by KC Burn
It wasn’t. Not at all. Will had actually been surprised at how many things were different about living in Orlando, aside from never having to drive through snow again. But most of the changes he’d been able to deal with.
“Dunno. But it’s just not right.”
“Anyway, let’s have Indian.” Raven turned and led the way out of the server room into the rabbit warren of the studio.
For a while, Will had been convinced Raven’s accident had also ended their friendship, but he’d been happily proved wrong, and several weeks ago, Will helped Raven start a new business venture called Tartan Candy. For Raven, it was a job, but for Will, it was an enjoyable hobby where he got to hang out with his best friend, wear a kilt, and get paid.
He needed to do something with his kilts because he hadn’t had the time to audition for any nearby Renaissance faires since he’d moved to Florida.
AT THE restaurant, they ordered quickly, and just as quickly, fluffy, warm naan appeared at their table to whet their appetites.
Will grabbed a full piece of naan. He’d never be as sleek and beautiful as his best friend, and giving up bread had never made a difference in his waistline, so he saw no reason to deny himself.
Raven ripped off a small piece and leaned back in his chair. Back when Raven had been working for Idyll Fling, Will never saw him eat sweets or bready carbs, but after the accident and his subsequent retirement, Raven had a little more leeway in his diet and seemed all the happier for it. Another snort nearly escaped before Will suppressed it. Probably it was Raven’s incredibly sweet boyfriend that made Raven happier. Sugar was just an added bonus.
Raven pursed his lips, an expression that would make just about anyone think of blow jobs, but Will was made of stronger stuff. He’d never really thought of Raven like that. Objectively, he knew Raven was gorgeous, but they definitely made better friends than anything else.
When the silence continued, Will was about ready to squirm in his seat. Obviously Raven had something he wanted to say, and it felt a bit like Will was in trouble. Between working at Idyll Fling and partnering in the small but thriving Tartan Candy, he didn’t have the opportunity to fuck up.
His pulse sped up suddenly. What if he’d forgotten something Raven had asked him to do? Or even worse… had he forgotten about one of their events?
“Seriously, how are you doing?” Raven nibbled at his naan.
Probably his panic hadn’t been warranted. Will forced himself to relax and pulled in a couple of deep breaths.
“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Okay, that sounded too defensive by half. “How are you doing? Caleb treating you well?”
Raven’s blush, something Will hadn’t even known Raven was capable of, was a beautiful thing. He was so happy for his friend, and incredibly envious, even though it had taken a painful argument at a recent family event to solidify them. Before Will had moved here… before the incident, he’d had a good job and a perfectly adequate boyfriend. He’d thought he’d be sailing into his thirties the way he believed most people did, upwardly mobile and in a settled relationship that was leading to marriage, and if not kids, then definitely a dog or two. One gorgeous asshole had been single-handedly responsible for Will losing everything, and he’d spent his thirtieth birthday alone in an empty apartment in a city where he didn’t know a soul.
Taking the job at Idyll Fling had been just what he needed. He’d been able to get out of his parents’ spare room, away from their smothering concern, and get the hell out of the state for a fresh start. Giving up seasons had been a small price to pay for the opportunity to escape his complete humiliation. Although he didn’t actually miss his ex, he did miss having a boyfriend. And if he was going to find another one, he’d have to get his ass out of the studio. Not that he had anything against the porn models, but Raven had been the oldest one working for Idyll Fling and now thirty-two, Will was about four years older still. None of the models were old enough to want what he wanted out of life, if they’d even give an older guy like him a second look.
When Will finally shook himself out of his musing, he realized he’d completely missed whatever virtues Raven had extolled about his boyfriend. Just as well. Caleb was a great catch, but happy could only hide the envy for so long.
“We all ready for the convention this weekend?”
A slight frown wrinkled Raven’s forehead. “I was wondering if I should try and recruit more help.”
Another wave of panic washed over him. “Why? The two of us should be enough, surely.”
Raven’s frown intensified. “I just don’t want to be the reason you’re stressed. I know work has been kicking your ass lately. Have you asked Stefan about getting more people in than just an intern?”
The question raised Will’s hackles. Fucked if he was going to ask Stefan that. Bad enough he allowed himself to be made redundant at his previous job; he sure as shit wasn’t going to ask for it at this one. “Work is fine. Or is this just an excuse to replace me with someone better-looking?”
Shit. Will clamped his mouth shut. Being an asshole wasn’t called for, even if he did sometimes wonder why Raven thought he was a good choice for Tartan Candy. Will wasn’t in Raven’s league.
The silence grew heavy and oppressive, and it was all Will’s fault. “I’m sorry, Raven. I guess I’m a little more stressed than I thought, but a good night’s sleep will put me right.” If a good night’s sleep lasted a week or so.
“You know I don’t want to replace you.” Raven leaned in, voice earnest. “You’re my best friend.”
“What about Caleb?” And now Will was playing the part of a whiny, jealous bitch. “Sorry. Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“Just because I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I can’t have friends.” Raven frowned. “It doesn’t, does it?”
Will smothered a laugh, because finding Raven’s predicament funny shouldn’t have been the highlight of this awful conversation. Raven had never had a boyfriend before Caleb, and Will truly didn’t begrudge him any happiness.
“No, it doesn’t. Good friends don’t forget about their friends when they start dating someone.” Even if they had less time for their friends than before. This was not the only relationship and dating advice Will had given Raven. Not that Will was an expert by any means or he’d have a boyfriend now too. Previous experience had taught him he didn’t necessarily know how to make it all right, but he pretty much knew where all his relationships had gone so wrong.
“Ha. I knew it. But seriously, I don’t want to replace you.” Raven squinted at him. “If you’re worried, though, you could let me make an appointment with my stylist. You’re getting a little shaggy.”
Will rolled his eyes. Even though they’d only been doing the Tartan Candy gigs for a few weeks, Raven trying to “style” Will had been going on for a lot longer than that. “No. Thanks. I thought you said my rugged natural look was a good foil for you.”
Certainly his wavy, untamable blond hair, which he usually wore way too long, would never conform to Raven’s stringent manga-like style, and he’d look like an idiot with bright red or blue or purple streaks, all of which Raven had sported over the years Will had known him.
“Rugged and natural, yes. But you’re a short step away from feral and possibly rabid.”
Will laughed. For some reason, his self-confidence could get all tangled up in his own head, but Raven’s teasing was so obviously good-natured, it made him feel better about himself.
“I just haven’t had time to get a haircut. I’ll make sure I get it done before people start calling me Rapunzel.”
“Oh, jeez, I’ll take a pair of scissors to it before it gets that bad.”
Will laughed harder and made the sign of the cross as though to ward off Raven’s evil intentions.
Their banter was interrupted by the arrival of the food, the vibrant spices wafting up from their plates, and they took a break from conversation to dig in. It had taken a lot of effort—more effort than it should—to steer th
e conversation to a place that wasn’t so tense and didn’t make Will snap like an ill-tempered accessory dog, so the break was more than welcome.
All too soon, though, Raven looked up from his food and stared at him, like he was looking into his soul. “You know, you could come out with us on Friday. Me and Caleb are going to meet up with a few other people. Drink some, dance some. It’ll be fun.”
Fun. Yeah, right. “I don’t know. We’ll see how the week goes. Stefan just got back from a beach shoot yesterday, and he’s got a ton of footage that needs editing.”
Raven pursed his lips. “And that’s why he’s got video editors. You’ve got enough to do without taking on other people’s work. Just getting the finals compressed and shit to be posted to the web has to be plenty for you.”
Just like that, the tension was back. Will lifted a shoulder carelessly, but the truth was he didn’t really have time to help out with video edits anymore. Not unless they were in a crunch. Mostly he was just looking for a reason not to go out to a club. By the time the weekend hit, he was ready to crash, and even Raven didn’t know how much work he did on the weekend around their Tartan Candy events.
That wasn’t even counting the fact that “a few other people” undoubtedly meant Caleb’s cousin, Jaime. Almost as soon as Raven and Caleb had decided they were a committed couple, Raven had been putting him and Jaime into the same place at the same time.
“C’mon. Please? You need to relax. Have some fun. Get laid.”
Huh. Maybe Raven wasn’t trying to set him up with Jaime. At least, not for a relationship. “How do you know I’m not getting laid?”
The scathing look Raven sent his way should have slayed him dead. “You remember what I used to do for a living, right? You haven’t been laid in so long, I’m surprised your balls haven’t dried up into dust.”
True, but admitting it? Not gonna happen. “Oh yeah? Porn gives you some sort of sex-sell-by superpower?”
Raven huffed out an unwilling laugh. “You know, all you have to do is open up that door to the server room, and that building is filled with guys who’d go to their knees if you just asked them.”
God, what universe was Raven living in? He had to seem like a fossil to those models, and not anywhere as good-looking as Raven. It would require a lot more than asking, even if he’d been so inclined.
“Don’t be ridiculous. They’re babies.”
This time it was Raven rolling his eyes. “They’re all legal, every damn one of them.”
“You know what I mean. Besides, it’s never a good idea to get involved with coworkers.”
“Involved? I’m not suggesting you date them.” Raven pursed his lips. “Although I certainly wouldn’t judge you if you did.”
“Again, babies. What would I do with a guy ten or fifteen years younger than me?” Besides expire from sexual exhaustion. Hell, just trying to think up conversational gambits for someone he had nothing in common with was enough to give him hives. Or make him want to hide out in his apartment, cowering in the dark.
“Okay, well, your desiccated balls are all on you, then.”
Will laughed again. “If my desiccated balls and I change our mind, I’ll let you know, okay? Otherwise, though, we’re all on for the convention this weekend.”
“Yes, yes. But try to come out on Friday too. Please. For me?”
Will scowled. “Fine.” He could make nice with Jaime for another night. The guy was decent enough, but Will wanted a boyfriend, not a player.
Chapter THREE
“HERE WE are.” The pride in Stefan’s voice was unmistakable, even though they were parked in front of a squat industrial building. Still, Dallas had to smile. He wasn’t entirely sure why Stefan had sunk so much time and effort into building up a porn studio, but no one could say he didn’t have vision or ambition. All that work had paid off; even if Dallas hadn’t seen any actual Idyll Fling movies, he was well aware Stefan enjoyed hard-won success despite the family’s best efforts to thwart him.
“Show me around.” Dallas made his best effort to sound enthusiastic. Not that he wasn’t grateful to his brother for offering him a job, because he was, but he was worried about… everything. It was like his first day at his first postcollege internship, times a thousand. Back then, he’d still been kind of naïve, but now he knew how awful work life could be, especially if your boss was a complete asshat. He also wasn’t sure if he was more terrified of ending up back in the hospital or ending up on the street if he couldn’t handle working again.
Dallas got out of the car and followed Stefan to a plain gray door simply stenciled with the name “I.F. Studios.”
Trepidation sent his stomach into a tailspin. Less than two weeks ago, his life had changed in a split second on his parents’ driveway. Faced with the knowledge he had nowhere else to go but to Stefan, he’d headed toward the interstate. Panic, doubt, and self-loathing had filled the spaces between grief and exhaustion, and for the most part had buried what he wanted so badly to ask. But if he did, Stefan would know how important the answer was. Every second Dallas didn’t know for sure allowed him to hope just a little bit longer.
Probably Stefan thought he was an idiot for not asking anything about this new job, but Dallas didn’t want to accidentally ask the question that had burrowed through his consciousness since he’d first steered his car south.
The moment of reckoning was upon him, mere minutes away.
Stefan opened the door and led him inside. Dallas followed slowly and stopped to survey the reception area.
In the early hours of the morning, he’d woken in a sweat from a nightmare filled with naked men holding giant dildos, taunting him to fuck them. In other circumstances, that might have been sexy, but the whole dream had a horroresque carnival vibe to it that made Dallas feel impotent and inadequate. Hadn’t taken a shrink to figure out that message, but the disquiet had lingered, clouding his first day.
But the lobby looked like the waiting area of an upscale doctor’s office, and the utter normalcy allowed some of Dallas’s tension to bleed away.
A door at the side of the desk opened and an older woman, somewhere around sixty and sporting lavender hair in a sleek pixie cut, bustled out, coffee mug in hand.
“Good morning, Mr. Silverman.” Her stylish appearance was at odds with the warm, grandmotherly smile that graced her face, the laugh lines well worn and comfortable. She was dressed much like Dallas’s own grandmother, but it was immediately obvious that the two women were complete opposite in temperament.
“Good morning, Joanie. This is Dallas Greene. He’s starting work today.”
Joanie set her mug down and came around the desk for a closer look. “Oh, he’s a cutie. None of the boys mentioned new blood. They’ll be thrilled with this surprise.”
It took half a second before Dallas’s face flamed. He darted a look at Stefan, who was also blushing. Having your brother direct you in a porn movie had to have a bad karmic overload the likes of which Dallas couldn’t even imagine. He’d endured a whole mountain’s worth of shit since he’d started college, but getting naked and getting busy while your brother filmed it? He’d had to have murdered kittens in his past life to deserve that.
Knowing Joanie knew exactly what went on in the back also blew his mind, just a bit.
“Uh, no, he’s not a model. He’ll be working on the computer side of things. Part-time for now. We’ll get the paperwork done up today for you.”
“Oh, the boys will be disappointed.” Joanie gave him a warm hug. “Welcome to the family.”
Dallas blinked and nodded, too shocked to speak.
“Can I get you some coffee? Soda?”
If he could speak, he’d refuse politely. Neither would do his stomach any favors. Instead, he just shook his head.
“Oh, a quiet one. That won’t last long, I bet.” Joanie patted his cheek before heading back to grab her own coffee. “I’ve got some invoices for you to look over, Mr. Silverman. Let me know when you’re ready for your co
ffee, and I’ll bring them in then.”
“Thanks, Joanie. I’m going to show Dallas around first, so I’ll let you know.”
The phone rang, giving Dallas a break from Joanie’s intense scrutiny. It wasn’t salacious, either, which Dallas had half expected, but more like she was trying to figure him out. At least he and Stefan didn’t look a whole lot alike. Between their different coloring and their different surnames, it would be easy to hide the fact that they were brothers. Stefan hadn’t been in favor of the deception, but Dallas had pleaded, and when Paul had weighed in, agreeing with Dallas that people would be more comfortable until they got to know Dallas, Stefan had caved. But he wasn’t happy, and Stefan’s eagerness to claim Dallas went a long way to repairing the gashes in his soul created by the vicious words of his parents.
They left reception behind a closed door, the hallway resembling any average office building’s. One open room off to the left had a few cubicles set up, also like any average office.
“Who works here?”
Stefan shrugged. “Sometimes I need to get in temporary admin help, and when I do, they work here. The video editors have their own room. Otherwise, some of the guys are in college, and they’ll sometimes study in here. Depends on the day and shooting schedule, how many people are here.”
Dallas’s brows went up. That was pretty cool of Stefan, especially since setting up cubicles wasn’t nearly as cheap as one might expect. But it certainly gave Idyll Fling the innocuous appearance of a normal office.
After walking a little farther, Stefan led him into a room with almost a full kitchen and a few cafeteria-style tables and chairs. “This is the big break room. There are a few smaller ones scattered around, but they’re mostly for lounging and cold bottled water.”
Dallas took a quick spin around the break room but before he could leave, a slim blond, a little shorter and a few years younger than him, wandered into the room, staring down at his phone. Just like the break room at his old job, except every inch of this guy’s tanned skin was on full display, with not a single tan line to be found. Dallas’s cheeks heated and he couldn’t keep his gaze from darting, again and again, to the impressive—even while lax—equipment.