan sits at a desk all day, or so Dan imagines, and he’s….

“Wow.” Dan supposes that isn’t the smoothest thing to say, but he’s impressed he’s able to verbalize anything at all. “Shit, man, how much do you work out?”

Evan grins a little self-consciously, but he doesn’t hide his body, so Dan’s fine with it. “Pretty much every day. It’s a good stress-reliever, you know?”

“Jesus. You must have a lot of stress.”

Evan laughs, and then has another drink from his bottle before flipping his shoes off and diving gracefully into the pool. Dan just watches him for a second, admiring the lines of his arms as they cut through the water, the even golden-brown of his skin in the late afternoon sunlight. Dan has always known Evan is good-looking, but he hadn’t really realized just how beautiful he is. Evan pops his head up and looks at Dan quizzically. “You coming in?”

“Yeah, sorry.” He has another long swallow of his beer, almost finishing the bottle, and then unbuttons his shirt and peels it off. He’s aware that Evan is watching, and is torn between a feeling of selfconsciousness and a strange urge to put on a show. He hangs the shirt over the back of the chair and glances over at Evan while his hands go to the button of his jeans. Evan’s eyes are running over Dan’s body appreciatively, but when he sees Dan looking at him he looks him straight in the eye.

“Do you want me to look away?” he asks softly, a little purr in his voice.
“No,” Dan says, but his voice is barely more than a whisper. Evan must read lips, though, because he doesn’t turn away, and actually swims a little closer, treading water by the side of the pool. Dan toes off his shoes and bends over to peel off his socks. He has the somewhat irrelevant thought that he should get pair of sport sandals, and then his mind flashes back to the present. Evan smiles encouragingly, and Dan finds himself smiling back even as he blushes a little. He undoes the button and fly of his jeans and shimmies them off his hips, letting them fall around his feet. He stands there for a second in his swim trunks while Evan’s eyes run down his body and then back up to his face. Evan smiles a little and raises his eyebrows, and Dan takes one big step and dives over Evan’s head into the deep part of the pool.
He stays underwater for as long as he can, trying to get himself under control, but when he surfaces, Evan is right there waiting. Dan stays still while Evan swims a little closer, so close now that Dan can feel the currents of water shooting away from Evan’s hands and legs, and Dan doesn’t seem to be able to do anything but tread water and stare at Evan. Evan leans in so his face is right next to Dan’s, maybe an inch away, and Dan can feel Evan’s breath on his damp skin.

“Dan….” Evan murmurs. “Dan, you said we were gonna hang out as friends for a while.” He looks him in the eye, and Dan can’t look away. “I’ve got to say I’m a little disappointed with the way you’ve turned this innocent swim into some sort of a sexually charged situation.”

Dan stares at him for a second. What? Then he sees the smirk starting to form at the corners of Evan’s mouth. “I mean, this is my family pool. My baby sister could arrive at any minute. Is this really the time or the place for your erotic strip tease?” Evan’s grinning openly now. He’s obviously enjoying the chance to turn the tables on Dan. “Yeah, I’m really disappointed in you, Danny.”

But Evan doesn’t have a chance to continue because Dan has pushed himself forward and gotten both hands on Evan’s shoulders, dunking his aggravating, smug face deep under the pool water. Evan comes up sputtering but laughing, and immediately seeks his revenge. They wrestle around in the water for a while, and strangely enough, this
is
innocent, despite the physical contact and exertion. This is just them being kids, and they both revel in it.

They finally break apart, both gasping for air and coughing up pool water, and they look up to see Jeff sitting on one of the deck chairs, watching them bemusedly. “Boys,” he rumbles, and Evan surges over to his side of the pool, hauling himself out in one smooth motion and falling to his knees beside Jeff. He leans forward and kisses Jeff deep and sloppy, and Jeff leans into it, his shirt getting wet from the water dripping off Evan’s body. Dan stares, and wonders what would happen if he got out of the water and joined them, knelt beside Evan and worked his way into the kiss. Or if he sat in the chair behind Jeff, his legs bracketing Jeff’s strong hips. He could lean forward and take Evan’s mouth, all the while grinding into Jeff’s ass….

Dan isn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when he hears Tatiana’s voice from the direction of the house. “Oh my God, could you guys please get a room?” She walks out toward the pool, and then notices Dan. He’s stopped staring, at least, but Jeff and Evan have only pulled away a little. They’re still face to face, both grinning a little and looking like they share the world’s best secret. “Dan, hi!” She sounds a little surprised, but covers fairly well. “Are you staying for dinner?” At Dan’s nod, she turns to Evan. “Does Tia know? Evan! Did you remember to tell Tia that we’re having one more?”

Evan finally looks away from Jeff. “Yes, Tat, everything is fine. I called Tia this morning.”

“Oh. Good.” She still seems a bit discombobulated, and Evan finally takes pity on her. He puts a hand on Jeff’s shoulder and uses it to bring himself to his feet, then he walks over to the bar. He looks at the beer bottles on top as if unsure of which belongs to whom and then shrugs as if it doesn’t matter. He takes the closest one—
mine,
thinks Dan—and finishes it off before circling around and going into the little kitchen area. He pulls out a blender and a bowl of strawberries, and grins as Tatiana almost shrieks. “Strawberry mimosas, Evan?!” He leans down and brings up a magnum of champagne and a pitcher of orange juice, and Tat actually hops in excitement.

Jeff cuts his amused eyes over to Dan. “We weren’t sure about giving her alcohol—and it may have been a mistake….” Tat is skipping over to Evan and doing a strange but amusing little dance all around him, darting her hands out to almost touch him and snapping her fingers, all while gyrating her body wildly. Jeff watches her for a second and then turns back to Dan. “We also weren’t sure about the dance lessons—they may have been a mistake as well.”

“Or maybe you should get her a few more,” Dan suggests quietly, and he and Jeff share a quiet laugh. Dan pulls himself out of the water then, and he knows that both Evan and Jeff watch him as he crosses to the pile of towels stacked on one of the lounge chairs and takes the top one. He’s never really been much of an exhibitionist, but as long as his nerve holds, he’s kind of enjoying the attention. He scrubs his hair with the towel and then brings it down over his arms and chest, looking up as if he’s just become aware that he has an audience. He catches Jeff’s eye and then Evan’s, but it’s when he realizes that Tatiana is also staring at him that he gets a little awkward, and quickly throws the towel over his shoulder and goes back to sit next to Jeff.

“Good swim?” Jeff asks innocently.
“Uh, yeah, thanks. You don’t swim?”

Jeff shrugs. “I swim, I just don’t engage in aquatic warfare. I thought you two were gonna drown each other.” He puts his hand against his heart melodramatically. “I wasn’t sure which of you to save!”

Dan smiles. “Save Evan,” he says softly. “I can look after myself.” Jeff gives him a quick look, and then Evan calls over, “Do you guys want mimosas?”

 

“I don’t know,” Dan replies. “Will there be any left after Tat’s done?”

Evan looks at the huge volume of ingredients on the counter, and then at his slip of a sister. “I’m not sure,” he laughs. “You’d better get yours first.”

Dan grins and stands up, leaving the towel behind as he walks over and perches on one of the bar stools. “I shouldn’t admit it, since I’ve actually been paid to work behind a bar, but I don’t think I know what a mimosa is—I thought they were just orange juice and champagne.”