Chapter 80
Alfie sat back and brought the bottle of beer to his mouth as Mel lead Rhys out onto the dance floor.
“Aren’t you jealous?” Tavell dropped into the chair next to him.
Alfie looked over at him. “Why should I be?” He’d been enjoying the way Mel and Rhys moved together. His gaze caught on Mel. Not attraction, exactly. They were—what phrase had they used for him?—objectively attractive. Even he could see that.
It hadn’t done anything for him before,. He wasn’t sure it did now, either. It could just be watching the way they were with Rhys.
Tavell waved out at Rhys and Mel. “I thought you would want to get in on that. I mean she is pretty hot.”
“They,” Alfie said sharply. “Not she. And their attractiveness is none of your concern.”
Tavell held his hands up. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I thought you might have a problem with her…them dancing with Rhys.”
“Why? He is the one who invited them. Why should they not dance together?”
Tavell stared at him for a moment longer then turned to glance out to the floor. “None of mine. You could have just said.”
Alfie was sure he had, but Tavell was already getting up and moving away, dropping into another group of people. Most of them presented as feminine, but Alfie learned that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
He returned his attention to the dance floor, and saw Rhys watching him as his hands were all over Mel’s back. Alfie took one last swallow of the beer and stood up.
Caleb caught his arm as he neared the dance floor. “Is everything all right?”
Alfie didn’t take his gaze off where Rhys and Mel were dancing. “Everything is fine. Why would you think otherwise?”
“You usually stay at the table and wait for Rhys to come back to you. No matter who else he is dancing with.”
“I did not want to chase him away.”
“As if that would have happened.”
Alfie turned to look at Caleb. “What do you know about it? I almost did because I refused to see…” He shook his head. “It does not matter. We are not—”
“In love? I call bullshit,” Caleb said. “I’ve seen it practically since I got here. It took a little bit. Brock still thinks you are only really good friends, but I don’t think he’s seen many examples of healthy relationships.”
“But you have?”
“Yes. I didn’t think I would ever find it for myself, but I knew exactly what I was looking for. What I found might not be exactly what I thought it would look like, neither of us is perfect, but I do know when something is worth fighting for.”
“They are not trying to take him from me. I do not want to fight either of them.”
“Maybe make sure they both know that then. I didn’t let Brock know how much I wanted him, even when I wasn’t right by his side. I almost lost him because of that.”
“I will not lose Rhys.” His stomach dipped at even the thought.
Caleb patted him on the shoulder. “Just make sure he understands you don’t want to. I’m going to go home with my boyfriend now. I’m not wasting the time I have with him.”
No, Alfie didn’t want to waste any time either. He needed to figure out how to make that clear.
To both of them.