So. There's that. >.<
Enjoy.
“That was brutal.”
I shot to my feet and spun around, peering into the darkness just beyond the light’s edge. I saw the bright tip of a burning cigarette, though when the smell hit me, I knew it wasn’t an ordinary cigarette. The man stepped from the shadows, coming more into view. He sported a tux like nobody’s business, tall and beautiful, roughly around thirty, with sun-bleached sandy hair that flopped over one of his incredible amber eyes. He offered the joint.
I didn’t refuse it. When other people walked through the doors, he motioned for me to join him in the shadows, where we could partake in private.
Out of sheer curiosity, I followed. I gave him back the joint, and he inhaled deeply. “God, I hate these things. Fucking boring as hell. That’s why I bring my own party favors,” he grinned before he exhaled a cloud of fragrant smoke.
“Then why do you come?” I asked as I took the joint for another hit of my own.
He shrugged. “It’s a good cause. Besides, wearing a tux, dancing with all the pretty girls and drinking from a full bar all night isn’t a bad way to make a living.”
I peered at him even closer in the low light. Why did he look so familiar?
He answered my unspoken question with an outstretched hand. “Caz Bixby. In case you’re wondering where you’ve seen me before.”
My eyes opened wide. His reputation had definitely preceded him. He was the one who had demolished an entire presidential campaign when he came out as the potential first lady’s boy toy for hire. He was probably the best known male escort on the planet, hence why he’d be working a party like this one. I took his hand, which he held for just a beat longer than necessary. “And you are…?” he asked with one cocked eyebrow.
“Rudy Renfro,” I supplied. His smirk deepened.
“Please tell me you have a job worthy of such a celebrity name,” he teased.
I shrugged. “I play guitar in a band,” I dismissed easily.
“A rocker,” he surmised as he glanced me over. “Not what I would have guessed. Good for you.”
Another shrug. “I don’t know what I am anymore.”
He chuckled again as he took one last hit, before he snubbed it out on the stone wall. “You’re not in love with that pretty girl, you know that much.”
“Yeah,” I muttered as I glanced back at the patio.
He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Hey. Don’t beat yourself up. You can’t help it you’re gay.”
My eyes shot to his. Even in the shadows of the darkened gardens, I could see how they pierced through my armor to see right to the very heart of me. It was one thing for my sister to see it. She’d known me her entire life. It was another for Tony to see it, because he could see physically how I reacted to him. But a stranger I just met? I stammered as I tried to find my footing.
“I’m not… I just… what?”
He pulled me into the crook of his arm. “Don’t panic, Rudy Renfro. Your secret is safe with me. And before you drive yourself crazy with the question, no. I don’t think everyone can tell. But it’s my job to see what people lack so that I can give it to them. And dude, your frustration is full-tilt.”
My gaze narrowed. “Is this where you give me your card and tell me to call you for a little alone time?”
With the flick of his wrist, he offered his card.
“Sorry,” I said as I pushed away. “I don’t think I can afford your rates.”
He chuckled as he followed me through the darkened garden. “You are probably right about that, young Rudy. I’ve never been in one but I’ve heard bar bands don’t pay a whole lot.”
I made a face he couldn’t see. He could read an awful lot for such a short acquaintance. “So I guess you’re just wasting your time.”
I could feel his shrug. “Maybe it’s the mood of the evening, but I’m feeling kind of charitable.”
I spun around to face him. “I’m not interested, okay?”
His grin deepened. “Is it the whole virgin thing, or are you just that tied up in knots over some guy who won’t return the favor?”
I gaped at him. He stepped forward.
“Again, your secret is safe with me.” He put his card into my breast pocket. “But if you ever need a friend, especially one who has many friends in the music biz, call me. No strings. No hourly rate.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You mean you’d fuck me for free?”
He chuckled as he stepped forward, till we were practically nose to nose. “I don’t give away freebies to men,” he assured as he bent closer, his mouth above mine. “But you remind me of someone I used to know. And I guess I kind of like you, baby.”
With that he kissed me. It wasn’t sexual—just a peck. It floored me all the same as he patted the pocket where his card now hid and left me alone in the darkness.
MASKED IN THE MUSIC releases September 25th. You can pre-order it now for the discounted price of $1.99. It goes up to regular price after release.
Fair warning... if you need a warning to read a book, this will NOT be the book for you.
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