When Owen had asked Chad to move in, the guy had been all dramatic about it, acting like he’d never thought Owen would ask. He’d moved in the next day, and they’d never looked back.
It’d been almost a year now.
Chad was slurping a noodle into his mouth when he jolted forward and tossed down his food. He did that a lot, as if ideas hit him like lightning, and if he didn’t tell Owen right away, the thought would disappear. He held up a finger. “I have something for you.”
Owen froze. Did he miss their anniversary? His birthday? A holiday? “What’s the date?”
Chad chuckled and stood up and disappeared down the hall. The sound of the closet door echoed from their bedroom. “It’s not a special occasion,” Chad called. “It’s a just-because thing.”
“A just-because thing? That’s a thing?”
Chad sauntered back down the hall, a large rectangular package in his hand. “It’s my thing, O. Quit worrying and get excited for your present.”
Owen set down his food as Chad placed the package in his lap. It was flat and rather heavy. He frowned at it. “You know I feel weird when I don’t reciprocate.”
“I know,” Chad said. “God, just fucking open it.”
He ran his finger down the front of the package as a smile tugged at his lips. He loved surprises, and it’d been a long time since someone had done something like this for him.
He ripped open the package, and as soon as he saw the picture that sat in the frame, he gasped then burst out laughing. The tears leaked out of his eyes, but he couldn’t stop as he stared down at an enlarged version of the Dapper Dick set in an expensive wooden frame. Chad had added details to it since Owen had last seen it, emphasizing muscles Owen certainly didn’t have, highlighting his blond hair.
He was pretty sure the superhero’s dick was bigger, too. When he could speak, he wiped under his eyes. “Chad, this might be the best present anyone has ever gotten me.”
Chad fist pumped the air. “Can we hang it in the bedroom? Please?”
“You mean you don’t want to hang it right here in the living room? For all our guests to ogle?”
Chad jutted his chin out in a challenge. “I dare you.”
Owen shook his head. “No, I want it in the bedroom. The Dapper Dick will watch over us while we sleep.”
Chad scrunched his lips to the side. “He doesn’t have that many protective superpowers, unless he, uh, orgasms intruders to death.”
“Well, he does have this club between his legs.”
Chad’s eyes widened before it was his turn to clutch his stomach and fall back onto the couch in a howl of laughter. “There you go making a funny, O!”
He puffed out his chest and rubbed his knuckles on it.
Chad sat up and picked up his food again. He raised an eyebrow at Owen. “So you like it?”
Owen held the picture out in front of him, already thinking of where he wanted to hang it, then set it down on the floor so he could finish eating. “I love it.” Chad ducked his head, but not before Owen caught the flush that stained his cheeks. It was so cute when he got embarrassed about his talent. He nudged him with his elbow. “Hey.”
Chad’s brows were furrowed as he dug into his container, probably for an evasive veggie. “Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Chad lifted his head and grinned, his smirk ever present. “I know you do.”
“Good.”
“O?”
“Yeah?”
“I love your Bow Tie ass.”
“I know you do.”
“Good.”
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The Dapper Dick
Art by Ashley Kaye Hayes
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank every reader of my Gamers series who reviewed and messaged and made noise about how much you loved Chad. This book is written because of you. Chad was never in the original three-book series, but because of you all, we gave him a book. Because he’s Chad, and how can you not love him?
I had so much fun writing this book. Probably the most fun out of every book I’ve written to this date. I let Chad’s voice take over, then Owen spoke up, and together they were a match made in nerdy heaven. Thank you to my editor, Heather Howland, for letting me give Chad a voice as the first male/male romance on the Brazen line. I’m honored! Thanks for loving “Chowen” along with me and working tirelessly to make sure we nailed this book.
Thank you to my agent, Marisa Corvisiero, for always putting my best interests first in every business decision. I couldn’t do this all without you.
Thank you to Natalie Blitt, as always, for being the absolute best and reading everything I put in front of you—including things riddled with typos—and smiling when you do it. You really are a plot whisperer!
Thank you to Santino Hassell, for a) being a super-awesome friend, b) writing swoony books, and c) beta reading this book for me. Your notes were spot-on, and you gave me the confidence to put a book out there where I talked about a superhero called the Dapper Dick.
Thanks again to the readers who have accepted a different kind of Brazen hero—a nerdy one who still loves his woman (and man!) and who can wear video game cosplay as well as his suit.
Thank you to my family and friends. Thank you to my husband, who answered my relentless tech questions. Your dry wit was the inspiration for most of these characters, and I couldn’t have done this series without you.
And this might be weird, but thank you, Chad. You were a joy to spend time with, and I never got tired of hearing your voice in my head. You are one of a kind, sir.
About the Author
Megan Erickson worked as a journalist covering real-life dramas before she decided she liked writing her own endings better and switched to fiction.
She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two cats. When she’s not tapping away on her laptop, she’s probably listening to the characters in her head who won’t stop talking.
For more, visit www.meganerickson.org or sign up for her newsletter at eepurl.com/KNN9P
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Tied to Trouble (Gamers) Page 17
