A look of panic fell across Chad's face. "It's Dare," he said. "He's the blond guy you saw earlier who left in the taxi outside Chickey's club."
Treston laughed. "He calls you sweetie-pie?"
"I'll be right there, pussycat," Chad said. "Just wait a minute."
Treston started to laugh. "And you call him pussycat? Oh, this is rich."
"Don't be nasty," Chad said. "He's a very sweet guy. And you have to hide in the closet or he's going to kill us both. He has a jealous streak."
Treston sighed and climbed off Chad's body. While Dare continued to knock on the door, he gathered his clothes and his backpack and sent Chad an exasperated glance. "Don't worry, sweetie-pie. I know the drill. You don't want pussycat to find out I'm here and I have to be a good boy and hide."
Chad climbed out of bed and grabbed a pair of black sweatpants he'd left hanging over a zebra-print chair. He put them on fast and said, "I'm sorry, but you knew I was involved with someone."
Treston closed his eyes and shook his head. "I thought it was over tonight. Obviously you didn't, which is typical of your type. Calm down, big boy. I'm not upset. I told you I didn't expect anything from you and I meant it. I'm not getting mixed up with assholes like you anymore, no matter how tempting it is. We had a little fun, you have a nice dick, and now it's over. You can tell little pussycat anything you like for all I care."
Chad crossed to where he was standing and hugged him. "Thanks, man. I owe you one. He's really someone I think I could marry and I don't want to screw it up again."
Treston stepped away from him and moved toward the closet door. He sent him a backward glance and said, "Then I have two pieces of advice for you. First, don't fuck his brother again. That's just wrong all the way around, man. Second, stop fucking around with guys like me if you really want a lasting relationship with him. You might be adorable and irresistible on the outside, and you might have more money than anyone in Las Vegas, but you're getting too goddamn old to be an asswipe and it's going to catch up with you."
He turned and went into the closet before Chad could respond. If he'd known Chad and the blond guy hadn't broken up for good that night, he would never have climbed into the car with him earlier. Treston had done a few things he wasn't proud of, but cheating with another man's man was not one of them. Now he was glad they hadn't fucked. At least the only sex they'd had had been unreciprocated oral.
After Treston put on his clothes-he put the jeans and casual shirt on instead of the tighter things he'd worn to dinner-with care so he wouldn't make any noise, he sat close to the door so he could listen to Chad and the blond guy. He figured he had every right to eavesdrop; Chad had invited him there and he didn't know the blond guy would show up. He also had a feeling it would be very entertaining.
When Chad opened the door, Treston heard the blond man rush into the room and say, "Oh, sweetie-pie, I'm so sorry. I never should have left you like that. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Calm down, pussycat," Chad said. "I forgive you."
Treston put two fingers in his mouth and pretended to gag. Between their fake affectionate tones and the pussycat/sweetie-pie bullshit, he felt like heaving the escargot.
"I forgive you, too," Dare said. "I don't blame you for what happened. My brother is nothing but a fucking slut and he'll sleep with anyone. I'm never speaking to him again. I know it was all his fault, not yours."
This time Treston's jaw fell in an exaggerated way. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. If he'd been lucky enough to have a brother, he wouldn't have let an asshole like Chad Pratt get in the way of his relationship with his brother. And the saddest part of it all was he heard traces of his own voice in Dare's. Treston had said things like this before to all the men he'd been in love with when they'd screwed him over; he'd even begged the same way. And look where it had gotten him: shoved into a dark closet, in the home of another asshole who thought he could get away with anything, where he would have to remain until it was safe to sneak out. He figured this was karma; he had to learn his lesson once and for all. He'd met Chad that night by some twist of fate and he'd been destined to overhear this pitiful conversation so he'd never repeat his mistakes again.
Treston leaned into the door. Chad must have escorted Dare to the bed because their voices sounded closer.
After a moment of silence-Treston figured they were kissing-Dare said, "I'm going to take off all my clothes and you're going to fuck your little pussycat so hard he's going to scream and claw."
This was getting interesting. Treston thought about Chad's twenty-four-hour erection cycle. He couldn't wait to hear Chad's reply.