Page 7

Aiden

S ix freaking hours in a tin can flying through the air was not my definition of a good time. At least Joe had done his best to distract me by showing me random videos on his phone, and we had the added benefit of first class. The poor suckers in the back looked like sardines, while I had plenty of room. At one point, the flight attendant had tried to offer me a drink, only to ask for my ID. She gave me a sympathetic smile and said that at least I could drink once we landed.

Stepping off the plane was like stepping into another world. Things had still been cold and rainy back in Seattle. The weather didn’t normally improve until later in June, so the blast of slightly humid and warm air was welcome.

“You ready for this?”

I jumped as Joe’s hand landed on my shoulder, leading me to customs. Being in another country was such a trip. Would they ask me a million questions about my visit and how long I planned to be there? I had no idea what to expect.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” I swallowed around the nervous lump in my throat as we moved with the crowd through the airport. My passport felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket; I was stoked to get it stamped for the first time.

The line in customs moved quickly and when we approached the counter, I held out my passport. I was a little disappointed when the man took it, stamped it, and handed it back to me. That was it. There was no fanfare or hard questions. Why I thought there was more to it, I’ll never know.

Once we gathered our bags, we headed outside, and my whole body vibrated with excitement as Joe led me to a waiting vehicle.

“I hope you don’t mind. The hotel has this shuttle service, but I thought you’d appreciate a more scenic drive?”

I laughed at Joe’s hesitancy. “It’s not a problem. This is fucking awesome.” I was already itching to pull my camera out and take pictures, even if it was just the airport. Everything was so bright and colorful. You could see the ocean from the concourse and the bright blue waves were already calling to me.

Once we were situated in the car, I finally pulled my camera from its case as the driver pulled out into traffic. He started talking in rapid Spanish, but I didn’t mind that I couldn’t really understand him. It was all part of the experience.

My camera shutter clicked repeatedly as we passed resorts, shops, and bright green palm trees. People in all sorts of beach-going attire lined the streets, and I couldn’t wait to join them and explore everything. Spring break was in full swing and most of the people looked to be about my age as it was .

“So, this was a good idea?”

My smile burned my cheeks as I turned to Joe. “This was the best idea.” I turned back to the window, snapping a few more shots, and then turned in my seat to catch a few shots of Joe without him paying attention. He chuckled when he figured out what I was doing and shoved his hand in front of my lens.

“Stop that. You don’t want pictures of me. You want the sights. I didn’t bring you to take pictures of the ugly mug you see all the time.”

Butterflies exploded in my gut because here I was, alone, in a foreign country with the only person who held my interest. “But what if I don’t think it’s that ugly at all?”

My face heated at the admission and those laser-sharp blue eyes turned to me and stared so intensely. The piercing in Joe’s lip fed in and out of the hole a few times before Joe shook his head and looked back out his window. “Just watch the scenery, kid.”

It was a dismissal, and it stung. This may be my only chance to get somewhere with Joseph Bishop and I wouldn’t let the opportunity pass me by.

“ J esus, Joe. Was this necessary? ”

He laughed as I pushed into the room. It opened to a large space with a massive bed in the middle of the room. Palms were in large pots around the room and a sliding panel opened out to our own patio to the water. The waves lapping against the side of the bungalow were so soft, I’d sleep like a damn baby.

“Don’t sweat it. I said I wanted you to get the full experience, and I meant it.”

We stood in the middle of the room, the large palm leaf ceiling fan circulated the air around us and I wanted to address the elephant in the room: the way Joe had afforded all this. It was strange that a guy who wasn’t working a regular job and was living out of his sister’s basement could just drop money on something like this. I was a friend, sure, but this was... a lot.

“Joe?”

He tensed at my question but ignored me. He pulled his suitcase over to the closet and took his things out, hanging a few items before pulling out a pair of swim trunks.

“I’m thinking I want to see how warm the water is. What do you say?”

There was that damn tightening in my throat again, but if I was going to address the cost, I needed to rip the Band-Aid off.

“You mean I’ll get to see those piercings up close and personal?”

The only reason I’d known about them was because of the video. In the couple of years I’d known the guy, he’d never had his shirt off around me .

Those icy blue eyes were back on me. Fire raced down my neck and back. Joe studied me for a full minute before he pulled his shirt over his head and my eyes widened in shock. Was he changing in front of me? It wasn’t weird for two dudes to change in front of each other and Joe obviously didn’t seem to have a problem being close to me, if the one bed was any indication.

And damn, that chest. He stood there holding his shirt at his side as the silence stretched on between us. The only sound I could hear was the thudding of my own damn heart.

“Nathan tell you about them?” he finally asked, hand reaching up and rolling one barbell between his fingers.

Sweet God. I was going to pass out.

“N—no. I um... I know why you could pull this off.”

Joe tilted his head to the side, that dark black hair falling to cover his piercing gaze. “What exactly do you mean?”

I laughed awkwardly. It bubbled out of me, on the verge of sounding unhinged. “Don’t think I’m an idiot. No one just flies somebody first class to a fancy resort like this when they don’t have a job.” My palms began to sweat as I plowed on. I was all in. There was no taking it back; hopefully, it wouldn’t ruin our week together. “I found—I found the videos.”

The shirt dropped to the floor, and Joe threaded his fingers through his dark locks. “The videos?”

I let out a growl of frustration, yanking my phone from my pocket and marching over to him. Before I could back down, I had the stupid website up and there was no way to hide that I’d subscribed to his page. Maybe I wanted him to see. I shoved the phone in his face and Joe scrambled to catch it before it dropped to the floor.

He looked between me and the screen a few times before sighing. He clicked off the screen and handed it back to me.

“You haven’t—you haven’t told anyone, have you?”

Holy. Shit.

Joseph Bishop felt embarrassed about something.

“Not a soul. It’s not my business to tell, but Joe, everyone is going to wonder where the money is coming from, eventually. Especially when you want to do shit like this.” My arms waved wildly at the room.

That studying gaze was back. “So you saw the videos. Shit, Aiden. That didn’t freak you out? I brought you on a trip.”

I wanted to pull my hair out because it was like the guy was too dumb to figure it out.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t often say no when it involves you. For fuck’s sake, I kissed you.”

“Are you saying you have a thing for me, kid?”

If you held a piece of paper to my face, it would ignite. “Dammit. You’re going to make me say it.”

There was suddenly a devilish smirk on Joe’s face as he moved closer to me. I backed away a little. “Oh, you have no idea what you’re asking for, sweetheart. This is a terrible idea. We already discussed that.”

I held up my hands in surrender. “We’re here. For a whole week. What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico?”