“Just one minute,” he managed to force out of his constricted throat. When Cody lifted his hand, Julian was slightly disappointed. What was that about?
“You see, the rule is after the song, the person who is sung to has to complete a dare.”
Now this all made sense. Cody was being forced to hit on a stranger as part of their juvenile game. Immaturity never ceased to amaze Julian, and the cool resolve that had started to thaw once again crystallized over him. “And coming over here and attempting to hit on another man, very poorly by the way, is part of this game you straight boys play?”
Cody grinned. “Well, they’re straight. I’m not.”
Julian couldn’t take his eyes off Cody’s smile. It didn’t spread across his face like Julian’s did. It dangled from the edges of Cody’s lips in a way that was both sinful and charming. The chilly exterior with which Julian greeted the world melted once again. “I see,” he said when he realized he’d been staring far longer than was normal. “Are we done here?”
“I hope not.” Cody leaned forward on the table, crossing the distance that separated them. He flashed his devil-may-care grin again, and Julian immediately knew what kind of a man he was. Cody most likely did ninety to nothing on the highway of life, leaving massive pile-ups in his wake and never once looking back. He was definitely the antithesis of Blane Kingsley and was the type of man Julian made it a habit to avoid.
Except. There was something else, something about the way Cody’s eyes regarded him with childlike wonder. It was as if a lamb lived within the fox. The duality kept Julian glued to his spot.
“So what do you say?”
Julian shook his head, trying to clear the strange contemplations from his alcohol-soaked brain. “About what?”
“Just one drink. That’s all I ask.”
“A guy like you tends to keep pushing the boundaries he initially sets up. One drink becomes two. Two becomes three.”
Cody took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. That sounds like me, but here’s something that might not.”
“And what would that be?” Julian arched an eyebrow.
“I can tell you think I’m some shallow player who’s just looking to get his jollies, and on most days, you’d probably be correct.”
“But I’m wrong today, right?” Big surprise.
Cody smirked. “Yeah, but not for the reasons you might think. Look, I get it. I’m not the kind of guy someone like you would ever be interested in. I figured that out in the first two seconds since I started talking to you.”
“And what kind of guy am I?” Julian plopped back into his seat. Why did he do that?
“Just look at you.” Cody gestured to him with a flourish. “You’re so well put together. Obviously a successful businessman or something. And me?” He motioned to himself in his black T-shirt, jeans, and gray hoodie. “I’m just your average joe.”
True, Cody didn’t dress to impress, but clothes didn’t make the man. The polish so many people portrayed to the world hid the awful, blunted souls that lived underneath. Julian saw that at work and even in his own family. Julian couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever lived behind Cody’s brash persona had more in common with Julian’s cool reserve than either of them might think.
“So believe me when I say,” Cody continued, “I know this is going nowhere. I’m just hoping you might consider staying for one drink.”
He’d already had too many. One more wouldn’t be wise. “Why would I do that?”
“For no good reason, really. Other than helping me out.”
“How is having a drink with you helping you out?”
Cody waved at his friends. “If we don’t sit, drink, and flirt for like ten minutes—”
“Flirt?”
Cody nodded as if flirting was no big deal. Maybe for him it was. Julian had never learned the art of seduction. “Yeah. Just for ten minutes. If we don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it. Plus, if you leave now, they’d likely make me hit on some other unsuspecting guy. By helping me out and letting me walk you out of here, you’re really helping others. Consider it a public service.”
“Wait a minute. When did one drink turn into flirting and leaving the bar together?”
That sinfully charming grin dangled from the edges of his lips again. “Oh. Did I forget to mention that?”
Julian shot him a blank stare. “I think I would have remembered such details.”
“It’s just a short stroll out of the bar until we’re out of their sight. Then you can go your way and I’ll go mine. I promise.” He held up his fingers in the Boy Scout salute.
Cody was as much of a Boy Scout as Julian was a Republican. “Why go through all this trouble? Just don’t give in to your friends’ demands.”
Cody snorted. “You clearly don’t know my friends.”
Thank God for small favors. “But I know myself. If I don’t want to do something, then I don’t do it. It doesn’t matter what anyone says.”
“I hear you, but sometimes you’ve got to throw caution to the wind and just have a good time.”
No, he didn’t. He made it his business never to act irresponsibly.
“After all, we’re in Vegas, right? This place is built for letting your hair down. Why come here otherwise?”
“To conduct business, for one. That’s why I’m here.”
Cody regarded him for several moments in silence, as if he was searching Julian’s soul for something. “Yeah, you definitely look like you’re all work and no play. You need to have some fun. You look tense.”
“I do not.” Julian took a deep breath and tried to relax, but his muscles refused to untie their knots. “Besides, there’s a difference between having fun and acting foolish, and your friends are forcing the latter upon you.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But with them, it’s just easier to give in, especially when I know they’re just trying to look out for me.”
“How is forcing you to hit on a stranger looking out for you?”
Cody’s impish grin returned. “I’ll tell you if you have a drink with me and let me escort you out of the bar.”
Julian must be out of his mind. He was actually considering the offer. Of course, it didn’t hurt to have Karsten’s voice in the back of his mind agreeing with Cody about having fun and loosening up. Maybe he was more susceptible to peer pressure than he believed. “Fine. One drink and then we leave but go our separate ways.”
The grin that had previously clung to the corners of Cody’s lips spread wide and lit up his eyes. “Great!” Cody motioned for the waitress and ordered a vodka and tonic for him and another martini for Julian.
“I’m here. You’ve ordered the drinks. So speak now or forever hold your peace,” Julian said after she departed to fill the order.
Before Cody could reply, an object wrapped in golden foil sailed across the room and landed in the middle of the table. The word Magnum was written across the package in big block letters.
“It’s ribbed,” one of Cody’s friends hollered from their table. “For his pleasure.”
Julian glanced at the condom and stood, but Cody’s warm hand once again settled over his. “Please stay. I’ll explain why my friends are trying to help me out, and I’ll even persuade you why you need to cut loose every once in a while.”
There was no way that was going to happen, but instead of doing what he should and walking away, Julian sat back down.
After all, in the grand scheme of things, what harm could one more drink possibly cause?
Chapter Three
OVER the years, Cody had started lots of conversations with guys. The usual subjects involved what the guy was drinking, if he was in town for the weekend, or where they’d both like to have breakfast the next morning, but he’d never had a discussion like this before.
It was so honest.
“You really don’t believe in love?” Julian blinked several times and stared at him as if he’d just discovered the Loch Ness monster.
&nbs
p; “No, I don’t.” At least not anymore. Cody nursed his second vodka and tonic and waited for the volcanic eruption of questions that typically followed his admission. Of course, this discussion usually didn’t happen until he and whatever guy he was entertaining at the time had reached their third date. Except this wasn’t exactly a date, was it? They were two guys who were never going to get together, carrying on a conversation. He’d only agreed to share in order to save face in front of his buddies, who had left the bar a few minutes ago, and prevent himself from having to go through another double-dog dare.
He might enjoy flying by the seat of his pants, but he didn’t enjoy flying through a bar without them. If he knew his friends like he did, streaking was likely the next dare on their list.
“I don’t understand how hitting on a random stranger is supposed to help you with that.”
“That’s because you don’t know my friends. They were like me in college. Just out to have fun and not looking for anything serious. But through their hookups, they eventually met the women they married. That’s what they think will happen for me.”
“And you don’t agree?”
“Nope.”
Why was Julian grinning at him all of a sudden? He’d been one raw, exposed nerve ever since Cody sat down, as if Julian couldn’t wait to scurry away from the table. But now, well, now he lounged back in his chair, his big, beautiful smile stretched across his handsome face. God, Cody wanted to run his tongue along those lips.
“So they want you to fall in love and get married?”
Cody laughed. “Yeah, like that will suddenly make life worth living. My life is already worth living to me. I don’t need a husband to make me complete. I’ve already got that by myself, but they don’t see that. They worry I’m going to grow old alone and end up a miserable old grump, which sometimes makes me question the levels of their testosterone.”
Julian chuckled. The tone was melodious and whimsical, a far cry from the attitude he’d worn like armor when Cody first sat down. Cody would do anything to hear it again.
Julian finished off his second martini and motioned for the waitress to bring another round. “Not a lot of people feel the way you do about life and relationships.”
“I know, and I’m fine with that. People should fall in love and get married if that’s what they want. Me? I just want to live life my way.”
“So marriage is completely off the table for you?”
Cody smirked, traveling his finger up the back of Julian’s hand. “Is that a proposal? Because if it is, we can skip the nuptials and head straight for the honeymoon.”
Julian shot him a blank stare, but instead of withdrawing his hand the way he had earlier, he didn’t move. He allowed Cody to dance his finger across his smooth, tanned flesh. “Even if it was, you don’t do marriage, remember?”
“True, but I like all the fun parts married people enjoy.”
Julian arched an eyebrow. “You mean sex?”
“Naturally. But there’s other parts of marriage I enjoy.”
Julian leaned forward in his chair, removing his hand from under Cody’s fluttering fingers and resting his on top of Cody’s. “Like what?”
Instead of answering, Cody laced his fingers with Julian’s and sat forward as well. Only a few inches separated Cody from the lips he craved to sample. “You know, you’re asking a lot of questions. I kind of feel as if I’m playing a game of Truth or Dare here.”
Julian didn’t back away. He met Cody’s even stare and smiled. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never played.”
Cody sat back in shock as the waitress returned with their third round. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve never played Truth or Dare?”
“No.”
“Not even when you were a kid or in college?”
Julian sipped his new drink. “What part of no are you having trouble understanding?”
“Holy hell!” Cody drank half of what had to be his sixth alcoholic beverage in the past two hours. “You’ve got to play it at least once in your life.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.” Cody knocked back the rest of his drink, which made the world spin for a moment. He tossed some bills on the table, stood up, and grabbed Julian’s hand. “Let’s go!”
Julian eyed him as if he’d suddenly sprouted horns. “Where?”
“We’re gonna do something you clearly need to do.”
Julian slipped his hand from Cody’s grasp. “I’m not having sex with you.”
“Who said I was asking?” Cody moved behind Julian and gently forced him out of his chair.
Julian stood on unsteady legs and braced against the table for support. “Please. I know your kind. You come over asking for one drink, and we’re still here three drinks later.”
Cody grasped his shoulders and leaned into Julian, pressing his lips close to Julian’s ear. “You ordered the second and third rounds. Not me.”
Julian stood taller, his eyes searching their recent past to see if Cody was telling the truth. When he found his answer, he spun around. “How’d you get me to do that?”
The sudden movement upset his equilibrium, and he stumbled into Cody. In order to keep them both upright, Cody had to wrap his arms around Julian and hold him tight. “The same way I’m gonna get you to play Truth or Dare.”
“How’s that?” Julian stared up at him, his eyes lingering on Cody’s lips.
“By being me.”
Julian laughed, resting his head on Cody’s chest. “Damn, you’re good.”
JULIAN couldn’t believe he was allowing himself to be dragged through the casino. He had every intention of heading back to his hotel room and watching Sandra Bullock stumble her way through the Miss United States pageant. Instead, he was stumbling his way through the din of spinning slot machines and screaming people at roulette tables. Fortunately, he had the good sense to bring his unfinished martini with him.
He wasn’t much of a drinker, but right now he couldn’t remember why. He enjoyed a good stiff drink every now and then, and as he noticed the way Cody’s dark blue denim clung to his muscled bubble butt, his drink wasn’t the only thing he had that was stiff.
Good God. What was happening to him?
“So where should we start?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” He took another sip of his drink. He really needed to stop. The alcohol had clearly wrested the reins of control out of his hands and firmly placed them in Cody’s. It was a feeling he didn’t particularly enjoy, but he seemed helpless to do anything about it. His grandmother had been right. Alcohol was the devil.
“Have you gambled before?”
Had he? He couldn’t remember. He did recall his grandmother saying that gambling was the devil too. A lot of things were the devil according to the staunchly Roman Catholic matriarch of his family, but since she’d said it, chances were he had never done it before. “No. I have not.”
“Okay, then. We’ll start here.”
“Start what here?”
Cody placed his hands on his hips, which suddenly made the world stop moving. “Truth or dare?”
“I already told you. I’m not having sex with you.”
“I promise that won’t be one of my dares.”
Julian eyed him for a moment. “Why are you so hell-bent on me playing this stupid game?”
Cody gasped and held up his index finger. “Firstly—”
“Firstly? No one says ‘firstly’ anymore.”
“What?” Cody blinked. “It’s a word.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t a word.” He smiled into his drink before taking a sip. “I said no one says it anymore.”
Cody huffed. “First of all….” Julian nodded his approval. “Truth or Dare is not stupid. It’s a time-honored classic that lets people really get to know each other and have fun in the process. Who doesn’t like fun?”
Julian would debate that point, but he was too busy sampling more of his yummy drink.
“Sec
ondly, playing Truth or Dare is a rite of passage in anyone’s life. It’s something you have to do, like riding your first bike or having your first kiss.”
Julian perked up at the word kiss. Right now he’d be willing to give it a go, if Cody ever stopped talking.
“And finally, I told you earlier that you needed to loosen up. Truth or Dare will definitely do that.”
If Julian got any looser, they would be naked in one of their hotel rooms. Strangely enough, that idea no longer bothered him. He could see his grandmother now, shaking her arthritic finger at him. “Fine. Then let me start.”
Cody released his hands from around Julian’s hips and stood up straight. “Okay.”
“Truth or dare? And I want you to pick truth.”
“Truth it is, then,” Cody answered with a chuckle.
“Are you going to try to dare me into having sex with you?”
Cody locked gazes with him. The impish glint that had lit up his eyes since they first met faded away. “No. I won’t. That’s a promise.”
The sincerity of his words rang true, which surprised Julian. He normally didn’t take many people’s words as gospel. What made Cody so different from the rest of the schemers who occupied his world? But even more importantly, why was he suddenly disappointed?
“My turn. Truth or dare? And I want you to pick dare.”
Julian should have seen that one coming. He finished the rest of his martini and placed it on top of a passing waitress’s tray. “Fine. Dare.”
Cody gestured to a table surrounded by screaming gamblers. “I dare you to play a game of craps.”
“But I don’t know how to play.”
“That’s okay.” He grabbed Julian’s hand and moved him to stand right next to the croupier. He leaned into him, his chest pressed into Julian’s back and his groin flush with the top of his butt. “I’m a good teacher.”
JULIAN threw his head back, laughing and celebrating with the rest of the table as he rolled another seven. Cody couldn’t believe Julian’s luck. After a brief explanation of the rules, Julian had taken the dice from the croupier and had been on a winning streak ever since.
Suddenly Yours Page 3