by KC Burn
Dallas let out a sigh of relief. “Uh, no. Not that I wouldn’t want to, but….”
Just like that, Jaime’s confidence returned. “I’m not upset. You’re hot, and don’t get me wrong, Raven will do his level best to get us together, but I rather think after dinner I’m going to hit a club and find someone to hook up with. Raven keeps hoping I’ll find someone for longer, and he’s probably right about you being that sort of guy.”
There was a funny tone in Jaime’s voice, and Dallas wondered if Jaime was maybe kidding himself about not wanting something long-term.
“Wait, Raven seriously wants us to get together?”
Jaime shrugged. “He’ll try. He’s got a serious case of boyfriends-are-great-everyone-should-have-one-itis.”
Dallas laughed. He’d met a few people with that syndrome, but none of them had known he was gay, so they kept trying to set him up with girls. Needless to say, most of his old friends had probably thought he was every bit the player Jaime’s friends did.
“Anyway, I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page, present a united front against any serious matchmaking.”
“I can do that.” Definitely on the same page, although he wouldn’t mind if Raven did some matchmaking with Will. Dallas didn’t seem to be getting too far on his own.
Suddenly Jaime rested his elbows on the table, then rested his chin on his upraised fists and stared intently at Dallas, amping up the camp from zero to sixty. “So tell me why you needed me to save you from the big bad men at Club Gallo last week.” He fluttered long black eyelashes, ones drag queens might covet, making Dallas laugh again.
“Honestly, I’ve only been with a few guys.” Three, but there was no reason to specify. “And as you so easily figured out, I’m not comfortable with hooking up. I knew sex wasn’t part of the auction, but it worried me a bit that there would be that expectation.”
“Not comfortable with nameless fucking, but you still decided to get your feet wet working at a porn studio?”
The waitress arrived with his sparkling juice, served in an elegant champagne flute. Dallas took a sip, grateful for the interruption, while he decided how to answer Jaime. Beck and the other models were fun, and Dallas was grateful they’d started including him in social events, but he was instantly more comfortable with Jaime, and if he thought the models might become friends, it was Jaime to whom he wanted to open up. Perhaps Jaime might become one of those elusive “best friends” Dallas had never had.
“How… uh… do you know anyone at the studio really well?”
Jaime dialed down the camp a bit as he leaned back in his chair. “Not so much, no. I mean, Idyll Fling makes some great videos, but I gotta admit, it weirded me out a bit knowing I’d watched some of Raven’s videos before he got together with my cousin. I know Raven wouldn’t mind if I hooked up with one of the models, but a bunch of them are ones who did videos with Raven. Turns out, I need more degrees of separation to be comfortable with it all. Anyway, I’m too old to be chasing after baby porn stars.”
“You’re not old.” Surely he wasn’t much older than Will, and Dallas didn’t think Will was too old for anything.
“Ugh. Stop being sweet or I’ll change my mind about pulling you into my looooove snare. But why do you care how well I know people at the studio?”
Dallas had only intended to give Jaime a quick overview about how Raven’s request for Jaime to buy him might have had more to do with Raven trying to protect his friend’s brother than anything else. But like a crack in a dam, at first he let a little out, and before he knew it, the entire deluge spilled out, including how awful his work at Savron Dynamics had been after he’d been left holding the entire department together, and how it had eaten away at his health and relationship. He’d even told Jaime about sex with Will. Jaime had asked a number of probing, insightful questions while politely steering clear of anything prurient, leading Dallas to believe he wasn’t being too obnoxious or boring.
At the end of it, Jaime blinked. “Well, kid, first off, you are well rid of that Hugh character. I might never have had a long-term boyfriend before, but if Caleb had gotten together with an asshole like that, we’d have had words. I’d have sicced the family on him too.”
The size and ferocity of Jaime’s family had, somehow, been one of the few things Dallas had learned about Jaime during their sojourn at the diner, so he knew the significance of that comment.
“I know. I mean, I know now he didn’t really care about me. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“And also? I just knew there was something up with Will. The four of us go out sometimes, and I’ve never gotten a murderous look like he gave me at the auction.”
Dallas tilted his head. “The four of you?”
“Oh, right. Raven and Will are best buds, you know? That’s why Raven chose Will to partner with him in Tartan Candy. Anyway, Will’s a good guy, but again, no matter how much Raven wants us both to find the love of our lives—” Derision twisted those last few words. “It ain’t gonna happen. Not with Will and me. But I can see why he was pissed at me. I’m pretty sure he did not want me to buy you. Or date you. Or do anything with you.”
Dallas wanted to hate Raven and Caleb, just a bit, for even thinking Will could be happy with someone other Dallas. That the feeling was totally irrational because they hadn’t known who Dallas was didn’t change matters a bit. At the same time, though, hope soared sweet and clear through his heart at the possibility Jaime was right. After all, he’d already seen hints of Will’s jealousy.
He chose to focus on the good. “You think he might be jealous?”
“Oh, honey, he’s fighting it, but I think he’s got it bad. You might still have a fight on your hands, because, baby, he’s been entrenched in his own little world for a long time. But if you want him, I wouldn’t give up.”
Jaime probably knew Will better than Dallas did, even if the matchmaking had failed. Then an uncomfortable thought struck Dallas. “Uh. You guys didn’t ever… uh….”
He’d made the mistake of asking while Jaime was swallowing some wine. Jaime’s sudden laugh ended in him coughing and sputtering for a minute or two.
“Dios, no. Not that I wouldn’t have tested the waters, but Will doesn’t seem any more keen on casual sex than you are. Also, he thinks I’m an irredeemable slut.”
This time it was Dallas’s turn to sputter on his drink. “I’m sure he doesn’t.” After all, Will worked at a porn studio too. Seemed hypocritical to judge people for having too many sexual partners.
Jaime shrugged. “Well, he hasn’t said so in so many words, but I think that’s what it boils down to.”
Both of their phones went off, and when Dallas looked up from his, Jaime had a look on his face like a kid who’d missed curfew. “Guess we’re late for dinner.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Dallas flipped his phone around so Jaime could see the text from Raven.
They stood and Jaime tossed a few bills on the table, waving away Dallas’s attempt to contribute. “You just got finished telling me that you’re starting over from nothing. Tonight is on me.”
Dallas wasn’t sure how he felt about that, especially since it wasn’t a date. “But I’ve got a job now. And Stefan pays fair wages for what I do.”
“Keep your money, kid. It’s not often I get to treat a sweet young thing to dinner.”
Jaime gave him a quick hug, completely platonic, and Dallas leaned in to it. Neither his parents nor his social circle had been huggers, but it was something Dallas had craved most of his life. It was one of the things that had been hardest to accept when he’d started dating Hugh. He’d assumed a boyfriend meant displays of affection, even if they never went out in public together, but Hugh hadn’t been any more demonstrative than anyone else he knew at the time. Dallas could get used to Jaime’s hugs.
When they got to dinner, Dallas fell into conversation with the three older men as if he’d known them all their lives. There was no pretension, no putting on airs
or catty judgments. Raven and Caleb didn’t engage in crazy PDAs but there were quick kisses, brushing of hands, gentle considerations of the other that made it sweetly obvious that they were not only together but in love.
And if Dallas hadn’t seen those occasional flashes of longing on Jaime’s face, he’d have maybe believed Will was right in labeling Jaime a player in spite of the care he’d taken in making Dallas comfortable and heroically refraining from trying to sex him up. But by the end of the evening, Dallas was convinced that Jaime wanted what his cousin had. Not Raven specifically, but the relationship, and he mentally cheered Raven on for trying to find someone for Jaime. Sooner or later, someone would click.
It was, quite possibly, the best Saturday evening he’d ever had. If he had a guarantee that Will and he would end up together, well, then the evening would be perfect.
WILL SLUNK into work Monday morning, depressed and annoyed in equal measure. After five evenings of Dallas naked in his bed, the entire weekend had gone by without a word or a sighting of the man. Not once had Dallas stayed for dinner, nor had he stayed the night, and by the time Friday rolled around, Will was starting to feel the tiniest bit… used. What they did in bed hadn’t felt casual at all, but when Dallas rolled out of bed and left, wet spot barely chilled, it never sat right with Will. He just didn’t know what to do about it. Any conversation about it would sound too much like a “where is this relationship going” speech. Stupid to even broach the subject. Since their “relationship” was going nowhere, Will was just going to have to suck it up and deal.
But maybe he’d gotten greedy. Or complacent. Because he’d absolutely expected to see Dallas on Saturday. Sunday at the very least. He’d rushed through his errands in order to maximize his time at home, but nothing. No text, no e-mail, no call, no visit.
Embarrassingly, he even sent Raven a text about nothing at all, just to test if his phone was working. He’d even had the day planned. Dallas hadn’t stuck around long enough most evenings for Will to find out too many personal details, but one thing he had let slip was that he also played Dragon’s Ruin. Of course, Will would have been happy to have sex, but he’d hoped to maybe coax Dallas into playing Dragon’s Ruin together. Sitting in a room together, two computers on the go as they played online in the same game was perhaps one of the geekiest things Will wanted, and he’d been looking forward to it.
Sex, video games, and food. Maybe he was too old to want such things, but he did, dammit. He’d also never been so intent on getting a man to eat with him, but Dallas’s avoidance only made him want it more. Getting angry with Dallas for keeping his distance—the way Will had said he wanted—was pathetic, and possibly even more monumentally idiotic.
As the hours swept by, his unjustified disappointment grew, and he even considered texting just to make sure Dallas was okay. Then he’d remember they didn’t have that sort of relationship, and Will didn’t even have the right to ask where Dallas was. For all he knew, Dallas was done with him after those five glorious days in his bed.
He slowly opened the door to the server room, half expecting Dallas’s chair to be empty, but he was wrong about that. Dallas, in one of those sexy fucking suits and infuriating paisley ties, was bent over his keyboard, concentrating on something.
The man was beautiful. Too beautiful to be trusted, really. But that didn’t stop Will from standing in the doorway, just drinking in the sight. Dallas didn’t look like he’d been ill—in fact, he looked more and more like his old self every day—which meant he’d purposely avoided Will all weekend.
Yes, Will could have texted or called, but the only way he could even vaguely justify sleeping with Dallas was if he didn’t initiate anything. Even then, he knew he was bending his ethics to the point of breaking.
Dallas looked up with a smile. “Good morning, Will.”
Will scowled back and stomped to his desk. How was he supposed to work in this limbo, wondering all day if Dallas was done with him or not? Sure as shit, he couldn’t ask with Kyle sitting right there. Or without breaking his own damn fucking rules that their personal stuff stay out of work.
The next hour was completely unproductive, as he brooded about what Dallas’s smile had meant and where he’d been all weekend. In between that, he cast about for a reason to send Kyle out of the room, but there was nothing until the mail showed up. Inside one of those infernal envelopes was an invoice ultimately destined for Joanie.
He needed to know. He needed to ask. Not knowing was eating away at Will’s mind.
Since his filing was all up-to-date, thanks to Dallas, Will was able to enter the information he needed into his own database, before calling Kyle over.
“Take this to Joanie, will you?” He couldn’t help being curt, but then, Kyle had never known him to be anything but.
“Sure thing.”
If Will knew Kyle, he’d take a sweep through the studio to see if anyone was filming—they weren’t—and then he’d stop by the big break room to make a latte. He had, at the very least, ten minutes of alone time with Dallas.
Twisting around in his chair was enough to get Dallas’s attention, and he stared at Will with an expectant expression.
Will’s mouth dried out, and the words bunched up in his throat. What evil had he enacted in a past life to deserve this undoubtedly karmic retribution?
He grabbed at the bottle of water on his desk and swallowed some, but it did about as much good as trying to irrigate the Sahara.
“I didn’t see you this weekend.”
“No. You didn’t.” With Dallas’s voice utterly free of inflection, Will couldn’t interpret any more out of Dallas’s words than he could from his actions.
The silence stretched out, thick and sticky.
“Why?” Will didn’t even sound like himself as he forced the word out.
If he hadn’t been staring intently, he’d have missed the flash of anger on Dallas’s face, before it returned to the pleasant, almost-blank expression he’d been wearing at work since they’d made their agreement a week ago.
“Weekends are for family. Boyfriends. Dating.”
Each word sliced into him, even though they hadn’t been said with malice.
“So did you have a date?”
“I did. I still owed Jaime a date for the auction.”
“Jaime?” Blood pounded in Will’s temples. “I told you, he’s only interested in ass.”
And how he wanted to ask if Jaime had gotten what he wanted from Dallas.
Dallas shrugged. “I think you might be wrong about that.”
Will stared at him, struggling to breathe, because it seemed as though all the air had disappeared. Dallas didn’t think Jaime was boyfriend material, did he? Because if he believed that, he was just going to get hurt when Jaime moved on to his next conquest.
With shaking hands, Will grabbed his phone and practically ran out to the parking lot.
Along one side of the building was a strip of grass, interspersed with a couple of short, fat palm trees providing some shade. There, at least, he could pace as frantically as he wanted and no one would be able to easily see him.
As soon as he’d calmed down enough that he didn’t want to punch someone—like Jaime—he pulled up Raven in his contact lists.
Did you know Jaime went through with that ridiculous date with Dallas?
He hadn’t told Raven Dallas’s name, but Raven had to know Dallas was the one Will had complained about, since Dallas’s introduction at the auction included both his occupation and place of business.
Agitated, he paced some more, shirt beginning to stick to him as the heat and humidity of the day began to take its toll. Every few steps, he checked his phone, impatient for Raven’s reply.
Of course. They doubled with me and Caleb.
What? Will gripped his phone so tight his knuckles whitened.
How could you let that happen? You know what Jaime’s like.
Dallas would get hurt. And Jaime was too old for Dallas anyway. He resolu
tely didn’t think about the measly few years’ age difference between himself and Jaime.
You’re taking a lot of interest in the personal life of an employee you profess to despise.
This time Will did punch the trunk of the nearest palm tree. Just once, though, because the roughened trunk scraped the fuck out of his knuckles.
Raven didn’t know that Dallas wasn’t just an employee. He also didn’t know Will had spent more nights with his cock buried in Dallas—mouth or ass—this week than he’d had hot breakfasts. Which meant Raven had no idea how twisted Will’s head had gotten. And he’d never even considered talking to his best friend about it. Raven had never had a relationship before Caleb. How could he help resolve the stupidly complicated situation Will had mired himself in?
Although apparently his solution was to set Dallas up with Jaime. Since nothing had clicked between Will and Jaime, Raven was blithely moving on to the next eligible man. But the thought of anyone else with Dallas didn’t sit well with Will. The most unsettling part was how much he didn’t want Dallas to be hurt. By rights, he should be happy about the sex, and not get emotionally involved. He should still hate Dallas, but he didn’t, and he almost resented Dallas for being charming enough to make Will forget to be suspicious.
He lapped the parking lot a few times, until the heat drove him back inside. There was nothing left to do but be adult about the whole thing. Maybe if he didn’t fly off the handle or avoid Dallas, he’d at least serve as a reminder that there were better options than Jaime around.
TWO WEEKS ago today Will first tasted Dallas’s cock, and he couldn’t stop staring at the spot where Dallas had stood. The intervening fourteen days were all it took for Dallas to break him. Will was a fucking mess, and it was all Dallas’s fault.
The last two weeks had been… weird but mostly good. Every weeknight at some point after work, Dallas showed up at his place. The sex was spectacular. Best Will had ever had. But he’d expected reality to erase the magic of the fantasy by now. It hadn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking about Dallas.