Really, he didn't know why he let Shawn talk him into these things. The younger man had some sort of bizarre power over him that had nothing to do with the sex (honestly). He couldn't explain it without involving wizardry, and that only went to prove how much time he was spending with Spencer.
The bar was loud, festive, full of excitable people, many of which he worked with. He wasn't sure how Shawn had talked them into going to a group happy hour, let alone one at such an... interesting bar. Everyone seemed to be wearing sombreros, including Vick, who was doing tequila shots with Buzz, Gus and Juliet across the table.
Lassiter had refrained from doing shots, but drank at his own beer while Shawn went to get more tequila for the group and regale other off-duty officers at the bar itself. Despite the volume of the band across the room, he could still hear the fake psychic's outlandish stories and the laughter of the uniforms he was entertaining.
He took another swig of his beer, and smiled at his increasingly drunk coworkers across the table from him. They didn't often all go out together, probably for good reason. Lassiter didn't do well with social outings, and generally tended to shy away from them. He just didn't have the personality for things like this.
But Shawn did. Sweet Lady Justice, did Shawn ever. Strange places like this, where everything was Mexican-themed but the band was some sort of Irish punk music, were the ones that Shawn naturally gravitated toward. Honestly, he didn't understand the appeal, but his boyfriend liked them, and he liked his boyfriend, so...
"Carly-Q, don't sit there looking like mopey pancake," Shawn cooed, dropping into the chair next to him. He was grinning ear to ear, head bopping to the raucous music. Juliet immediately snatched up the bottle of tequila in his hands, sloppily leaning into Gus as she began to pour another round for everyone.
"I'm not a mopey... Whatever," he responded, giving up on fighting Shawn's weird similes for the night. He'd had just enough to drink not to care. The younger man, still grinning, raised an eyebrow.
"C'mon, Carly-bear, it's a fun night, we're having fun," he said, motioning to Vick, McNabb, Gus and Juliet, who all nodded enthusiastically and downed their shots. "Join in on the fun. I promise it'll be... fun."
"You really have a way with words, you know that?" Carlton replied, but his face betrayed the stoic look he was attempting to put out by choosing to smile instead. Shawn just pushed his lower lip out, eyes wide and fluttering. Oh lord, he was pouting, actually pouting. Carlton would never understand how he could just do that on command, but it got him every time. With a sigh, he picked up an extra shot glass.
"Let's do it," he said. The younger man's pout instantly became a thousand watt grin. He filled a shot for everyone, including Lassiter, and raised his own glass.
"To the bestest cops and consultants in all of California, with the most kickass arrest records and nicest hair to boot," he toasted, clinking his glass with all the others. The four people across from him all drank their shots, but Shawn leaned in toward Carlton, whispering into his ear, "And to the bestest cop of all, the awesome, sexy cop that I am so totally lucky to be dating." Shawn drank his own shot, smiling up at Lassiter as he did his own. Okay, so maybe he did kind of understand why he let Shawn talk him into these things, and frankly, he was okay with it.