Page 30 of Shaken and Stirred (Bottle Service Boys #1)

Trevor snapped his glittery fingers. “That’s how I know you. I saw you perform a few weeks ago. You had the male lead in Romeo and Juliet, didn’t you?”

Corvin beamed. “I did.”

Trevor leaned closer, eyes bright. “You were fantastic. Took my breath away.”

“Thank you.” Corvin removed the lid from his salad with long, graceful fingers. “I worked my ass off for that role. Glad to know it paid off.”

“Yes, your ass did a spectacular job. I couldn’t look away.”

“Oh my God,” I muttered as Ryder laughed and Corvin turned pink. Trevor might be head over heels in love with Parker, but that didn’t stop him from flirting like his life depended on it with anyone who caught his eye.

“So, how do you two know each other?” Trevor went on.

Ryder laughed. “We met at a party freshman year, hooked up a few times, and have been friends ever since.”

My insides seized. They’d hooked up?

“Oh really?” Trevor said in an exaggerated tone. “How juicy.” He winked at Corvin, whose cheeks might have permanently turned pink, but Corvin didn’t notice Trevor’s flirty move. His attention remained on Ryder, and the sappy, puppy dog eyes he was giving had bile climbing in my throat.

He still wanted Ryder. Hell, he might be in love with the man whose dick I sucked last night. Thank God I hadn’t eaten much of my lunch, or I’d have thrown up for sure.

“Yeah,” Corvin said, almost breathless. “We’ve been really close ever since.”

The urge to lunge across the table and punch the guy in his lovesick face was nearly impossible to resist. I opened my mouth to say who-the-fuck-knew what, probably something that would make me sound like a psychopath, when a sharp pain blasted through my shin.

I grunted and stared across the table at Trevor, whose eyes narrowed at me. He shook his head once in a subtle movement meant only for my eyes.

I slumped back in my seat with my heart pounding an anxious staccato. Christ, what had I been about to do? Lay claim to Ryder? Tell Corvin to back the fuck off because Ryder was mine? The notion was so ridiculous I could barely think of it without laughing out loud.

Trevor saved me from humiliating myself.

I forced myself to avoid glancing at Ryder, but the restraint grew more challenging by the second.

Dozens of questions bounced around in my head. How was he after the drama with his father yesterday? Had they talked?

Do you still fuck Corvin?

I no longer felt the waves of tension flowing off him like yesterday.

Maybe he’d had a productive conversation with his father.

I was dying to ask, but I wouldn’t air his dirty laundry in front of Trevor and Corvin.

Plus, we weren’t friends. He’d probably find it weird if I checked in on his personal life.

Though what we’d done last night felt personal as hell.

Ugh, why had I crossed that line? I could write off blowing each other as nothing more than us trying to win a stupid bet, but the way I’d let him have at my dick after I sucked him off? I had no justification for that beyond wanting him to touch me and make me feel good.

Stupid.

As Trevor rambled on to Corvin, who kept sending heart-eyed looks Ryder’s way, my fists curled under the table, and I had to force my fingers to open.

I hadn’t punched someone since I was thirteen, when a kid at school insulted my sick mother.

It felt great at the time, but the ass-chewing she gave me afterward left me ashamed and promising I’d never use my fists to solve my problems.

And I hadn’t.

My gaze finally drifted left, and I found Ryder watching me. I sucked in a breath as the nerve endings in my skin came to life, tingling with awareness. I could almost feel the heavy weight of his gaze like a caress on my sensitive skin.

Or maybe that’s just what my subconscious wanted it to be.

I needed to get the hell out of there. But instead of standing and making an excuse to leave, I opened my big mouth. “So, uh, what are you up to today, Ryder?”

He cleared his throat. “Just finished up a meeting with my academic advisor for next semester. And this afternoon, I’m signing a lease on an apartment.”

“No shit?” The news overrode the bullshit in my head, and I grinned at Ryder, who nodded. “Well, congrats, man. That’s awesome news.”

“Thanks. Want to come with me? I can give you a tour.”

And we can get each other off again.

The unspoken words reverberated through my brain as loudly as a brass marching band.

Everyone not at our table disappeared. Trevor’s gleeful stare was palpable. My friend used every ounce of strength to avoid standing up and cheering us on. Corvin’s stare, on the other hand, burned into the side of my head—hot, jealous, and laden with heavy disappointment.

But I didn’t care. All I could think about was being alone in an apartment with Ryder, where I could get my hands on him and feel his on my bare skin.

Where I could make him come.

Again.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. I guess I can do that.”

Trevor snorted.

My hoodie and jeans went from keeping me comfortably warm to stifling me in a burning inferno. A bead of sweat rolled down the center of my back. If someone didn’t change the subject, I’d start panting and might hop up and hump his leg.

Ryder knew exactly what the offer did to me. He smirked the same arrogant grin I’d seen from him and hated countless times, and while it still had a profound effect on me, it no longer enraged me to the point of blind fury. Now it riled me up in a way that had my dick aching.

“I didn’t realize you’d found an apartment.” Corvin’s clipped tone had Ryder frowning his way. “I’d have been happy to join you if you wanted company.”

Over my dead body.

“Oh.” Ryder cleared his throat. “Shit, sorry, Corvin. I—”

“Actually,” Trevor broke in, flashing Corvin his most charming smile. “I was going to ask if I could get a tour of the university’s ballet studio after lunch.” He batted his eyelashes and scooted his chair close to Corvin, resting his hand on the other man’s arm.

“Yeah,” Corvin said. “I can do that.” He did a shitty job of erasing the disappointment from his face, and if Trevor had an actual interest in him instead of just taking one for the team, I’d hate the man even more.

“Yay,” Trevor said as he clapped. “I’m excited.” He pinned me with a you-owe-me-big-time look that had me chuckling.

I wasn’t sure if I should buy my friend a bottle of champagne for being a stellar wingman or slap him upside his head for enabling my toxic behavior.

The rest of the lunch crawled by in a too-slow blur of stolen glances at Ryder, insufficient blood flow to my brain, and a constant desire to donkey kick Corvin, whose mooning over Ryder bordered on pathetic.

Trevor kept the conversation flowing, drawing Corvin’s attention whenever his slobbering over Ryder became too obvious, while I reverted to one-word answers and grunts.

If I participated in the conversation, I’d have either blasted Corvin with a verbal assault or begged Ryder to leave now and feast on my cock for lunch instead of his panini.

I snuck another peek at Ryder to find him watching me. My tongue dried up at the heat in his eyes. They’d darkened until I almost couldn’t find the speck of green I’d become obsessed with.

I didn’t know what the hell we were doing besides playing with fire, but I did know one thing.

I was seriously fucked.