“No, I agree,” Ben said. “The back view is almost better.” They fist-bumped.
Ari glanced at Theo, hoping to appeal to him, but he just shrugged. “Do you actually want to argue?”
That was a fair point, unfortunately. Ari sighed and made himself turn away from the scene lest he be forced to watch as Jax’s shirt, which already revealed his delectably muscled round shoulders, got wet and clung to his chest.
Instead, he clapped Theo on the back and pushed him toward the grill at the rear of the house. “Come on. Let’s go see what we can feed you.”
It had been too long since he’d attended a party, and for the first twenty minutes or so, he felt off-kilter, even though he’d spent the past few months touring. But finally, as Theo polished off his second hamburger, nodding vigorously along with whatever Kayla was telling him, Ari let out a breath and realized the tension had fled from his shoulders.
Of course, that didn’t last long once Afra caught up to him again.
“So,” she said, nudging him in the hip just hard enough to slosh the liquid in his red Solo cup. “Noella said she’s heard a demo?”
“Two demos,” Ari said, resigned to talking business.
“And Naomi said you’ve been by the Rock just about every day they do live music for the past week,” she continued blithely.
Oh no, it was worse than business.
From somewhere toward the back of the yard, there was a triumphant shout and then an actual yell, which interrupted what Ari felt sure would be the most uncomfortable moment yet. He glanced over just in time to see Jax turn the hose on the man who had taunted him earlier, to laughter and applause from their audience and a good deal of cursing from the doctor.
Ari told himself he wasn’t disappointed it wasn’t Jax who’d ended up soaked to the skin.
Afra cleared her throat. “Noella seems to think you might have a muse.”
Noella was a damn gossip. “Is that such a bad thing?”
“I didn’t say it was,” Afra soothed. “I only want to catch up. You’ve been buried in work this week.”
Ari took another drink of his questionable beverage, wishing it were something else, and tried to relax. “He’s just… interesting.” How could he explain it? Did he even have to? Anyone who looked at Jax would surely see the way the world bent into something a little more joyful around his edges. Or maybe that joy was coming from Jax. Either way, it was addictive. Of course Ari wanted more of it.
Jax and his sparring partner were returning to the main yard—Jax laughing, his friend not so much.
“Oh my God,” Naomi said as she came out of the house behind Ari and Afra and looked past them. “Calvin, what happened to you?”
The soaking-wet man—Ari assumed he must be Calvin—glowered halfheartedly and jerked his thumb at Jax. “This overgrown child in a frat-boy costume happened to me.”
“Weren’t you the one who issued the challenge?” Ari asked before he could help himself.
Calvin turned the soggy glower on him.
Naomi looked at Jax, who gestured to Ari and Afra. “What? Look, there werewitnesses!”
Afra raised her hands. “I wish to be excluded from this narrative.”
Naomi snorted, then opened the back door again. “Come on, Cal. I’ll find you a towel… and maybe a T-shirt.”
They went inside, and Jax wandered over to the drink table. Calvinhadshot him with the water gun at least once; the tank top was plastered to his back over his left kidney, and his shorts were wet too, highlighting the perfect round curve of his ass.
“Interesting is one word for him,” Afra allowed.
Ari didn’t facepalm, because he had never facepalmed in his life, but he might have tried to hide his face in his tumbler of lemonade.
Afra gave him a look but kindly said nothing else.
Theo, on the other hand, munched a chip and asked, “Does he know about your music boner?”
Really, getting covered in Ari’s spit-take lemonade was the least Theo deserved for that.
