One Night of Trouble(49)

Brett fell silent.

She had no clue which part of that sentence to deconstruct first.

“I’m sorry, but did you say stripper?” She paused. “His set?” Another pause. “What exactly did you do tonight?”

He set down the bottle, and his cheeks hollowed as if he were grinding his molars. “I went to an engagement party for Liam and Steve.”

Brett pressed her lips together. Fought hard not to laugh. “Ah. Okay. And who are Liam and Steve?”

The teeth grinding continued. “Just a couple of dudes.”

“Uh-huh. I figured as much. And how did you meet these ‘dudes’?”

“Well, I went to Donnelly’s”—he shot her a dirty look— “like you told me to—”

“I said Donaghy’s!”

“—but you weren’t there, and there was a mix-up at the door when I gave them your name. Turns out there was a Brett inside, except it was a man, and he was like seven feet tall and wicked-terrifying.” AJ’s breath spiraled out in a rush. “The next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a bunch of guys celebrating their friends’ engagement, and then Man Brett wouldn’t take no for an answer and pulls me onto the dance floor. But he ended up being a really nice guy, and—”

Brett lost it.

A howl of laughter ripped out of her throat as her body doubled over in hysterics. She couldn’t even focus on AJ’s face anymore, because tears were running down her cheeks.

“Oh my God. You danced with him?” Every word popped out in the form of a wheeze.

AJ’s tone took on a defensive edge. “He was a good dancer!”

“And then a stripper showed up?” she wailed between giggles.

“Quit laughing at me, woman. And no, the stripper was later.”

“Later?” She clutched her side, howling again. “How long were you there?”

“A few hours.” AJ shrugged. “After the dancing, Man Brett and Frankie talked me into a darts tournament, so we did that for a while—I won, by the way—and then it was time for the speeches. Son of a bitch, you would have bawled your eyes out during Liam’s speech. So fucking poignant.”

Brett’s legs buckled under her. She collapsed on the tiled floor in a heap of giggles, barely able to hear him over the sounds bursting out of her throat.

“The stripper showed up after that, and I guess he was pretty good? I’ve never seen a male stripper in action, so I don’t have anything to compare him to. The guy was all about the glitter, though.” AJ dragged his hand through his hair, and a few sprinkles of silver danced off and sparkled in the light.

Brett’s laughs turned to hiccups as she swiped at her watery cheeks. “Oh God. I’m going to pee my pants. I can’t believe you accidentally went to a gay engagement party—and liked it.”

AJ loomed over her, frowning at the sad mess she’d become. “They were good guys. Well, except for Tony—he was a total dick. Turns out he used to date Steve before Steve and Liam hooked up, and he’s clearly still carrying a torch for him. He was scowling in the corner like an asshole the entire time.”

Another high-pitched wail flew out.

“So yeah, I got a bunch of their numbers. We’re all going to hang out again, I think. And I’m—” He stopped abruptly.

“Please. Oh God, please finish that sentence.”

There was a resigned flicker in his eyes as she hiccupped loudly. “I’m now an official member of the Roxbury Lions.”

Her lips trembled. “The Roxbury Lions?”

“Yeah. It’s, uh, an all-gay amateur rugby league. Season starts in July.”

Brett didn’t think she could laugh any harder, but oh Lord, she did. Her stomach hurt as she curled up on the kitchen floor, unable to stop picturing the images AJ had described. When she felt herself being hauled to her feet, she giggled even louder, burying her face against AJ’s chest as she shuddered uncontrollably.

Eventually she became aware that he was laughing too, the husky sounds warming the top of her head as he rested both hands on her lower back.

“Fine, I guess it is kinda funny.” He chuckled. “It definitely wasn’t what I expected to be doing tonight.”

“Oh my God. You’re one of a kind, AJ,” she mumbled into his chest. “One of a fucking kind.”

“I am?”

She rubbed her tear-soaked cheeks and tilted her head up to look at him. “I’m not sure other men would have handled that as well as you.”

He drew his brows together in a frown. “What, did you think I was a homophobe?”

“Of course not. But even the most tolerant hetero guys might get freaked out by something like that. People don’t like to step out of their comfort zones.” She leaned up and brushed her lips over his jaw. “I like that you were able to do that and have a good time.”