Just Chance
Page 23
Frankie’s spent cock tried to revive itself, but no. Still, watching Hawk was almost as good as coming himself. Especially as Hawk milked the last of his pleasure onto the floor and then looked up at Frankie like Frankie was everything.
It almost made Frankie dizzy.
He reached down to steady himself, using Hawk’s broad shoulders for support, and smiled when Hawk raised up, pressing their sticky, spent bodies together.
“You,” Hawk said, then just shook his head and kissed Frankie again.
Frankie grinned even wider. The kiss was enough. The whole unexpected visit was enough.
“I guess it’s a good thing we did that before we started cleaning the place up for the night,” Hawk finally said, grinning as he pulled away a little and then pressed his lips against Frankie’s again to whisper, “You sort of made a mess here.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that was you,” Frankie said, laughing and feeling… everything. “But it would’ve been worth having to clean again, for sure.”
Hawk leaned back and nodded as he looked into Frankie’s eyes. “Mhm, I don’t feel too bad about it, to be honest.”
“Me, neither.” Frankie nibbled at his lip as he let his eyes roam over Hawk’s nearly-naked body. The man was mouth-watering, and even though Frankie should have needed way more recovery time than the few minutes they’d been kissing, the sight of him—or maybe it was all those things Frankie was pretty sure he was feeling for the man—had his cock already perking up again.
“Uh-oh,” Hawk teased, leaning in close and stealing another kiss. “That look in your eyes… tell me what you’re thinking, baby, because I’m pretty sure I’m going to like it.”
Frankie grinned. “I was thinking… maybe we could do that again? You know, since we haven’t started cleaning up yet, and I didn’t get a turn…”
Hawk laughed, the sound making something warm and fuzzy and amazing bubble up inside Frankie. “Yeah, babe,” he said, cupping Frankie’s cheek and looking at him with a mixture of heat and something else. Something kind of wonderful. “That sounds like a really good idea,” Hawk added in a husky voice. Then he winked, “But we’ll have to be quick if we don’t want to give the pizza guy an accidental show.”
Frankie let his hands roam over Hawk’s gorgeous body, tracing the lines of his muscles down from his shoulders, to his chest, to his abs… then reaching even lower. “I guess we’d better get started, then,” he said, his hand wrapping around Hawk’s still-hard cock and feeling a hot thrill shoot through him at the bliss that washed over Hawk’s face.
“Good?” Frankie teased, tightening his grip and adding a little twist at the top as he stroked upward.
Hawk nodded, rocking his body against Frankie’s and capturing his mouth in a hot kiss that was all the answer Frankie needed.
Yeah, Frankie would definitely skip cleaning and pizza and anything else for this.
For this man.
For this moment.
For this incredible fantasy that he got to actually live out every day. The one he’d thought was just a dream… then just temporary… but that now he was starting to believe he might just get a chance to hold onto.
Maybe, just maybe, even hold onto forever.
Chapter 23
Hawk
Hawk leaned back on the bed and rested his head against the pillow while he held the phone to his ear. He’d been going non-stop since he’d arrived in New York the day before, and he’d barely even had time to tap out a few quick texts to Frankie before passing out last night.
He wasn’t going to let that happen again tonight, though. Even though he was planning on leaving first thing in the morning to head back to Bridgewater, Hawk didn’t want to go to sleep again without a dose of that happy sunshine feeling that he could only get from hearing Frankie’s voice.
“Are you having fun there?” Frankie asked, his sing-song voice coming through the phone’s speaker so clearly that Hawk could close his eyes and almost convince himself that Frankie wasn’t actually hundreds of miles away.
“Not as much fun as I’d like to be having,” he answered, smiling just because… Frankie. Then letting his voice go low, he added, “Not as much fun as I’d have if you were here with me.”
“I wish I was there… having fun.” Frankie was starting to sound a little breathless, but he cleared his throat and took a moment before continuing in a more subdued tone, “It’s been so busy here, I’ll be lucky to get a day off at all this week. Ethan and Jack are back, though, so it’s been fun catching up with them. I’ll have to show you some of the pictures Ethan took. It’s so pretty out on the island where they were. I can’t even imagine seeing it in person.”
Hawk smiled. “Someday, babe.”
“What do you…” Frankie’s breath hitched, and he decided not to press it, in case Hawk meant something different than what Frankie thought he’d heard. “You’re coming back tomorrow, though, right? In time for the Flower Face-off at noon?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Hawk said, looking forward to it a hell of a lot more than some of the big publicity events he’d just had to gut out here in New York. It didn’t matter how low-key an event was, if he was going to be there with Frankie, that automatically elevated it to a special occasion. “I can even help you clean up again when it’s over, if you want.”
Hawk grinned as he heard Frankie suck in a sharp breath on the other end of the line, no doubt remembering the last time Hawk had used that excuse to see Frankie just a few days before. Damn, that had been hot.
“That sounds like a really good idea,” Frankie said, his voice so full of hope and longing that Hawk could perfectly picture the heat in his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t wanna just come back tonight and maybe… get a head-start on that?”
Hawk’s cock stirred, both from the memory of exchanging blow jobs in the flower shop’s office and from the way Frankie’s tone had gone from innocent to sexy in a heartbeat.
“Do you know how tempting that is?” Hawk shoved a hand back through his hair as he actually considered calling the airport to see if there was a way he could bump up his flight. But no. He really was exhausted, and he was going to need some energy tomorrow if he was going to last all day—and all night—with Frankie. “I should probably get some sleep tonight, though, before you talk me out of it.”
Frankie laughed, and Hawk could just picture the broad smile on his cute face.
“Well, I’ll let you go then,” Frankie said. “But only for the sake of having you at a hundred percent tomorrow. Otherwise… I might still try to tempt you.”
“Okay,” Hawk said, doing his best to stifle a yawn. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Have a good night, babe.”
Hawk was still smiling as he hung up the phone. No matter what else might be going on, there had never been a time when talking to Frankie hadn’t made things just a little bit better, just a little bit brighter.
He loved that about him.
Just like he loved… everything about Frankie.
He sighed and looked at the clock, tempted. If it wasn’t already so late, he really would’ve tried harder to get back to Bridgewater that night, just to have had a few more hours with the man who chance had brought into his life, and who had—unexpectedly—become his everything.
Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
Reluctantly, he rolled out of the surprisingly comfortable bed just long enough to get undressed and turn off the lights, then climbed between the sheets and rolled over, trying not to think about how nice it would’ve been to roll over and kiss Frankie. To have the firm warmth of his body next to him as he drifted off to sleep.
To know that Frankie would be there when he woke up, too.
It was really a little bit crazy how often the man crossed Hawk’s thoughts. Crazy… and new. Hawk had had his share of hookups, but there were also a few men in his past who had been more than that. More than hookups, but still, not… this. Not the last thing he thought about as he fell asleep ea
ch night. Not the one thing guaranteed to add sunshine to his day.
But… maybe that’s what being in love was all about.
Hawk smiled, pulling one of the extra pillows against his side as he let that idea roll around in his mind for a few. There was a time it would have sent him running in the opposite direction as fast as possible, but now… yeah, no. Running was the last thing he wanted to do. And now that he’d let the thought in, there was really no denying that he did love Frankie. His grin grew wider and he pushed away the pillow—a poor substitute for what he wanted at his side—and folded his hands under his head to stare up at the dark ceiling.
Hawk Hawkins was in love, and every day that he knew Frankie, that condition only got worse.
The phone rang, and he laughed, figuring it was probably Frankie calling through some kind of weird psychic love connection—but a quick glance at the screen of his phone once he rolled over and grabbed it was enough to cancel out that surge of happiness.
“Hey, Corbin,” Hawk greeted his agent once he’d swiped the answer button, trying not to sound as irritated as he felt—just as much for being disturbed so late as for the fact that it wasn’t actually Frankie. That last wasn’t Corbin’s fault, though, so he took a breath and tried to temper his tone, adding, “Can I call you back in the morning? I was almost asleep.”
“Don’t worry,” Corbin said, his tone all-business. “This won’t take long.”
Hawk rolled his eyes, but didn’t hang up on the man the way he was almost tempted to. He knew from experience that it would be easier just to hear him out than to put him off. Still, the idea of hanging up now and apologizing later…
“Okay,” Hawk said, not giving in to temptation. He exhaled slowly to avoid prolonging things by letting Corbin hear his irritated sigh, and asked, “What’s up?”
“Just a quick heads-up that I’m going to need you to stay here in New York for another day or two,” the man said briskly, not framing it as a request—of course. “I’ve already rescheduled your flight and arranged for you to keep the same room at your hotel. You’ll just need to—”
“Wait, what?” Hawk interrupted, bolting upright in the bed. Sure, he was exhausted, but nor so tired that he could have mistaken the fact that Corbin was trying to throw a wrench in his plans. That wasn’t going to happen.
An impatient sigh sounded on the other end of the line in response to Hawk’s outburst. “I said—”
“I know what you said,” Hawk cut him off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And the answer is no.”
“Hawk—”
“No, Corbin. I’m going home tomorrow. My flight leaves first thing in the morning, and if you’ve fucked with that, you’d better get right back on the phone with your travel people to unfuck that.”
On the other end of the line, Corbin sighed again, as if he was the one who had a right to run out of patience. “Your new flight doesn’t leave until Sunday,” he replied, speaking slowly, as if he was trying to explain something simple to someone too slow to get it. Fucking condescending prick. “The owners will be in town tomorrow, and I’ve arranged for a press conference and then for you to have dinner with them. It’ll be a very select group of people, Hawk. I’m sure I don’t even need to tell you how important this is.”
“I don’t care,” Hawk snapped. “I don’t want to do it. I have another obligation tomorrow.”
“No, you don’t,” Corbin said coldly.
“Frankie—”
“Oh, that,” Corbin interrupted, spitting out the last word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. “That… flower thing? I saw that on your calendar, Hawk, but I’ve already called your little boyfriend and canceled. I’m not sure how he talked you into agreeing to that waste of time, but I figured you wouldn’t want to be the bad guy, so I took care of it for you. Just a perk of having someone like me in your corner.”
Hawk was so angry that, at first, he couldn’t speak. He opened his mouth and then closed it again without any words coming out. He wasn’t sure what pissed him off more—the fact that Corbin thought he could just steamroll Hawk until he got his way, the fact that he had actually called Frankie to cancel plans that Hawk had made, or the fact that he actually thought Hawk should thank him for it.
“It’s not a matter of being the bad guy,” Hawk finally said, his voice purposely low and quiet. If he didn’t exercise every bit of self-control he possessed, he was going to lose it. He was going to yell. He was going to say things that he might end up regretting. “It’s the principle, Corbin. I made plans with Frankie to do something that is important to him—something that, by extension, is important to me, too. I can’t just back out at the last minute. I won’t do it.”
“Dammit, Hawk,” Corbin snapped, huffing loudly into the phone and clearly not nearly as worried as Hawk had been about exercising self-control. “Will you listen to yourself? You sound ridiculous. This is business. Your career. You know? That thing that you hired me to help you with, even though you keep doing your best to fuck it up? Do you remember, Hawk?”
Hawk stood up and started pacing next to his bed. He didn’t give one single shit that he was naked. He didn’t care that it was way too late at night. He just knew that if he didn’t burn off some of the pent-up aggression he was feeling right-the-fuck now, he might be in serious risk of putting his fist through the wall.
“Fuck that,” Hawk growled. And fuck you, too. “You’ve gone too far this time, Corbin. You need to fix this. Now.”
“It’s done.” Corbin’s voice was amazingly calm, as if he legitimately hadn’t heard a word Hawk had just said. Too calm, really. “Do you hear me, Hawk? It’s done. I’ve made the calls, I’ve changed the plans. It. Is. Done.” A deep breath sounded, and then he continued, “Now all that’s left is for you to do the right thing and show up where you’re supposed to be tomorrow. Where you need to be, if you want me to be able to keep you on the Falcon’s starting lineup this fall.”
Hawk couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In all the years he’d worked with Corbin, he’d never had to go up against the man like this. Sure, there had been times Hawk had disagreed with Corbin’s tactics, but Hawk had always been happy with the results.
Not this time, though.
Not even close.
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” Hawk shook his head, even though Corbin wasn’t there to see it. “But I’ll have to deal with you later. Right now I’ve just gotta fix this fucking mess.”
“You’re not going to disappoint me, Hawk.” All the calmness had left Corbin’s voice. He was yelling loudly enough for Hawk to get every word, even after he took the phone away from his ear. “I refuse to let you fuck up everything that I’ve worked so hard to—”
Whatever else Corbin had been about to say was cut off when Hawk threw his phone against the wall with enough anger and force to shatter it into tiny pieces. Better than pacing, but still not enough to quell the anger he was feeling.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Hawk immediately regretted destroying the one lifeline he’d had with Frankie.
Good fucking job.
Just. Great.
There was nothing he could do about that now, unfortunately. But he could still use the hotel phone to call the airport and undo some of the mess Corbin had made. To make sure he didn't let Frankie down.
He looked at the clock. It was after one in the morning. He had to be in Bridgewater in less than eleven hours and he had no idea if he’d be able to get back on the overbooked flight that could make that happen.
For Frankie, though, Hawk would make it happen… because unlike Corbin, he was very clear on where his priorities lay. Crystal.
Chapter 24
Frankie
Frankie had barely hung up the phone with Hawk—he was still holding it in his hand, still smiling—when it rang again.
He didn’t bother looking at the number. It had to be Hawk calling back… which made his smile go from bigger to lodged-in-his-heart.
“This is Corbin Tucker calling.” The voice sent a cold chill down Frankie’s spine, killing each and every one of his giddy fantasies about Hawk maybe starting to love him, too. “I trust I haven’t caught you at a bad time, Mr. Moretti.”
It was a statement, not a question. Frankie already knew that it didn’t matter whether it was a bad time or not; Corbin Tucker wasn’t the kind of man who took other people’s feelings or schedules into consideration.
“N-no.” Frankie cleared his throat and tried to take his mind off the last unpleasant conversation he’d had with Corbin. Maybe this one would be better, although Frankie honestly couldn’t think of a good reason for the guy to be calling him this late at night. “I was just, um… no, this isn’t a bad time. What can I do for you?”
“You could start by explaining to me what in the hell you were thinking when you roped Hawk into doing this—this flower thing I just found on his calendar. When word gets out that that’s how he’s going to be spending his day, he’s going to be a laughing stock.”
Frankie blinked. Whatever reason he might’ve come up with for Corbin to be calling him about, this one honestly wouldn’t have occurred to him. He took a breath, quelling the sudden surge of anger he felt at the way this stranger was speaking to him. He wasn’t going to get into a shouting match with Hawk’s agent. He wasn’t. Corbin just wasn’t worth it, and besides, it would be difficult to explain to Hawk… even if this jerk had been the one to start it.
“It’s not really a publicity thing,” Frankie said, his voice sounding quiet and small in spite of his anger. Points for patience, right? And besides, maybe—to give the man the benefit of the doubt—Corbin simply didn’t understand that the Flower Face-Off wasn’t a publicity opp. It was personal. “It’s… it’s just something nice,” Frankie explained. “And Hawk said that he wanted to help. I didn’t—”