Page 2 of The Hookup (Firsts and Forever #13)

Hal

If I hadn’t had that mini breakdown and spent two hours crying in my room, I probably wouldn’t have ended up in Las Vegas a few days later. I knew something had to give—not that I would have chosen such a drastic change of scenery on my own.

In the middle of the week, my housemate Embry announced he was going to marry some guy he’d just met. It was all for show, because the guy’s family wouldn’t give him his inheritance unless he was married. Pretty archaic if you asked me, but okay.

Our entire household went to meet this man, whose name was Bryson. We were the closest thing Embry had to a family, so all of us made a point of looking out for him.

It turned out the fake fiancé was a nice guy. He and Embry decided to get married that weekend in Las Vegas, and they invited all of us to join them. Bryson even offered to pay for our plane tickets and hotel rooms.

Four of my housemates already had plans, but my good friend Vee and I agreed to go along. Besides wanting to be there for Embry, I knew I was in desperate need of some time off, and how often did free trips fall into my lap?

It took a lot of begging and promises of future favors to convince my coworkers to trade shifts with me, but I managed to get the weekend off with short notice. So that Friday, four of us flew to Sin City, and Bryson checked us into a fancy hotel on the Strip.

It became obvious pretty quickly that Embry was bonding with this guy and didn’t need us to chaperone. In fact, it seemed like he and his pretend fiancé were starting to develop a crush on each other, even though Bryson had claimed he was straight.

Rather than hovering, Vee and I left them to get to know each other and went to check out our hotel’s casino.

I loved Vee. I really did, but we were very different people.

Anyone would know that just by glancing at us.

For the flight to Vegas, I’d dressed in black from head to toe—same as usual—with a fitted shirt and cropped pants, ankle boots, and a long cardigan.

Meanwhile, Vee had opted for a red mesh tank top, pink camo cargo shorts, and flip flops. That said it all, really.

Vee had come on this trip for two reasons. The first was to support Embry, because he truly cared about him. The second was to party his ass off.

A few seconds after setting foot in our hotel’s casino, he stuck a huge drink in my hand. Next, he promptly lost his entire fifty-dollar budget on one slot machine. He followed that up by hitting on five big, buff guys at once.

It turned out they were from Austin, Texas, and members of an all-gay rugby team. That made Vee’s eyes light up. It looked like he’d hit the jackpot after all.

They all seemed to be into him, and why not? Despite his questionable fashion choices, Vee was a handsome guy. He was South Asian with thick, black hair, a solid build, eyelashes to die for, and a radiant smile. He was also incredibly outgoing and could strike up a conversation with anyone.

The guys all went by muscle bro nicknames, stuff like Tank, Hulk, and Goliath.

One guy might have been called Swolio, but maybe I misheard it.

Vee flirted with each of them equally, so I had to wonder if my friend was planning on spending the evening getting passed around like a joint at a Phish concert.

Not that I was judging. If that was what he wanted, more power to him. I’d even be willing to go out and find him fifty gallons of lube and a truckload of condoms.

The rugby dudes decided to hang out with us, and we met up with Embry and Bryson for a few drinks at one of the hotel bars. Later on, we all piled into cabs and relocated to a very loud, crowded gay nightclub.

It turned out there were over a dozen guys on the rugby team. They kept trickling in as the evening progressed. I nursed a drink and tried to be social, dancing with them when they asked and trying my best to smile and seem like I was happy to be there.

In truth though, I didn’t like crowds, noise, or getting hit on every sixty seconds.

The guys on the team were actually very respectful and quickly got the message that I wasn’t interested in any of them.

But it seemed like every other guy in the club felt the need to shoot his shot.

It was overwhelming and made me uncomfortable, so the more men that hit on me, the quicker I shut them down.

I was probably doing this wrong, though. After all, I was here to have fun, and a few hours with a hot guy might be just what I needed.

It had been a while since I’d had sex. Too long, possibly. There were plenty of men in this club to choose from. I just needed that initial spark of attraction, even for a one-night stand.

But as the evening wore on, I started to think all I really wanted was a long, hot shower, a pair of cozy pajamas, and my own, quiet hotel room. And something to eat. Fuck, I was really hungry. I hadn’t eaten all day.

I looked around for my friends, so I could tell them I was leaving.

After a moment, I spotted Embry and Bryson out on the dance floor.

They were physical opposites—Embry was a tiny blond, while Bryson was a tall, stocky brunet.

I thought they looked cute together, and they were clearly having a great time.

Embry was laughing and doing the robot, while Bryson was trying to prove he really was straight with some truly awkward dance moves.

As I slid out of our booth and picked up my cardigan, one of the rugby players shouted, “Hey, Rock is here!”

They all began buzzing with excitement. It was a much bigger reaction than they’d had with anyone else who’d joined us, so I asked, “Who’s Rock?”

“Our team captain, and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet,” a guy nicknamed Crash told me. “He doesn’t like crowded nightclubs, so he usually doesn’t join us when we go out. I wonder what made him change his mind.”

“I’m pretty sure I did.” Tank, a redhead with a beard, looked smug. “I sent him the group photo we took earlier. I figured that would entice him, and it obviously worked like a charm.”

Crash frowned. “Why would that make a difference? He knows what we look like when we’re drunk, and it’s hardly a cause for FOMO.”

Tank rolled his eyes. “No shit. But the picture included our hot new friend.”

I didn’t assume he meant me, because I’d been about as interesting as a bowl of soggy corn flakes.

That had to cancel out any surface-level hotness.

Was he hoping to set his team captain up with Vee?

He was hot, no doubt about it. He could have meant Embry, too.

They knew he was about to get fake-married to a straight guy, so maybe they thought he needed one last night of fun.

Not that he’d be interested, since he’d been glued to Bryson all day.

I turned to take a look at who they were talking about. When I spotted him, I murmured, “Yes, please.”

The man heading toward us was tall and muscular, with dark hair and a short, neatly trimmed beard.

He was exceptionally handsome, and there was unmistakable confidence in his stride, but his open, friendly expression told me right away that he wasn’t arrogant.

His clothes said a lot about him, too. He was dressed down in jeans and a T-shirt, topped off with an unbuttoned flannel shirt.

That suggested someone who was comfortable in his own skin and didn’t feel the need to impress anyone. I liked that.

There were plenty of hot guys in the club, but he didn’t look at any of them.

Instead, his gaze was locked on me as he made his way through the crowd, and it never wavered.

A flutter of anticipation ran through me.

Finally, he came to a stop right in front of me, and a smile lit up his face. Damn, now he was even more attractive.

I was five-eleven, and closer to six-two with the heels on my boots, but I still had to tilt my head up to look into his warm, brown eyes. “Hi, I’m Ryder,” he said. “I’m here to rescue you.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “From what?”

He gestured at his friends without taking his eyes off of me. “That group of chuckleheads. They sent me a photo, and it looked like this was the very last place in the world you wanted to be.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I told him, “Your teammates are very nice.”

“They are. They told me your name is Hal. Is that right?” When I nodded, he asked, “Would you like to go somewhere much quieter than this and get a cup of coffee with me, Hal?”

“Absolutely.”

He took the sweater from my hands and held it up for me. After I slipped it on and turned back to him, he said, “You must get tired of hearing this, but you really are extraordinarily beautiful.”

“I like hearing that when the right guy says it.”

“Am I the right guy?”

“You just might be.”

There was that wide, genuine smile again. He offered me his arm, and after I linked mine with his, he called to his friends, “See ya, boys.”

They seemed surprised. “You’re leaving already?”

His tone was light and playful as he told them, “I got what I came for.”

Before heading to the door, I led us on a detour and found Embry on the dance floor.

When I asked him if he was doing okay, he assured me, “I’m fine.

I stopped drinking about two hours ago. Bryson’s pretty tipsy though, so I’m going to call a cab in a few minutes and get us back to the hotel.

” He glanced at my companion and asked me, “Who’s your friend? ”

“Embry and Bryson, meet Ryder. He’s the captain of the rugby team. We’re going to head out, but first I wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything.”

Bryson’s dark hair was disheveled, and he seemed confused. He patted his pockets and mumbled, “I can’t find my glasses.” Embry grinned as he plucked them off Bryson’s face and handed them to him. His fake fiancé put the glasses back on and slurred, “You’re so awesome. For real. Like, so awesome.”

I asked Embry, “You sure you’ve got this?”