Stay With Me by S.E.Harmon Page A

choice but to follow or be left by the chalkboard sign declaring it three dollar Guinness night. I hurried so I wouldn’t lose sight of him in the dark atmosphere, and we headed toward the high tables in the back.
    I waved at Drew, Tao, and Asher before shaking the hand of the red-haired guy sitting next to them. His grip was strong, but then again so was he. He had to be at least six foot two and looked like he could bench press me. He held my hand too long, and I pretended not to notice, sliding into a seat next to Drew. I scanned my brain quickly to see if Robert had mentioned this being a setup of some kind. God knew I didn’t always listen when he was rambling on.
    “Hey, lover,” Asher said flippantly, giving me a flirty wave.
    I ignored him, but the flush on my face apparently spoke volumes. “Hey, Tao. Drew.”
    Drew narrowed his eyes at us both before rolling them. “Good God. Not again.”
    “Not again, what?” my brother asked, sitting on the chair with it facing backward. He looked at my face and then scrunched his own. “Could we not talk about you and your sex at the table?”
    “I didn’t bring it up,” I pointed out, wishing my face would cool off.
    “What can I say?” Asher shrugged. “I can’t get enough of Mac’s sweet—”
    “ Jay-sus !” Robert exclaimed, plugging his ears.
    Drew pointed a finger at me. “Mac, I still have some flea dip from last time.”
    Asher threatened to dip his pinky in Drew’s drink, which earned him a good hand twisting that I watched with a smirk. Good, I thought as he grabbed his hand and glared at Drew. The fool had to take out a billboard every time we had casual sex.
    “God, I almost hesitate to introduce you to the zoo,” Robert said to Big Red, who chuckled.
    “I’ve seen worse.”
    “Everyone, this is Darcy.” He pointed at the other side of the table. “This is Drew and my partner, Tao.” They both nodded as Robert glared at the two of us. “Ho number one here is Asher. And ho number two over here is my brother, Mackenzie.”
    “Tao?” I asked sweetly. “Can I borrow your service revolver?”
    Tao continued to sip his beer calmly, the sanguine look never leaving his face. He always got that look when his wife let him out of the house. Usually his nights involved baby diapering/feeding/bathing/rocking duty with their newborn. That is unless he and my brother worked the night shift, in which case his mornings were consumed with the same. Suffice to say, his wife was a woman who fully believed in an equal partnership. In layman’s terms, a lot of diaper duty. At this point, Tao wouldn’t mind if we did the electric slide on his squad car. He was going to enjoy his night off.
    “Rounds are on me,” Darcy offered. “We’re having Guinness, but I can get something else if you like.”
    It was odd, but it seemed like he was talking only to me.
    “Guinness is fine,” I answered for both of us, and he grinned.
    When he disappeared toward the bar, I hit my brother in the arm. “What the hell?”
    “What?” he asked defensively. “You’re gay. He’s gay. I figured—”
    “That we should start a club? Jeez, Robby, I’m not looking for a setup. I told you that.”
    “I thought it would help. I’m tired of seeing you mope over this Trevor asshole.” He glanced around as if looking out for Darcy’s return and continued in a lowered voice. “It’s not like I set you up with a bum. He’s a firefighter down at firehouse 144. He’s the resident cook, and I hear he makes a mean lasagna.”
    I looked at him with an open mouth even as that asshole Asher started laughing. “Who are you, freaking Chuck Woollery?”
    “Who the hell is that?”
    “That host on Love Connection ,” Asher managed.
    “Mac, I don’t have time for your obscure game-show trivia. He’ll be coming back in a minute,” Robert hissed. “Now look, their boys and our boys went out for drinks after the PD/FD baseball tournament, and he might have mentioned he