Page 8

Chapter Eight

Tobias

I shouldn’t be fucking with him the way I am, but I can’t help it.

He’s too easy—in so many ways. I’ve dated many guys, but most of them are well aware they like guys and I’m just their secret.

I date women too, of course, but only for the money.

There is something about the way Theo reacts to me.

The way he’s so intrigued by me. So curious.

The way his body responds to my touch. How shy he is, but how badly he wants this.

It’s dangerous. Especially since he’s engaged.

I need to remember that. Not only for myself, but for his fiancée.

Cheating is a huge no-no in my book. Not only because I’ve been cheated on, but it hits me on a deeper level than that.

I shouldn’t have eluded to him cheating on his fiancée to see if he likes men, but I was trying to give him advice I thought would help him.

Cheating is never okay, so hopefully he’ll break up with her first.

“What time do you have to be home?” I ask when we’re back at our table, full drinks in our hands.

He frowns at me. “I don’t have a curfew.”

“Fiancée won’t be waiting up for you?”

“We don’t live together.”

Hm… well, that’s interesting. I raise a brow in question .

“Our parents are old-fashioned and don’t want us living together until we’re married.”

That’s fucking weird. He’s an adult and still listens to his parents? Whatever. I’m not here to judge, just here to make money and have some fun.

“So, if you have so much freedom, why haven’t you just taken someone home?”

I’m not sure why I’m broaching this subject.

I shouldn’t take him home or let him take me home or even let him think he has a chance to take me home.

It’s bad for so many reasons. Not only because I’m not supposed to but because he’s engaged, and this is a mess waiting to happen.

All I need is some scorned future wife to start harassing me.

It happened to me once before, a few years ago.

Foxy had to get a restraining order on her because she was fucking with the entire company.

I don’t like lying, but I had to lie to Foxy and say I didn’t sleep with the guy.

That his fiancée saw us on a date and got pissed.

Sleeping with clients is too risky, and not worth it. Most of the guys aren’t even good lays.

“Because I…” He pauses, looking at his drink before taking a sip. “I don’t know how to be with a guy.”

I’ve never dealt with that issue because I was young when I had my first time with a guy and a girl, and so I wasn’t worried about it.

No one knew what they were doing. I get the anxiety around it at his age, though.

At this point in life, you're expected to know it all when it comes to sex. It's not fair.

“What part are you worried about?” I get more comfortable in my seat. The music is still loud around us, most of the people dancing their hearts away, but my full attention is on Theo .

“All of it?” he says with a laugh. “Fuck, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but… with Marianne? She always takes control, and so I don’t have to really worry about it.”

“Why do you think it would be different with a guy?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Honestly, I have no idea. I guess I’m also worried about freaking out in the middle of it and them thinking I’m a spazz.”

I chuckle, nodding. “Yeah, I’ve experienced a few of those.”

“Seriously?” he asks, looking shocked.

“Sure, it happens. In the moment, I thought they were a spazz , but after thinking about it, I figured they were just nervous.” I take another sip of my drink.

“Just because I’m out, I know not everyone is.

This is a scary world for this community and especially for a lot of men. I’m not here to judge.”

He finishes his drink, then puts the glass down as he gets up. He moves in front of me, leaning over me and putting his hands on the back of the booth to cage me in.

“Let’s go dance?” he asks in this low voice that’s pretty damn sexy and came out of nowhere.

But I like it.

I smirk. “You sure you wanna do that?” I ask, dipping my eyes to his pants, where his dick is still raging hard. Good for him for still hanging on to that.

“You going to be mad if I come in my pants?” he asks with a lopsided smile. Obviously he's drunk.

I bark out a laugh as my insides warm. “I’ll take it as a compliment.”

He stands up straight, offering me his hand. “Then let’s go.”

I take the last sip of my drink before putting the glass down and taking his hand. We dance until the club closes. He doesn’t come in his pants—I make sure of it.

“Oh my God, this is so good!” Theo moans around another bite of his hot dog.

“It’s good because you’re drunk.”

“ You’re drunk,” he responds around chewing his food, eyes closed.

We’re both definitely drunk. Which is how we ended up at The Dogg getting shitty hot dogs at three am. It’s a chilly night, but I hardly feel it with the alcohol running through my veins. It's been a long time since I got drunk like this. The kind of drunk that you feel and remember and have fun.

“Fine, we’re both drunk. Where do you live?” I ask.

“Center.”

I think about that for a moment. “Isn’t that by the diner that burned down?”

He nods, taking the last bite of his food. “A few blocks.”

“I’m not too far from there. We can share a ride home?”

“Home sounds good,” he mumbles, wiping his hands with the messy napkin. I roll my eyes, pulling another from my pocket and handing it to him. “How ridiculous do we look right now?” he asks with a chuckle.

I finish my hot dog. “What do you mean?”

“Look at us. We don’t look like we belong walking around down here at three am, drunk.” He gestures down his body.

He’s right. We’re dressed up and don’t look the type. Usually it's the younger kids out here drunk around this time.

“I don’t care what people think about me,” I say.

“People say that, but deep down, they always do. ”

“No, I actually don’t.”

“Hard to believe.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I don’t care what you think.”

He laughs, pulling out his phone. “I’m paying for the car since you wouldn’t let me buy drinks.”

“Fine. But you did buy my meal.”

“And three hours with you, yet… here we are ten hours later.”

“Yeah, here we are,” I say as we come to a stop in front of a closed bookstore.

His focus is on his phone, nose red from the cold. A breeze blows by, fluttering his light brown hair. The sides are shaved neatly down, while the top is a bit longer. A good length to grab onto, if I had to guess. Not that I should be thinking about that, but…

I shove my hands into my coat pockets, hunching my shoulders to stay warm. If I don't keep my limbs busy, I may reach for him. When he finishes on his phone, he looks up at me, surprise crossing his face when he sees me watching him. It quickly turns into a smile.

“What?” he asks carefully.

“You know you’re hot as fuck, right?”

He laughs nervously as he puts his phone in his pocket. “Uh, what?”

“You are,” I say. “And I’m not saying this only because you’re hot, but because I’m a good person and I care.”

“Okay…”

“You need to do whatever it is you need to do to be happy.” Fuck, that was a mouthful. “Stop worrying about what people think. Don’t do this for anyone else. It’s your life, man. You’re in charge of your happiness.”

A slight frown falls over his lips, and his eyes get all sad.

I hate having to ruin the night like this, but it’s important for him to know this.

I feel like no one has ever said this sort of thing to him before.

He’s probably been told his whole life to do as he’s told and not question anyone or anything.

I don’t like that. Maybe I’ll never see this guy again, so I need to say this now.

Maybe my words won’t be enough to make him change his life’s path, but maybe they will.

Maybe they’ll stick with him. Just maybe my words are enough to make him choose happiness over misery.