Strut (Style, #2)

by Jay Hogan

Regardless of his reputation, Hunter was a genuine guy, and totally upfront about his love ’em and leave ’em lifestyle. Anything he offered would be a one-time thing and I’d learned my lesson. Me and one-night stands didn’t mix very well, especially one-night stands where I secretly wanted a lot more. See above note re abysmal sex life. So sue me. I liked dating. I liked connection. And I liked to know the guy I was fucking wouldn’t be gone in a hot second the next day, or worse, ten minutes after we were done, or I was done. I was nothing special in Hunter Donovan’s world. This world.

Hunter was a breath of fresh air after a year away from home. He offered a taste of something achingly familiar. Relaxed and unaffected in a way that was rare in the industry I spent most of my New York life cautiously navigating. Hunter smelled of black sand beaches and Auckland streets, and he sounded like home. He also wanted me, which added an extra undercurrent of zippiness to the flirting, even if he was keeping to the rules. But it was in his eyes when I caught him staring at me. In the brush of the back of his hand against mine as we walked. In the way he put his hand on my lower back and guided me ahead whenever we passed through a crowd of people, the warmth of his touch lingering like a warm blanket. And it was in all the unsaid things that hummed between us, like shadows on the wall. Words that wriggled deliciously under the laughter and peeked out from behind those smiles. Tempting words. Dangerous words.

“Do you even know how ridiculous that sounds? First off, when we met, you gave zero indication you were remotely into me, so why would I expect anything more. And second, like I’m gonna demand boyfriend rights or something, just because you got off on my leg and made me come?” I arched a brow. “You’re not that irresistible, Hunter, no matter what you think.” He winced. “Touché.” I narrowed my gaze. “Damn right. Because what really happened, pushing aside all your bullshit, was that you yellow-bellied it out of there because of your feelings, not mine. You were scared you might want something more from me, not the other way around. And so you behaved like a total jerk and left me wondering what I’d done wrong for a whole fucking year.” I’d clearly hit pay dirt and his silence spoke volumes. I didn’t know whether to feel smug or furious, so I settled on both. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I was a coward, and then I doubled down on that by not coming to you after and owning it. I shouldn’t have left you hanging, especially since we were still working together. I’m sorry. I was an arsehole and an idiot.”

“You learned a lesson. Namely, don’t fuck with immature men who can’t pass a shiny surface without checking their reflection.” I snorted. “You have to admit it was an excellent lesson.” Rhys scowled. “But one that doesn’t apply to Alec, or I hope it doesn’t.” And there it was. “It doesn’t.” A truth that had taken me a year to understand, and then it came too late. Rhys sighed and leaned forward, putting his face close to the laptop. “I remember getting some unwanted home truths about my love life not that long ago. The wheel has turned, my friend, so listen up. You can’t keep running from men you like, Hunter. You’re a good man but guys pass through your life like laxatives.” I snorted. “Now there’s an image.”

“Jesus, Hunter.” “I know.” I faced the river and adjusted myself, then looked around. Luckily, only a few people lingered nearby, most studiously ignoring us, none looking like homophobic arseholes, although one man shot me a knowing smirk and a thumbs up, for fuck’s sake. Alec snorted, shaking his head. “And you were nervous just holding hands.” He flicked me on the forehead, then threaded his arm through mine and pulled me back onto the path, making for Twelfth Avenue. “Come on. I need my beauty sleep.” “Wait.” I stopped, pulling him around. He frowned. “What?” “This.” I held his chin between my thumb and finger and pressed a firm kiss to his soft lips. “I wasn’t nervous about them.” I flicked my head to the people on the path. “As far as they’re concerned, fuck ’em.” He snorted but looked quietly pleased. “I’m nervous about how you make me feel. And with very good reason, it appears.” He studied me and a slow smile spread over his face. “Well, in case you were wondering, the feeling is mutual. You’re not the only one with your heart exposed, Hunter Donovan.” I brushed a wisp of blond hair from his eyes. “I know that. And I don’t want to hurt you.” Alec returned my earlier kiss, lingering just a little before pulling away. “Then don’t.”

“This thing between us?” He wiped his mouth before throwing his napkin in a ball on his plate. “You mean the thing where we’re boyfriends?” I blinked, almost choking on a shard of chip, then pursed my lips together and scowled. “See, that right there,” I jabbed a finger at him. “Boyfriend? I’m surprised you haven’t got a necklace of garlic around your neck at the mere thought. We’ve had one date. Even I haven’t uttered the dreaded word.”

“Because at the risk of beleaguering the point, may I remind you that you ran away from me,” I pointed out, wondering when exactly the tables had turned into him convincing me. “And now, I’m not,” he answered, suddenly serious and reaching for my hand. “Look, Alec, I’m sorry if I’m confusing you. Am I still scared? Hell yes, I am. But I meant what I said. I do like you. I’ve liked you since I first laid eyes on you. I ran because I knew that with you it would have to be all or nothing. Back then I wasn’t ready and so I opted for nothing. A year down the track and I still like you. I still want you. And so now, I’m ditching the nothing and taking the all option. Is that a problem?”

“I like you a lot, Hunter. As in, I’m-scared-to-say-how-much-I-like-you, a lot.” I tilted my head back so I could see him better and waited until his eyes slowly tracked to mine. “I like you a lot, as well, Alec. As in, fuck me, this-is-terrifying a lot.” Neither of us moved, a million questions in that one shared look. And then Alec kissed me, long and slow and full of promise. And when he finally pulled away, he cradled my face and said six words that meant every-fucking-thing. “Your heart’s safe with me, Hunter.”

Hunter was out there, somewhere, watching me walk, watching me strut my stuff, as he called it. I smiled to myself. He’d have his camera to his eye, and just knowing that made everything more potent. I flicked my hip a little more, kind of my signature, set my feet, cheated a smidge to the right to adjust my line, hit the turn, paused, and sent a look somewhere into the audience just for him. Two hundred pairs of eyes on me and only his mattered. Because his made me better. His made me happy. His made me burn.

I swallowed hard. Oh . . . God. I loved him. I fucking loved him. I threw the pad and pen on the couch and crept back into the bedroom. I squatted on the floor beside him and brushed a disobedient twist of blond hair from his forehead. I drank in the angles of his face now soft in sleep, his smooth pale skin, and the way his full blush lips parted just a little with each breath. I smiled and tugged the covers over his bare shoulder and then fell on my bum and stared up at him. My heart beat against my ribs as I watched him sleep. I was definitely whole-heartedly, undeniably, and stupidly in love with him. While no one was watching . . . least of all me . . . I’d gone and fallen in love. Well . . . shit.

“It might be better for you to step back for a bit.” Hunter laughed, loud and hard, and it kind of shocked me. “Oh, is that right?” he mocked me, eyes narrowed on mine. “Well, that’s just too bad because I’m all in here, Alec. Read my lips. You and me? I’m. All. In. So you can take your might-be-better-for-you speech and shove it.” My eyes shot wide and I opened my mouth to say . . . who knew what . . . but Hunter barrelled right on. “I know.” He raised his palms. “It’s probably not the best time to tell you, but it’s how I feel. Let me be here for you, please. Tell me to back off if you need to. I don’t pretend I’m any good at this.” He hesitated, his eyes on mine, brown on blue, clear and present. “But I want to be, Alec. For you, I definitely want to be.”

Tui snorted and the line grew quiet. “But if you screw my best friend around like you did before, I’ll hunt you down and pen you up with my best bull who’ll use you like a glory hole.” Okay, then. Message received. I should’ve known Tui would know about my cock-up. “Um, okay? For the sake of my mental health, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, just so you know.”

“I want you, Hunter.” Alec kissed up the curve of my ear, his voice a hoarse whisper. “I want you in my head and not him. Ever since the lake, I can’t think of anything else. I need you on my skin and not him. I want you in me.” He kissed across the back of my head to the other ear. “I don’t want to argue if this is right or not. It feels right and that’s all I’ve got right now. Fuck me, Hunter. He might be in my head, but I want you to fuck him out of my body. Can you do that for me?” Was that a trick question? I dropped my head back and turned slightly so I could see him. “I’m not gonna argue with you. If that’s what you want, I’m your man.”

“I’m calling it an exorgasm.” I choked out a laugh. “Well, my head certainly spun. Perhaps they’ll make a movie. I bags Henri Cavill to play me.” “Then I get Chris Hemsworth.” He frowned. “Jesus, who’s gonna top out of those two?” My mind ran through the scenarios without any prompting. “Yeah, I’d pay good money to see that.”

“Mmm. I somehow think your best friend might’ve had something to say about his boyfriend going under the hammer for a date,” I teased. Rhys winced. “True. Who’d have thought Mister Pump and Dump had a sappy possessive streak lurking under all that crass fucking around. He’ll be baking cakes next.” I snorted. “I’ll tell him you said that. And I’ll have you know he’s actually very domestic.”