Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Okay.” She offers me another grin. “Let’s see what we can do.”
*
Last November
It’s been fun having Rylan, Hayes, Eric, Donovan, Ana, and Mads all at Lush tonight, partying and getting to see me dance. It’s so wild becoming close with Hayes and Donovan. While I’m not the same quiet, shy, angry boy I used to be, I’ve spent my life not allowing myself to get close to anyone.
When I was a kid and thought I might, I learned real quick no one really wanted me around. The one time I tried as an adult, I’d ended up dating the biggest asshole in LA—Malcolm—with all his emotional abuse and cheating ways. The only good thing to come from being with him is that I met Hayes and Donovan—two of the other men Malcolm had been secretly dating at the same time. Now we’re members of the Jilted Exes’ Club, which is a misnomer because this is the happiest I’ve ever been. Hayes and Donovan are…special. And as scary as it is, I’m learning to trust them.
My friendship with the two of them has also brought Donovan’s partner, Eric, Hayes’s partner, Rylan, and their friends Ana and Mads into my life—Mads, who is way hotter than any one person has a right to be. It doesn’t help that he’s also the goalie for the LA Rebels, and there’s something so sexy about seeing him in his hockey uniform.
We all tease and gush over how cute Eric and Donovan are together, before Eric slips away with Ana. I call Eric and Donovan partners, even though they haven’t yet acknowledged their feelings for each other. The definition of idiots in love should include them—and I mean that in the most loving way imaginable.
“He’s killing me,” Donovan says the second Eric and Ana are gone.
“I think you mean to say he’s crazy about you. Have you still not told him how you feel?” Hayes asks.
“We say I love you, but we’ve always said that…though we say it more now. I know I need to talk to him, but I’m scared of doing anything that’ll change things.”
“Why would telling him change the fact that you’re in love with each other?” Rylan asks. “Is this something else I don’t know about relationships? I’m still figuring this stuff out, but I’m pretty fucking good at it so far.” Rylan grins.
“How do I know if he’s in love with me?” Donovan questions. “He hasn’t told me.”
Mads looks puzzled. “Wait. You can’t tell he’s in love with you? You’re worse than Rylan was,” he says, and I can’t help letting my gaze linger on him—on his long, lithe, but muscular form. His dark-brown hair and those sweet blue eyes that are good at making a person feel important. Oh, the things I would do with this man…
“It’s different for them,” I chime in, defending them. “They’re best friends. There’s a lot at stake.” There’s not a chance in hell they don’t feel the same about each other, but I get Donovan’s worry.
“Thank you,” he replies.
I go sit beside him. “I still think you need to talk to him. And you only won’t because you know who is in your head, saying you can’t have this.” Funny how easy it is to spot Donovan’s hold-up while ignoring my own. But I know Malcolm’s in my head and probably always will be, what he did to me compounded by the fact that no one else has ever really wanted me. Malcolm just proved what I’ve always known. Plus, it’s not the same for me. Hayes met a really unique guy in Rylan, and Donovan and Eric have probably been in love their whole lives. I don’t have any of that.
They complain about how much of a dick Malcolm is while I silently wish I never brought him up. I pick at the glitter painted on my nails, and when I look up, Mads is watching me. I lift a brow as if to ask him what’s up, but he just cocks his head slightly, like he’s trying to figure something out.
Suddenly Donovan is on his feet. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“To find my man.”
Just a couple of beats go by before Rylan asks, “Should we follow?”
“No!” Hayes chides.
“I mean…who doesn’t want to see a really romantic moment?” I ask. “It’s like something from a movie.”
“I’m down. I love that kind of stuff!” Mads stands, and then the rest of us are scrambling to our feet too.
We weave through the crowd of dancing, happy people, trying to follow Donovan. My muscles immediately tighten when I hear a commotion ahead, getting louder and angrier, rising above the music. My footsteps quicken. Lush is my happy place, the love of my life, and I damn sure don’t let anyone fuck with that.