Fitting In (2 page)

“Bring me another round, Mason.” A shout from Chris, one of the regulars, interrupted his reverie.

Mason had already served him a slew of drinks, and he looked ready to slide off his barstool. “You’ve had enough. Let me call you a cab.”

“Fuck no. The last place I want to be is home.”

Mason sighed. Chris’s girlfriend had found a new love interest a few weeks ago, and Mason didn’t think the man had been sober since.

“You’ve wallowed long enough,” Mason replied. “Go home, get some sleep, and start over tomorrow.”

Chris shook his head. “I just don’t get it.”

Mason took a slow breath. The man had really thought the girl he’d been dating was The One. Mason believed she had just been looking for someone who’d pay for her drinks and buy her gifts, but he hadn’t told Chris that. Chris’s drama was wearing thin on him. The lending-a-sympathetic-ear part of bartending did not come naturally to Mason. He’d much rather contemplate the chemistry behind mixing the perfect cocktail than chat with customers, but he’d needed a decent-paying job. When his friend who’d had the job before him finished his degree, he’d put in a good word for Mason. Elizabeth, the manager who’d bought the bar from Nathan himself, agreed to hire him despite his lack of experience. He learned quickly and impressed Elizabeth so much that she made him assistant manager. 

He turned away from Chris to take an order from a pink-haired girl who didn’t look sixteen, much less twenty-one. As he asked for her ID, he saw Chris’s ex, Heather, walk through the door, arm wrapped around the waist of her new man.
He sighed. Chris was going to make an ass of himself at the very least, and wind up spending the night in jail at worst. He looked for Jack and Gray, but they no longer occupied the corner table.

He checked the ID of the youngster, which appeared to be real. After he made her a rum and Coke, he glanced back at Chris, who still hadn’t noticed his ex. She was cozied up to the man she was with and petting him every chance she got. Mason took a deep breath and focused on making more drinks, ignoring the nasty looks Chris was giving him for not bringing him one.

A few minutes later, after taking drinks to a few tables for waitresses who were too overworked to keep up, Mason heard raised voices from the far end of the bar. Heather had come over to Chris’s table to say hello. Was she trying to start a fight?

He rang up a customer who was ready to pay his tab while continually glancing toward Chris and watching the situation escalate as Heather’s new boyfriend got in on the action. When Mason had given the customer his change, he looked toward Chris and cringed. He was off his stool confronting the boyfriend. Punches were going to start flying any second.

Mason held up a finger to indicate he’d be right back to help the next person in line and made his way over to Chris. He came around the bar and laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Let me call you a cab.”

“Fucking bastard says I stole his girl,” the boyfriend said, looking like he was itching to knock Chris on his fool ass.

“Why don’t y’all find a table, and I’ll bring you some drinks on the house.” Mason was desperate to diffuse the situation.

Heather and her boyfriend started to walk off, but when he slid his hand down her back and squeezed her ass, Chris lost it. He grabbed the man by the shoulder, turned him around, and punched him. Mason doubted Chris was even really angry with the new boyfriend. It was Heather who’d come over and flaunted him in Chris’s face, but while Chris might be an ass sometimes, he would never hit a woman so her boyfriend got it instead.

The guy returned the punch, and Chris staggered, falling against the bar then springing back up, ready to keep going. Mason tried to pull him back, but he charged the other man like a bull going for a matador.

Everyone in the bar turned to watch the fight. If they were in a Wild West saloon, Mason would have fired his gun into the air to scare the brawlers. As it was, he shouted at them with no effect.

Relief hit when he saw Jack pushing his way through the gathering crowd. He’d thought the two cops had already left, but they must have vacated their booth and headed for the pool tables or dart boards.

Mason made one last attempt to pull Chris back. “You’re about to get yourself arrested,” he yelled as he tugged at Chris’s arm. Chris shoved him, and Mason fell against the bar. 

“You okay?” Jack asked.

Mason nodded then Jack whistled. The sharp sound startled the two men who were fighting. The boyfriend’s eyes widened when he took note of Jack’s uniform, but Chris was too far gone to pay attention to what was happening. He pulled back to sink another punch, and Jack grabbed his arm. Chris spun and punched him in the face.

Mason winced. Now Chris was really fucked. Mason should have sent him home much earlier.

Chris’s eyes were wide, crazed, and Mason wondered if he’d been doing more than drinking. Chris yanked himself from Jack’s hold and charged the boyfriend, who’d tried to back away but hadn’t been able to get very far because of the crowd.

“Chris,” Mason shouted. The man glanced toward him, and Mason threw a well-timed punch. Chris slumped to the ground and didn’t move. Mason turned to see Jack staring at him in surprise. Mason was small, but he had taken self-defense classes years ago as a scrawny gay teen after the first time he was beaten up. He’d sworn he’d never let himself be that defenseless again, and he hadn’t.

Before Jack had a chance to say anything, Gray came barreling toward them, making on-lookers scatter. “Is everything ok here?”

Jack turned to his partner. The look on Gray’s face when he saw Jack’s black eye confirmed Mason’s suspicions; the two men were more than work partners. Gray looked like a vengeful archangel, ready to rip apart anyone who dared harm the man he loved. He laid a hand on Jack’s arm, then pulled it back quickly like he had something to hide.

“Got the jump on you, did he?” Gray asked, tough cop façade back in place.

Jack shrugged. “I overestimated my calming charm, but our favorite bartender saved me.” 

Favorite? Did he really just say I was his favorite?

Gray looked at Mason then, his gazing sliding up and down as if once again he’d forgotten where he was. How hard would it be to play the macho cop when you loved your partner? While there were plenty of things Mason disliked about his job, at least he could be himself.

“Did he now?” Gray’s low resonating voice sent a shiver through Mason.

“Chris was running down. I just gave him the nudge he needed to end things.”

Gray looked down at the still-unconscious man. “Don’t ever nudge me like that.”

Mason smiled sheepishly. “No, I…wouldn’t…. I just…”

Gray saved him from needing to speak by laying one of his enormous hands on Mason’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I…um…better get back to serving drinks.”

Jack and Gray nodded.

Mason slipped behind the bar as Gray knelt to put cuffs around Chris’s wrists. Chris roused but didn’t fully wake. Gray tossed the semi-conscious man over his shoulder while Jack worked to disperse the crowd and clear a path to the door.

Mason had to force himself not to stare at Gray’s and Jack’s fine asses as they left. They were truly some of the hottest men he’d ever seen. If only…no, he was more certain than ever that they were a couple. They were also customers. And Mason didn’t need to get involved with anyone at Nathan’s. The sexy cops needed to remain in the realm of fantasy.

CHAPTER THREE

The night after the bar fight, Jack and Gray came into Nathan’s and sat at a corner table. Mason tried to work up the nerve to talk to them while he was on break, but they looked so intimate sitting there together. Their connection wasn’t something most people would notice, but now that he was certain there was more between them than friendship, their gestures and the way they looked at each other were telling. He wondered if the other guys on the force knew they were gay. If so, surely they didn’t realize the men were lovers. They wouldn’t be allowed to be partners then, would they?

Jack caught Mason staring once and winked at him. Heat crept up Mason’s neck and into his face, and he looked away. But when he worked up the nerve to sneak another glance at them, he caught Jack watching him. His gaze drifted up and down, pointedly checking Mason out. Mason grinned and waved even though his hand was shaking. He was playing with fire, especially if Gray was the jealous type. Mason might be able to knock Chris to the ground, but Gray could snap Mason in two like a twig. 

He wondered about the nature of Jack and Gray’s relationship. Were they exclusive? They certainly looked like they were more than just a convenient fuck for each other. But what was up with them flirting with him? Even if he’d misread Gray’s comments the day they questioned him, he couldn’t deny that Jack was flirting with him that night. Did Jack want him? Did they both? The thought of a three-way with the two of them was almost more than he could stand. Trying to ignore those dangerous thoughts, he made himself busy straightening the little trays of fruits and olives to add to drinks.

Later that night when Mason was alone in bed, hand wrapped around his cock, bringing himself some relief from the stress of the day, he couldn’t get the officers out of his head. He let his favorite fantasy play out. Gray had him tied up. The big man toyed with Mason, tormented him, then watched as Jack fucked him. Then it was his turn, and he was driving into Mason, fucking him relentlessly, telling Mason he owned him. Mason shuddered and climaxed with the image of Gray leaning over him, face contorted with his own orgasm, emblazoned on his brain.

Getting involved with Jack and Gray was a bad idea. They could easily become an obsession, and Mason had learned better than to sleep with couples. He shuddered as he thought about Brett and Andrew and the disaster sleeping with them turned out to be.

Mason had just come out to his family and gotten the reaction he’d expected. His mother had berated him for his shocking lack of social tact in choosing to sleep with men, and his father had counseled him not to tell anyone else while he worked through this wild phase. His sister had sided with both of them, kissing up as usual. Mason was feeling more alone than he ever had, and when Brett, the TA in one of his chemistry classes with whom he’d bonded over their mutual
Battlestar Galactica
obsession, propositioned him after the final exam, he had no power to resist. He went home with Brett and let the man fuck him senseless. They saw each other several more times over the next few weeks, then Brett told him he had a boyfriend.

Mason was horrified, but Brett assured him he and Andrew had an open relationship and asked if he was up for a three-way. Mason was nervous as hell, but he agreed. The evening was amazing, and so was the next one, and the next. They spent most of a long weekend in bed. Then one morning, Mason woke up to the sound of Andrew railing at Brett, telling him he knew Brett liked fucking Mason better. Mason sneaked out the door while they argued. 

Andrew had come to Mason’s apartment later that day and threatened him, telling him he’d make him pay if he didn’t stay away from Brett. The next day, Brett called saying he’d broken up with Andrew. Brett had started harassing Mason, begging him to go out with him.

In his anxiety over that disaster, Mason threw himself at a much older man he met at a sci-fi con, a man he realized later was more in need of a housekeeper than a boyfriend. He’d thought their relationship had real potential, that maybe he was in love with the man, but when Mason’s father announced that he wouldn’t pay for school anymore if Mason didn’t plan to attend law school after graduation, his boyfriend proved to be unwilling to consider any needs other than his own. His job suddenly took up all his time, and he ended up telling Mason to pull himself together and get over it or they were done. Mason had never spoken to him again. So yeah, Mason had good reason to be shy of relationships and of couples who claimed to want to play around with someone else. But sometimes, being alone really sucked.

*****

One slow afternoon a few days later, Jack and Gray walked in and sat down at the bar. They were in uniform, and the sight of them sent a shiver through Mason. He took a deep breath before walking over with a pounding heart and sweaty palms to take their order. 

“Thanks for your help the other night,” Gray said before Mason had a chance to speak. Gray’s eyes were as mesmerizing as usual, but today they looked warmer than they had before. Mason couldn’t look away from him. He licked his lips then his face heated as he realized how revealing the gesture was.

 “No problem. I’m just sorry he got a punch in before we brought him down.”

Jack smiled. “I’m fine. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be last. Are you working late today?”

Jack’s question surprised Mason so much he almost dropped the glass he’d been fiddling with. “Um…yeah, I work till closing.”

Gray gave Mason an assessing glance that made Mason’s cock start to swell. What would it be like for Gray to look at him like that when they were both naked? He busied himself wiping down the bar and tried to ignore how much he wanted these two gorgeous men. But surely they were just enjoying a little harmless flirtation. He couldn’t read more into it.

“We’d love to get a drink some time,” Gray said.

Drinks. Yeah, he was a bartender and they were here to order drinks, not to cozy up to him. “Sorry, what would you like?”

Jack caught his hand and pinned it to the bar. “No, the three of us, somewhere else, when you’re not working. We’d like to have a drink
together
.”

“Oh!” Mason was certain his cheeks were as red as the maraschino cherries he used to decorate drinks. “That kind of drink?”

Gray chuckled. “Yeah. That kind.” The words came out slow, seductive.

Mason’s dick hardened more. “I…um…aren’t you two…?”

Jack grinned at Mason’s stumbling attempt to make sure he understood what they wanted. “We are, but we both like you.”