Nate knocked and opened the door and sat down next to Jaiden. Luckily, he had some joggers on now. They both knew that Jaiden wasn't mad at Nate, just mortified about the situation and Billy.

"Sorry, Jaiden. I really fucked up. I swear I didn't see him at the party, otherwise I would have dragged you home." He knew how Billy refused to leave him alone after they separated. Even after months of Jaiden refusing him, he still seemed to be clinging on.

"I know. I really shouldn't drink that much again." Jaiden said.

There was another knock on the door and both men looked up to see the woman from Nate's room. She had a mug in hand.

"I made some tea." She said gently.

Nate was panicked and started to stumble over his words. "Ah, this is... Um..."

She rolled her eyes. "Sabrina."

Jaiden took the mug and thanked her. "I know the sex was good, but I can't believe even my drunk ass would willingly go with him."

Sabrina laughed. "I admit, I have done worse."

Jaiden laughed and pointed to Nate. "Obviously."

Nate punched his arm. "Asshole. How did you get out of there? That guy would tie you to the bed if he could."

He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Don't even put that image in my head... I snuck out while he was sleeping. Well, not snuck, more like 'run-like-hell and never look back'. I jumped into the elevator barefoot and with my pants halfway down my ass."

"At least you got out." Nate tried to lighten the mood, but Sabrina slapped his chest.

"He wouldn't have to worry about getting out of a bad situation if his friend wasn't so focused on getting pussy!" She said angrily.

"I was getting your pussy though!"

She gave him a dark look. "Exactly. And now I'm part of the problem. So, figure out how to make this right."

Nate wanted to make another joke but stopped himself. Instead, he patted Jaiden on the back. "I'm really sorry. I was a shit friend last night. But him showing up really pisses me off. I just am trying to figure out when he arrived. I don't remember seeing him anywhere."

Jaiden waved his hand to dismiss it. "Billy has always been one to sneak up uninvited. Fucking creep. What's worse is that the fucker has my new number. If it wasn't for..."

Jaiden stopped when the conversation reached Toni. Just talking about him made him choke on his words. Goddamn that man was something else.

"For what?" Nate asked.

Jaiden sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Toni..."

"Who is Toni?" Nate asked with a surprised look.

"The guy from the elevator. He helped me out and had Billy stop calling me. But, fuck, I must have looked like a mess to him." Jaiden said.

"Why does that matter? Everyone has a bad walk of shame after a one-night stand."

"Yeah, true. But Toni was a fucking specimen. If I slept with that man, I would never leave his bed." Jaiden lamented.

He couldn't deny that Toni was hauntingly good looking with an accent that made his toes curl. Something about him was domineering - like he felt the need to say 'yes, sir' around him.

"You can't leave this conversation like that. Who the hell is this Toni? Where did he come from?" Nate nudged him, trying to break him out of his silence.

Jaiden shrugged. "A guy who must live in the same complex as Billy. But hell, he was sexy as sin. Tall, dark, delicious."

Nate snorted. "Sounds like you're describing a cup of coffee."

"Doesn't matter. I'm not going to see him again."

Nate tried to asked Jaiden more, but Jaiden elbowed him. "We are so done with this topic."

Sabrina smiled and grabbed a pen and napkin from her purse. She wrote down her number and gave it to Jaiden. "Next time you want to go out, call me and my friends. We'll take care of each other, so you don't have to rely on Nate."

She got up and kissed Jaiden on the cheek. Nate jumped up. "Wait! What about me!"

She waved. "Maybe learn how to take care of your friend first and then you can get my number."

Jaiden grinned towards Nate. "I like her."

After a long shower, Jaiden sat numbly at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.

He let out a sigh and Nate nudged him. "Are you feeling alright?"

Jaiden rubbed his temples. "I still feel hungover from last night. Why did I let you convince me to go out last night?"

Nate shrugged. "Because your stepmother sucks and ambushed you with a call just to piss you off. Also, it's the weekend and we're not on call. So, how about we celebrate with some Bloody Marys to help cure that hangover."

Jaiden gave him an exasperated look. "Celebrate what?"

Nate shrugged. "Good escape plans? Me getting laid? Meeting a sexy man in an elevator? Do we really need an excuse for Bloody Marys?"

Jaiden groaned. "I won't need an excuse to hit you right now. The last thing I need today is more alcohol."

Nate's smile fell a little and was replaced with a look of concern. "Are you doing ok, though?"

Jaiden nodded and stifled a yawn. "I just need to get some more caffeine in my system. Your Keurig coffee doesn't cut it for me."

"How about a trip to Piñon Coffee? My treat?" Nate offered, knowing how much Jaiden liked the local coffee shop.

"Absolutely." Jaiden gave him a quick fist bump and pulled on his worn brown leather jacket. He ran his hand over it for a second. It used to belong to Carlos, and it became one of his favorite keepsakes.

He gave Nate a wink. "Race you there."

He walked out of his apartment complex and jumped on his bike with Nate yelling after him. "Racing with you is no fair! You'll just call someone to pull me over again!"

Jaiden laughed and took off to the coffee shop and waiting in the parking lot for Nate. He got out and was grumbling. He saw Jaiden and flipped him off and muttered, "Asshole" under his breath.

Jaiden pulled him inside and within minutes had a large cup of black coffee. He inhaled it and smiled. "I needed this."

Nate laughed. "So, I have to know, are you going to call your Cup of Coffee?"

Jaiden held his coffee up. "I have it in my hand."

"I mean the mythical Toni." He said with an eye roll.

"Mythical?"

Nate laughed. "Come one, I have never heard you talk about someone like that before. You called him a 'specimen'."

Jaiden frowned. "I didn't get his number."

Nate coughed harshly on his drink. "What? How could you not? You definitely want to fuck him."

Jaiden hit his arm. "We're in public." He hissed and looked around at the other patrons who were now giving Nate and Jaiden dark looks.

Nate leaned in a lowered his voice. "But you do, don't you?"

Jaiden sighed. "That's beside the point. I didn't get his number. I met him by chance so there's really no way I'll meet him again."

"Don't you know where he lives?" Nate said with a shrug.

Jaiden slapped the back of his head. "That's just fucking creepy. I am not going to stake out his apartment."

"I'm just saying it could be by accident."

"And it would still be considered stalking."

"So that's a no?"

Jaiden gave him an incredulous look. "That's a hell no. No stalking. I'm not that sex deprived."

Nate smirked. "You haven't slept with someone for over eight months and end up in your ex's bed. I'm pretty sure you're deprived."

"You know my rules." He leaned back in his chair with an exasperated sigh.

"Your rules are boring. It doesn't hurt having a one-night stand."

Jaiden narrowed his eyes. "I woke up in Billy's bed. It's just a bad decision."

"Do I have to remind you who you ran into right after? Come on, how about we stop by the apartment and just look." Nate gave him pleading eyes.

Jaiden's jaw clenched. "And we're back to stalking... No Nate. Some things are just not meant to be, and that includes Toni."

Nate groaned. "Fine, but you have to promise me something. I will let go of your delicious Cup of Coffee as long as you let go of your goddamn rules."

Jaiden waved his hand. "Men and relationships are a distraction."

Nate sighed. "You have no distractions, and that's the problem. You need at least one, or else you're going to be miserable and alone. You'll end up married to the murders you investigate."

Jaiden was going to fight him, but Valeria had said something along the same lines. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How about I become open to the idea. I'm not going to sleep with the first man I see, though."

Nate broke out into a grin. "Good! We'll start tonight!"

Jaiden groaned. "That sounds like a terrible idea. I am seriously just getting over this fucking hangover. I can't handle a second one."

"Nope. We're doing it."

"You just want to go out so I can invite Sabrina." Jaiden said with a snort.

"No clubs, just a bar. Please, JayJay!" Nate batted his eyes but flinched when he saw the venomous glare from Jaiden. "Sorry... no nicknames."

Jaiden sighed. "I swear you're full of bad ideas." His phone started ringing and he answered it without thinking. "Ryder speaking."

His face instantly fell. "Hi Tracy." His voice was distant when he heard his stepmother's voice.

He sighed. "I always answer calls like that... Yes, I'm still in Albuquerque... I do have a real job... If you would let me explain... No. Don't come down... I'm going to go. Bye."

He hung up the phone and tossed it on the table, suddenly looking worse than he did moments before.

Nate gave him a concerned look. "You still haven't told them what you do for a living?"

Jaiden shrugged. "They never want to listen. They expect me to be living as a failure, so why would they really want to know what I'm doing with my life...besides, she's still furious that I missed the perfect stepbrother's engagement party."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Not everyone can afford to run out to Napa for a party. Besides, you were working a pretty big case then. If they just talked to you, they would understand."

Jaiden took a drink from his coffee cup. "It doesn't matter. The only language she can speak is 'nag'."

"They wanted to come down?" Nate asked, picking up pieces of the conversation from the side he heard.

Jaiden grimaced. "Yeah, so I could meet my future sister-in-law."

"She could be nice." Nate said, a little hopeful.

Jaiden shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We're probably never going to meet and I'm ok with that." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'll text Sabrina so we can go out tonight."

Nate let out a small cheer. "You're the best!"

"Fuck me over again and I will kick your ass." Jaiden warned.

Nate held up his hands. "I won't let you leave my side, unless you find someone that's not Billy."