Christ almighty. How did it go from nameless hook-ups to him meeting my friends?
I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes and tried to decide if I was scared by the idea of us moving forward so fast. But I really wasn’t. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.
God, Bryce, you’re in way over your head.
Aaaaaand that realisation didn’t scare me either.
So instead of freaking out, I reached for my phone and sent Bossy a text.
Busy tonight?
His reply took just a few seconds. Was going to try and actually sleep. You?
Wanna come to mine? Promise I’ll let you sleep.
The text bubble appeared and disappeared, then appeared again. Sure you will but okay.
I ignored the way my heart soared and how stupid my smile was. Seven o’clock in the foyer. Text me when you get here. I’ll come down and get you.
Do I need to bring anything? Dinner?
Nope. We can order room service.
Perfect.
I sat there smiling at my phone for a while, then pulled my laptop over and began some actual work. I had orders of plant and equipment to confirm, shipping numbers to track, emails to reply to, and a few phone calls to make. I ducked out to grab some lunch and called into the chemist for fresh supplies of lube and condoms while I was out, then finished the marketing specs.
All in all, it was a productive day.
But seven couldn’t come around fast enough.
At eight minutes to, my phone pinged with a message. Hey. I’m here.
I rushed to get in that elevator so fast, I almost forgot my keys. But there he was, standing to the side of the hotel foyer, keeping out of the way of everyone else. It was always busy, people coming and going, staff running about everywhere.
But I swear the world stood still around him.
He wore tight dark blue jeans, the knee ripped out in one leg. His button-down shirt was white, sharp, and oversized down to his thighs. His hair was styled up. His flawless skin. That fucking jawline and those long, talented fingers . . .
I had to swallow but my mouth was suddenly dry.
He looked like God himself put together an angel and a devil in the one body and then, just for laughs, delivered him to me.
Michael didn’t see me at first and it gave me a few seconds of uninterrupted viewing time. He was checking something on his phone and happened to look up when I was a few metres away. He broke out in a smile that set every cell in my body on fire.
I walked right up to him, stood right in close, and murmured in his ear. “The way you look right now should be illegal.”
He chuckled, warm and sultry. But then he caught another look at my shirt. “Is that . . . is that BTS?”
“Yes, it is,” I said proudly. “Have a problem with that?”
“Oh, no.” He shook his head. “I just have to wonder about the musical journey that includes shirts from the Grateful Dead to a Korean pop band.”
“That musical journey, as you so bravely put it,” I replied with a smile, “is eclectic and diverse. And it also involved me scoring tickets to their concert in Singapore and being a fan ever since.”
He chuckled. “Well, it’s . . . cute.”
I laughed and tucked him under my arm as I led him to the elevators. “But let me guess . . . you think it’d be a whole lot cuter on my bedroom floor.”
He grinned. “Like your shirt you left at my place today.”
Still with my arm around his shoulder, I pressed the elevator button. “I left that on your bed, not on your floor.”
He laughed again. “Did you go home shirtless?”
“No. I stole one of your T-shirts. It’s mine now. It was kinda tight on me, not gonna lie, but I made it work.”
“I bet you did.”
We stepped into the elevator and I still didn’t take my arm from around his shoulder. If anything, I pulled him in a bit closer. I didn’t care if there were other people in the elevator with us, and Michael clearly liked it, if the way he smiled at me in our reflection was any kind of clue.
When I opened the door to my home, I stood aside for Michael to walk in first. “Oh, wow,” he breathed.
I looked around, forgetting for a minute what it was like to see this apartment for the first time. It was the penthouse, after all, but it was just . . . home. Well, my dad’s home.
“Yes, wow,” I said, taking his hand and lifting it above his head, and he turned around as if we were in some kind of dance. I got a 360-degree view. “Wow, indeed.”
“You gonna add this shirt to the list you want me to open the door in?”
“Don’t give me ideas,” I answered, pulling him against me. “Though I was hoping you’d be wearing the shirt I left at your place.”
“You wanted me to wear it?”
“Want you to, yes,” I said, my voice gruff. I lifted his chin for a quick kiss on his lips. “I want to see you in my clothes.”
He leaned his body against mine, his arms tight around me, smiling like that goddamned angel-devil made just for me. “I’m going to assume your dad isn’t here?”
I shook my head. “He left for Brisbane earlier today. Won’t be home till tomorrow night.” I sighed. “He’s . . . he and I . . . Ugh, sorry. It’s just . . .”
His blue eyes searched mine. “Did you have a fight?”
“Not really. He’s just . . . we’re very different. And we’re similar in a lot of ways too, I guess. But he’s so focused on some things, and he takes it too far.” I ran my thumb along Michael’s jaw. “I have two things to ask you.”
He blinked in surprise. “Two things? Um, okay.”
“Come sit with me,” I said, taking his hand and leading him to the couch. He sat beside me and I kept hold of his hand. He looked a little worried, so I threaded his fingers and gave him a smile. “Okay, so here goes.”
“You’re nervous and it’s making me nervous.”
I laughed. “Sorry. It’s not bad. I hope. God.”
“Bry, just say it.”
I smiled at that. “No one calls me Bry.”
“Pretty sure I just did. And you liked it.”
I chuckled, side-tracked, which I think might have been his intention. I wasn’t so nervous now. “Okay, so the first thing. And this comes from my dad, but also from me. It’s a fair point, and something I should bring up.”
“You told your dad about me?”
“Stop distracting me.”
“Sorry.”
“I did, yes.”
“Oh my god.”
“Well, I waved Speedos in front of your dad’s face, so we’re even.”
He laughed at that. “Good point.”
I took a deep breath. “I told you I wanted to see you. I wanted to be more than just hook-up fuck buddies, whatever we started out as.”
He looked worried now. “Yeah?”
“And that’s still true,” I added quickly. “That hasn’t changed.”
“Okay, good.” He let out a relieved breath.
“But chances are it will.” I sighed. “My shop is going to take up a lot of my time. I’m going to be busy and my free time will be almost nil to none for a while. I don’t want you to think that it’s a reflection on you or us. Whatever free time I have, I will want to spend with you. I still want to see you.”