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After so many years alone, I was really not used to being with people. I had no real idea how to interact with any of the people I was supposed to be guarding. Or, for that matter, any idea of how the hell to be a bodyguard.
Being a bodyguard was something I could figure out, at least. Keeping an eye on things while taking advantage of having someone else pick up the bar tab was within my skill set. Talking to people unless I was questioning them about a crime, less so.
I’d spent most of the night hiding in a corner, drinking and trying to avoid being noticed. The Branco family, the people I was supposed to protect, seemed to like me. And that, I really didn’t know what to do with.
“Hey, bro, you about ready to turn in?” Passos called, and I relaxed a little. He was the closest thing I’d had to a friend in a long time, and I felt more comfortable with him than anyone else. “It’s getting late, party’s about over.”
“That’s good.” I finished my drink and rubbed my eyes. “My ability to stay awake is about over, too.”
Passos laughed at my joke and clapped me on the arm. “That’s funny, Max. Come on.”
I followed him, unreasonably pleased at being considered funny. I really, really was not used to being with people.
I loved being with Passos, though, more than I had any intention of ever admitting. He and I had fallen into an easy rhythm of trading jokes while in the middle of trading bullets with my enemies, and that had continued now that we were working together.
He didn’t seem to mind that I was a depressed, often drunken wreck approximately ninety-nine percent of the time, either. At least, as far as I could tell. I wasn’t too good at reading people.
When we reached the hotel bedroom, with a single bed, I thought at first he was just showing me to my room. Then he stepped in with me and closed the door.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I said. “The Brancos are rich enough to afford private choppers. They couldn’t afford two separate rooms, or at least a room with two beds, for their protection detail?”
“Hey, they could afford to rent the whole hotel, if there were rooms available. Which there weren’t.” Passos stripped out of his jacket. “Take it or leave it, brother.”
I took it. I was drunk enough that I didn’t trust myself not to fall out of a chair if I tried to sleep sitting up. And I was also drunk enough that cuddling sounded pretty nice.
Luckily, Passos seemed to think it did too. We squeezed into the bed together, pressed close against each other. I relaxed even more, my eyes drifting shut.
I had been alone on my own for a long time, and in that time, I hadn’t been touched much. I hadn’t realized how much I needed contact, or how much I needed some form of connection.
With Passos, it looked like I finally had what I needed. So I just settled in, comfortable at last, and enjoyed sharing a bed with my new friend.