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OLLIE

Ollie sunk into the couch cushions and had another sip of beer. There were worse things to do on a Saturday evening than sit around with a hottie like Dante while Harper’s equally attractive boyfriend cooked dinner.

Dante sat beside Ollie. He could totally wrap Ollie up with those strong arms. All Ollie needed to do was get a little closer… He bit back the urge.

Stick to harmless flirting, not cuddling, geez .

“Tell me more about the shearwaters.” Ollie rested a hand on Dante’s forearm. He couldn’t help himself. The contact sent a shiver through him, and his pulse spiked.

He withdrew his hand. Holy shit, his blood was rushing south from one little touch. He crossed his legs, doing his best to ignore the beginnings of arousal.

Dante’s dark gaze lingered on Ollie’s hand. He had the most gorgeous eyes. His irises were a dynamic black, deep and inky, with the darkest brown flecks. His attention was ten times more intense than anyone Ollie had met.

“The shearwater population here is unique. Most of the species migrate across the globe, but not the individuals here.” Dante ran a large hand through his curly black hair. “I could go on, though it’s not always the most interesting topic.” He gave a tiny, almost shy smile.

It wasn’t fair for a man like Dante to be bashful. It made him more attractive, and he needed no help. Dante was at least six feet of lean muscle. His simple T-shirt stretched across his toned chest. And fuck, Ollie was picturing all the perfect brown skin and black chest hair that lay beneath.

The last time Dante had been at his and Harper’s apartment, Dante hadn’t been wearing a shirt.

It’d been weird because Ash hadn’t had a shirt on either, but that was the day Ollie had learned his roommate had escaped a satanic cult, so he’d been too distracted to ask why everyone was walking around half-dressed.

Some guys used any excuse to strip down and show off, but Ollie didn’t get that impression from Dante. Or Ash.

“I think conservation is interesting,” Ollie said. “How could it not be? We should care about how we impact the planet and all the animals.”

Dante beamed. “I agree.” He seemed so pleased Ollie was showing interest in the local seabirds.

It was fucking adorable.

Ollie’s phone chimed. That stupid app, going by the sound. Damn, he should have silenced it. He didn’t even want to check the notification. Hooking up with his latest match had lost all its appeal.

That guy had nothing on Dante, who had launched into an explanation of shearwater mating habits and how most flocks migrate to the Southern Hemisphere, of all places.

Dante was smart and hot. And probably not a total dick. Ash was too much of a softie to have an asshole best friend. He lived to spoil Harper, and Ollie supported it one hundred percent .

The more Ollie learned about Harper, the more he wanted to wrap the guy in bubble wrap and destroy anyone who’d been mean to him. But Ash seemed to have that covered. He was a good guy, and Ollie was only letting good people into his life from now on.

He’d had more than enough of assholes.

Too bad he couldn’t always sniff out the shitty people when looking for casual hookups. The whole point was not getting to know anyone, and for short encounters, it worked. There wasn’t much time to be a dick.

But fuck, some of the messages he’d gotten were rude.

Dante, on the other hand, seemed considerate. Okay, shit, it went beyond that. He looked at Ollie like he’d discovered gold, and there was nothing like a little ego boost, even if nothing would happen between them.

“I can’t believe they usually fly to the other side of the world to mate,” Ollie said as Dante paused in explaining the intricacies of the sooty shearwater.

Dante chuckled. “Too much effort?”

“Maybe.” Ollie shrugged. Animals did go through a lot to bone.

“I don’t know. I’m sure it’s worth it.” Dante’s lips twitched, and he averted his eyes.

Why was that suggestive? Excitement fluttered in Ollie’s chest, but he tamped it down.

Dante cleared his throat. “Anyway. Sorry. I’m babbling.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Ollie nudged Dante’s arm playfully with his elbow.

Dante was too cute. If Ollie had randomly met him at a party or a bar he’d make a move, but Dante wasn’t random. Harmless flirting was one thing. Hooking up with one of Harper’s very committed boyfriend’s friends was bound to get messy.

And that was a world of not worth it .

Dante was probably boyfriend material, all committed like Ash, and casual sex was it for Ollie. He was not looking for a relationship or anything remotely resembling one.

Not even with someone like Dante.

Dante returned to the couch with two more drinks, handing one to Ollie. “Where did you live before coming to Shearwater Landing?”

Ollie shifted, turning sidewise, facing Dante but putting himself farther away than before. “Not far from here. About two hours inland.”

Dante seemed to take this random detail seriously, nodding like it made sense.

Ollie didn’t get it.

Dante’s focus hadn’t wavered, even after exhausting the shearwater talk. The attention was nice, but it was starting to feel like Ollie was on a date.

Ollie hadn’t considered the potential double date vibes when he’d told Harper to invite Ash’s friend. Maybe he should have.

Dante smiled and took a sip of his drink. “Have you always lived that close to the city, or did you move around with your family?”

Ollie shifted, trying to get comfortable again. “I’ve never lived anywhere else.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“No, I’m an only child.” Ollie’s insides twisted. Why so many questions? This was really date-like behavior, right?

But this wasn’t a date. It wasn’t. Ollie wasn’t okay with it turning into one and didn’t want to explain that to Dante. He shouldn’t have to .

“Sorry.” Dante’s brow furrowed. “Do you not like talking about your past or your family?”

“Um…” Ollie squirmed. “No, it’s fine. It’s not very interesting. I don’t have family drama or anything.”

“That’s good. I can’t say the same, but it’s all old news.”

Great, now they were talking about their families. Why couldn’t they talk about meaningless fluff, flirt like it was nothing, and have fun? Why did this have to feel like it was turning into something?

Or was that all in Ollie’s head?

He needed to stay centered. Be rational. These were all normal things to chat about. It didn’t necessarily mean anything. There was no reason to freak out, but not knowing Dante’s intentions twisted Ollie up inside.

It was okay for Dante to want to get to know him, as long as Dante didn’t have some hidden agenda or think it was going to get him more than friendship.

Ollie could see that Dante was probably just being friendly. In which case, this was good. Ollie didn’t have to be on edge. All he had to do was chill the fuck out. Act like he had when Dante first walked in the door.

Maybe a little less flirty, to be on the safe side. He hadn’t meant to get so carried away, touching and looking at Dante so obviously.

Ollie’s phone chimed again, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Sorry, let me get this.”

Dante sipped his drink. “Sure thing.”

Ollie unlocked his phone.

There were two messages from the guy he’d been talking to that day. And…one was a dick pic. Ollie’s cheeks heated. At least the phone was angled so Dante couldn’t see.

The guy wanted a picture in return. Ollie paused. He had an album of ready-to-send shots but closed the app without replying.

He silenced his phone and put it away, not sure why. He wouldn’t hook up with Dante, so why not stick to his plan of lining something up for later tonight?

Swearing off relationships after his last one blew up was the right thing to do, but Ollie hadn’t sworn off sex, and getting laid whenever he wanted, with whomever he wanted, had seemed like the dream. Until it hadn’t.

The hookup scene kind of sucked and had left a sour taste in Ollie’s mouth for a while, forcing him to realize he liked being emotionally connected to his sexual partners. But what Ollie liked wasn’t good for him.

He was drawn to men who didn’t want to let him go, and not in a good way. Two toxic relationships in a row and a situationship with someone who used him were enough to make him glad to be single. Even if he ended up having less sex than he wanted, it was better than the alternative.

Relationships were a breeding ground for manipulative behavior. Ollie needed to be his own person, have his own life, and not disappear into someone else’s world. His stomach still cramped whenever his mind strayed to his college boyfriend.

At least he’d gotten out. He’d even started putting his life back together. But he’d still wanted a relationship and had fallen into something just as bad before he could blink.

So he wasn’t falling into anything again.

Ollie set his drink on the coffee table. “I’ll be right back.” He jumped up and disappeared into the bathroom.

Taking out his phone, Ollie selected a picture and sent it to the guy. The shot showed the tops of his thighs, his hand fisted around his hard cock, and his tidy manscaping, with the top of the frame cutting off above his belly button.

The message went to read almost instantly. Then, a notification popped up saying the user had blocked him.

Fuck.

Ollie closed the app and gritted his teeth. He hated this.

He deleted the app from his phone and opened his favorite social media, scrolling through his feed until a post made him smile.

Screw that guy. Ollie liked how he looked. He wasn’t ripped, but so what? He didn’t hate his soft stomach or wish he had a different body. Fuck any guy who didn’t agree. They didn’t deserve to touch him.

Ollie liked a post and scrolled on.

The evening had started off so promising. Now, all he wanted to do was hide in his room.

Ollie left the bathroom and grabbed his drink from the coffee table. Harper was busy chatting with Dante, and for a second, Ollie felt like he was being pulled back to the couch by a magnet. Like he needed to be near Dante.

His pulse picked up.

That was a dangerous fucking reaction, and Ollie didn’t trust it.

He pretended not to notice how Dante’s attention found him as soon as he entered the room and slipped into the kitchen without interrupting Harper.

Ollie leaned against the counter. “What are you making?” he asked Ash.

“Stuffed mushrooms and French onion chicken.” A timer beeped, and Ash added a second tray to the oven, checking the one already in there. He straightened and pulled off his oven mitts. “Oh, and a salad.”

“You really like cooking, don’t you?”

Ash grinned. “I like when Harper eats my food. But the process is actually quite relaxing. I haven’t found a recipe I can’t conquer for him.”

Ollie snorted into his drink. “Oh my god, you’re so cute with Harper. It’s sickening.”

Ash laughed. “Don’t care.”

Ollie loved that Ash didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought. Ollie tried to be like that, but he was mostly faking it.

He glanced back at Harper and Dante. “Harper hasn’t had any more issues with that cult his family was in, right?”

“No.” Ash frowned, his eyes weirdly intense. It honestly looked a little scary. “They’ve left him alone.”

“Good.” Ollie grabbed an olive off the cutting board and popped it in his mouth.

Harper and Ash’s relationship had moved worryingly fast. Ollie’s relationships always moved fast. He’d been consumed from the get-go, letting his boyfriends’ lives overtake his until there was nothing left, too wrapped up in the honeymoon phase to see the red flags.

But Ash and Harper weren’t like that. Harper hung around the apartment with Ollie as much as before, spent time with Ollie without Ash, and seemed to have plenty of independent activities. From what Ollie could see, Ash was building Harper up rather than trying to change his life or take it over.

It was proof relationships weren’t always bad, but Ollie knew that already. It didn’t mean he was willing to risk getting involved in something. Being his own person was more important than having a partner.

And sex was overrated anyway.