Lazy Valentines (Lazy Days)

and tattoos. Devon had been the first and only such man Scott had ever even talked to without being ridiculed or sworn at, and now Scott could add Wolfie, Bull, Slide and hopefully Shadow, too.
    Devon's bandmates were easy-going, friendly and made Scott feel instantly like part of the group, telling him how much Devon had talked about him even from the first night they spent together. Scott had been completely unaware Devon had told anyone about their relationship so it gave him a little burst of happy that went straight to his heart.
    At one point Charlene leaned in close and whispered that the boys came to the diner every Thursday they were in town and Devon had never brought anyone to breakfast before. Other than the odd hook-up after a gig, they'd never seen him with a boyfriend either. Scott felt unbidden pride swell through him and it felt damn good to be included in a conversation he never would have even tried to have if Devon hadn't become part of his life.
    Scott had been keeping an eye on Shadow from the time he sat down. He felt a powerful need to talk to the man who'd been both the unfortunate catalyst to Devon and Scott's break-up and the apparently the push Devon had needed to get them back together. When Shadow finally finished talking to whoever was on the other end of the phone, Scott gathered his courage and rose up from the table. Devon opened his mouth to question him but quickly closed it when Scott bent to kiss the top of his head. He was amazed at his own bravado in approaching Shadow and seating himself in the chair beside him, and of course for openly kissing Devon in public without a thought, too.
    Shadow lifted his gaze from his coffee cup, brilliant green eyes just barely visible behind a shaggy mop of red and black hair. "I don't mean to interrupt…" Scott began. He paused when a crooked grin appeared on Shadow's face and he tipped his head in Scott's direction.
    "I'm assuming you're Scott since Devon's pretty much described you to a T."
    "I hope he made me sound more attractive than I really am." The self-derogatory words left Scott's mouth before they registered in his brain. He tried to backpedal his way out of it. "I'm sorry for your loss."
    "No, man. He described you perfectly. I'm Shadow by the way. Real name's Steve but I prefer the mystery. And thank you. It's been a tough year."
    Scott let a respectful silence sit between them before he spoke again. "I'm happy to finally meet you. I saw you a couple times before Devon and I… you know, broke up."
    Shadow nodded, his eyes shifting to the other end of the table where Devon raised his eyebrows in confusion. "I wish we'd seen you standing there, man. I felt horrible as shit when I found out you broke up because you saw him hugging me."
    "It wasn't only about that, wasn't even mostly about that, so there's no guilt necessary." Scott leaned in a little closer, putting himself in a position he didn't normally assume except with Devon. For some reason Shadow felt safe enough for Scott to slip out of his comfort zone just a little. "I understand you had a lot to do with us getting back together though."
    Shadow huffed out a laugh, his mouth turning up in a half-grin as he shook his head. "Naw. He just needed a kick in the ass. I had too much going on to listen to him moan non-stop about fucking up and losing you. He's been my best friend for almost ten years and I know he didn't mean to get on my nerves, but fuck, I'd just lost the love of my life and he was too damn scared to go and get his."
    Scott's breath hitched in his throat and he stumbled over his words. "The lo… love of his… really?"
    "Damn straight. He was all dopey-eyed from the minute he met you." Shadow flipped his hair back from his face again. Scott thought that was one of the reasons he'd never had long hair—he couldn't have handled having it in his face all the time. "He was a horrible mess when you dumped him or when he got himself dumped I guess you might say. He was strong as fuck for me when I needed him but wouldn't do a damn thing to crawl his way out of his own goddamn hole so I gave him a little push."
    "By beating him up?"
    Shadow snorted softly. "Hell, no. I didn't beat him up. We've done that a few times over the years... knock down fights complete with black eyes and hospital visits, but this wasn't like that. I just gave him a left to the jaw to knock some sense into his stubborn-ass brain. Seems like it worked, too."
    Scott couldn't help smiling at