Axel looked away. “Sorry. I guess I’m mistaken. You look—”
“He’s West,” Terrence said loudly, “and I’m Terrence.” He kind of purred his name.
West thought about thumping Terrence on the back of the head.
“Hi, Terrence, nice to meet you.” Axel shook his hand. “So, you’re, um, well. I guess…it was good to see you again, West. Without the desert creepers. And it was nice to meet you, Terrence.”
But Axel winced a little when he said that last bit, like he’d had to force himself to say it.
“You two have fun doing, um, whatever you’re here doing.” Axel took a step back.
He seemed to be waiting for something, but West had no idea what. He still couldn’t get his tongue to work.
Axel sighed and his shoulders rounded as he turned and walked away.
“Wow, you’re just gonna let him go?” Terrence asked. “Are you stupid?”
“What do you mean?” And, yeah, West’s voice cracked.
Terrence gave another eye-roll. “Please. He was all about you. He didn’t even notice how adorable I am. Damn it. Hm.” He tapped his chin. “I wonder if he saw me touch your dick. If so, he probably thinks we’re together. You just broke his heart.”
“I did not,” West protested. “We don’t even know each other, so I can promise you his heart has nothing to do with me.” Wait, that didn’t make a lot of sense. “Whatever. He’s getting on the elevator, so I bet he’s going back to his room. You got to meet him, and—”
“Oh my god!” Terrence squealed again. “It’s Jukie! I am so nailing him!”
“But—” West closed his mouth as Terrence sauntered up to Jukie. In short order, they were entering another elevator. The speed with which Terrence worked was mind-boggling.
West stood there like an idiot in the lobby for five full minutes before he realized he had no reason to be there. A strange tug in his gut made him want to head toward the elevators himself, but that made no sense. He shouldn’t worry about leaving Terrence here. Terrence was a grown man and knew how to get back to the coven.
But it wasn’t Terrence he wanted to go after. The revelation startled West and it propelled him to the rotating door. He’d just stepped into one of the slots of the door when he heard his name called from behind him.
Chapter Nine
When Axel had first seen West in the lobby, he’d actually stumbled then stopped walking. He had just stared at the man’s profile. The chances of them running into each other again had to be exceedingly unlikely, yet there West was.
Axel had come out of his stupor, a spurt of joy burbling to life inside him.
Then that other fool had touched West’s dick. Axel’s mood had plummeted so quickly the room had seemed to spin with the weight of his disappointment. He’d have left if said fool hadn’t spotted him.
Even then, even thinking West had a handsy boyfriend, Axel hadn’t been able to resist a small flicker of hope that West would be happy to see him. There was, apparently, some idealized little romantic saga going on in the back of Axel’s mind.
It went something like—West would look into his eyes and an electric energy would spark between him and Axel. Fool-boy would disappear into a vapor or maybe ashes, whatever. He’d be gone and West would take Axel into his arms and kiss him as if he’d never wanted to be parted from him.
Axel was internally mortified by his hidden fantasy, and he wondered if he shouldn’t have read his grandmother’s old Harlequins. Perhaps they’d set him up for a lifetime of romantic disappointment.
But then…then Axel had run into Jukie and the guy Axel had thought was West’s boyfriend. When he’d bluntly asked, the guy had laughed like Axel’s question was the funniest thing ever before saying no.
Axel had never run down seven flights of stairs so fast in his life. The elevators had already left his floor and he’d not wanted to wait.
Winded more from nerves than the running, Axel saw West step into the rotating door and called out his name. Shouted it across the lobby, really, but he didn’t care that it got him several odd looks. It was only the startled one from West that mattered.
Axel rushed to the door where West was still standing, temporarily entrapped between the door’s panels. West seemed to be stuck in place, and other people waiting to exit were glaring and muttering.
“Excuse me,” Axel said as he slipped past them, his gaze still locked with West’s. Axel’s heart was slamming in his chest like it did before a competition, right before the calm hit and he lost himself in his routine. He wanted to lose himself in West the same way.
And hopefully there were no zombies around.
Axel stopped and pushed on the door.
West jolted and took a few steps. Axel slid into the next space, then in short order he was standing outside, with West only a couple of feet away.
It would figure, then, that words would fail him. Axel gulped and began to sweat, which certainly wasn’t going to make him more attractive. West probably thought he was a moron, and one with a potentially contagious illness, sweating like he was.
“Um.” Axel licked his lips and was heartened when West dropped his gaze, watching Axel do so. It bolstered his courage, which Axel really needed. “Hey. I was wondering if you’d like to maybe go get a drink somewhere and talk. I never did get to thank you for helping me that night.”
West seemed to be having trouble meeting Axel’s eyes, his gaze still lowered.
Axel licked his lips again and heard the quiet hitch of West’s breath. “Or we could go up to my room and fuck.”
West snapped his head back, his cheeks darkening with a blush.
That was obviously the wrong approach and too strong of a come on. Axel stuttered, knowing he couldn’t let West get away without something more than this stilted conversation this time. “Or not. Maybe you aren’t—” He glanced around then tipped his head toward the bench away from the entrance. “Look, could we at least sit and talk for a few minutes? Please?”
West scraped his top teeth over his bottom lip, then nodded.
Still fearing West would leave, Axel gestured to the bench. “After you.”
Axel ogled West’s butt for only a second before guilt had him staring instead at the man’s broad shoulders. As shy as West was—and Axel remembered now how nervous West had been simply taking off his shirt—Axel felt like a real perv checking out his ass. It would have made West uncomfortable to know he was doing it. Not getting caught didn’t matter. Axel wanted to respect West, he needed to.
West sat on the bench. The lighting wasn’t very good and cast him more in grays and blacks than color. Axel still thought he was gorgeous.
Axel sat beside him, careful not to touch. “So, I was surprised to see you here. And I…I thought that guy was your boyfriend since he was, um, groping you.”
“He’s not,” West got out as he looked down at his hands. “Terrence just doesn’t understand boundaries.”
Axel’s heart thudded a little faster. “I do,” he said quietly, willing West to look at him, to see and hear the sincerity he was trying to convey. “I wouldn’t touch you unless you wanted me to. I’m sorry I was so forward. I made you uncomfortable and that was the last thing I wanted.”
There it was again, that tiny hitch as West inhaled. Did that mean Axel had said the right thing or the wrong thing?
West finally darted him a quick glance before studying his hands again. “I don’t… I have four siblings that I’m responsible for raising. I don’t have the…the opportunities a lot of men my age do. My brothers and sisters, they mean everything to me.”
Axel bobbed his head. He supposed that might mean that West was a virgin after all. Usually he steered away from inexperienced men because they expected and deserved more than he was willing to give. Usually. There was just something about West that made walking away from him impossible. “I get that. I’m an only child, but I’d have loved to have even one sibling to play with. I’m glad you have them, an
d I think it’s admirable that you’re raising them. Can I ask what happened?”
West hesitated, then he sat up a little straighter and he began to talk about his parents, haltingly at first, then with more confidence. He even looked Axel in the eyes several times.
Axel thought he could live just for those moments.
Chapter Ten
West tucked in his shirt, then untucked it, then tucked it in again. Did tucking it in make him look like a loser? Did not tucking it in make him look like a slob? And why couldn’t he pull off that casually cool look so many other people managed? Heck, he couldn’t even hit it as a hipster.
West sighed and pushed his hair back off his forehead. The blond locks seemed to grow faster now than when he’d been just a regular guy. He considered putting some product in his hair, but trying to figure out who he could borrow some from left him with a blank. West settled for wetting it and brushing it back.
He was nervous, feeling like his body was a butterfly-filled shell. Tonight he was meeting Axel again. Just thinking about that made the back of his neck heat up, and his groin followed suit. West was surprised by his arousal, but it wasn’t the first time he’d had that reaction when thinking of Axel.
Last night, for instance, he’d had to use all of his willpower to keep from getting hard when he was saying goodbye to Axel. There’d been something in the way Axel had looked at him that had made West feel good and warm and happy. What that translated to for his dick was an erection West hadn’t been willing to allow. He would have been mortified if he’d stood up to say goodbye and his erection was noticeably out there—and it would have been, in that instance. The pants and the way he’d packed them last night hadn’t been conducive to hiding such things.
Tonight he’d be better prepared. And he’d leave his shirt untucked. West wrinkled his nose at his faceless reflection. It was still so weird seeing himself that way. Or not seeing himself, rather. Maybe a tank top or T-shirt under an untucked, unbuttoned shirt—
“Wow, you’re like my sister, only you’re a guy.”
West twisted around and glared at Terrence, who looked hip and cool and everything West wasn’t. “Ha. Ha. Are you seeing Jukie again tonight?”
Terrence shrugged and grimaced. “No way. He had trouble keeping it up last night, and he reeked of drugs and booze. I would have had more fun jacking off. Did, in fact.”
Well, now West’s entire face was hot and he couldn’t look at Terrence.
“Aw, you’re kinda adorable when you get all shy,” Terrence said.
West thought he was teasing, but wasn’t sure. “Cut it out.”
“Fine. You should learn to take a compliment,” Terrence told him. “Insecurity isn’t attractive.”
The barb landed right in West’s heart. He turned back around and fiddled with his shirt again.
Terrence sighed. His footsteps were barely audible as he approached West.
“Sorry, that wasn’t very cool of me,” Terrence murmured. He put one small hand to West’s lower back. “I’m an asshole. It’s just, you don’t see how hot you are, man. You could have anyone.”
“I can’t see myself at all,” West pointed out. “Not really. I’ll never see my face again.”
“Oh, is that freakin’ ya out?” Terrence scooted around him and West soon found himself with the small man plastered to his front.
“Um.” He gulped. “Terrence?”
“Terry.” Terrence grinned. He wiggled a little. “Totally adorable. But that’s not what I’m doing.”
“What, er, what are you doing?” West asked.
“Looking you over.” He looked at West critically, then reached up and did something with West’s hair. “There. You looked too schoolboyish with it all neatly combed back. I’m thinking you’re wanting to make another impression on Axel.”
West gawked at Terrence. “How did you know—?”
Terrence rolled his eyes. “It was a guess.”
“Oh.”
“Come on, I can give you some pointers about places to avoid, and if you do kinda want to see your face, I can help you there too.”
Hope shot through West. “You can?”
Terrence nodded. “Sure, to both. For one thing, avoid places with mirrors. You know, like when I was with Jukie last night, there was a big mirror on the bedroom wall. I had to keep his back to it so he didn’t end up seeing empty clothes…then nothing at all.” He laughed. “Man, that woulda maybe sobered him up though. But anyway, yeah, avoid mirrors and reflective surfaces, unless you want me to do your makeup. Makeup is how we can see ourselves. It shows in mirrors, but like, our eyes still don’t. Which can be fuckin’ weird, so sunglasses at night are a vamp thing in those instances. I think that dude who sang the sunglasses at night song musta been one of us…”
West tried to take in everything Terrence was saying, but he just talked so much! By the time West needed to leave, his ears were ringing from all the chatter. He’d hardly gotten in two words of his own.
At least he’d arranged to meet Axel again at their bench, which was a good thing. He hadn’t been comfortable enough to wear makeup—he’d end up accidentally wiping it off at the worst possible time or something.
Besides, all he and Axel were going to do was sit and talk for a while. West had started yammering last night, and when he’d finally stopped, he’d been surprised at himself. Then he’d felt like a jerk for monopolizing the whole conversation, if it could be called that.
When he’d apologized for it, Axel had said he’d enjoyed getting to know him, and if West was interested, they could meet up again the next night.
He assumed Axel would be doing most of the talking tonight. West hoped so. He wanted to find out more about the man.
“You look like a stud,” Terrence observed, looking him over. “Seriously, I wish I was as tall and handsome as you, but it’s okay. I can work cute and bubbly like no one else.” He winked then clapped his hands. “Okay, Fairy Godfather Terry is done here! Go out and fornicate!”
West surprised himself by laughing at that. Terrence was something else. “I’ll settle for talking tonight.”
Terrence groaned. “Aw, but you look so fuckable.”
West’s cheeks heated, but he remembered Terrence’s comment from earlier. “Thank you.”
Terrence beamed at him, then West left the room. He had his first date and didn’t want to be late for it.
Chapter Eleven
Axel smoothed down his shirt, not that it was poking up or wrinkled anywhere. He was nervous and excited. How West could tangle him up inside like this was incomprehensible. Axel wasn’t super-easy, but he’d been around enough to have moved past feeling like he was on his first date ever.
Yet his palms kept sweating, and he’d spent almost an hour just picking out the light gray button-up shirt he now wore. He’d been flying on adrenaline after winning today and he’d crashed hard after showering, becoming so jittery he’d had to shower again before getting dressed.
He could hear Jukie in the room next door, shouting at Yolanda. Axel considered going over there to see if he could help, but Jukie had been furious when Axel had won. There was no denying that it was time to permanently sever their ties. Unless Jukie cleaned up and stayed that way, he was no one’s friend. Not even Yolanda’s, despite them having grown up together.
A loud thud was followed by a shout. Axel tensed, then against his better judgment, he left his room and knocked on the door to Jukie and Yolanda’s.
After some cursing, the door was unlocked and opened. Yolanda hissed at him. “Go away. You won’t help anything here and will only make him madder.”
“But—”
“Go!” she snapped just before slamming the door shut.
Axel didn’t like it but he went back to his hotel room. He listened for any other signs and sounds of fighting, determined to call the police if that’s what he had to do. But a half hour passed and all he heard was the TV through the thin walls. He hoped Jukie had passed ou
t or calmed down.
Axel left again but this time took the elevators down to the lobby. He’d have liked to take West out to eat somewhere nice, or to a movie or show, but the prize money wasn’t in his account yet. Plus, West had been the one to suggest meeting at the bench again to talk.
Talk. God, talking’s good, but there’s other things I’d like to be doing to West. He’s got the most kissable lips I’ve ever seen, and that shy, blushing manner just does it for me. Axel had jacked off in the shower—both times—unable to keep from thinking of West as he did so. He’d envisioned those pink lips parting for his cock, the wet heat of West’s mouth, the rippling grip of his throat as he took Axel deep.
Axel had come so hard he’d almost blacked out. If he ever did get to have sex with West, it just might kill him.
And Axel had to stop thinking about that or he’d have another boner. West probably wouldn’t notice, but if he did, it might embarrass him. For all that Axel wanted to get his hands…and mouth…and other parts on West, he didn’t want to scare West off. Plus, he kind of thought he wanted more than that with West.
West had talked about his four brothers and sisters. He’d conveyed so much love for them, and not any regret or anger at having the responsibility of raising them. That smacked of a man who liked commitment, who understood it and perhaps needed it.
Which might explain why West didn’t have much, if any, experience with other men. Most guys Axel knew would run screaming from a potential relationship that involved raising four kids not their own.
Axel had never understood that. Kids were kids and they all needed love and dependable adults in their lives. Loving one more just because he or she had your DNA seemed cold-hearted to him.
The bench was unoccupied. Axel checked his phone. He had twelve minutes to wait. He sat on the bench and wondered which direction West would come from. Last night, he’d left walking east. Axel perched on the bench, facing that direction in the hopes of catching a glimpse of West before he saw Axel.
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