Page 16 of The Northern Lights in His Eyes

“I have a couple of bookings for you, and I have three requests for Paris Fashion Week. Procter & Gamble is interested in you as a spokesman for a new dish detergent. When will you be back? They want to meet with you.”

He sighed. “I don’t know. Give me a little time. I’ll be glad to Zoom with anyone and confirm for Paris, okay?” He knew he needed to go back eventually, but he had hoped he could have a little time away without too much pressure.

“I’ll do my best. I can probably set up something with P&G for next week. But there are other potential jobs in the works, and they are going to want to meet with you before pulling the trigger.”

“I understand.” William met Garvin’s worried gaze with a smile. “Just give me some time.” He ended the call and set the phone aside.

“You still with Arnie?” Garvin asked. “I never liked that guy.”

William rolled his eyes. “Really? I never would have figured that out. Before you left, you spent three years calling him Barney Blabbertwit.” He had to smile at the memory, because Garvin had been right, Arnie did talk too much, but he got things done.

Garvin grinned. “I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me. So what did the Barney of all Barneys want?”

“Really? Is that what you’re going for? You couldn’t have come up with something more original?” William loved the way he could tease Garvin and he never got mad.

“What? I haven’t had any time to come up with better. I haven’t thought about him in years. God, I would have thought that you’d have found someone else. I always like to picture him as the model for Barney Rubble. He even kind of looks like him: short, squat, and dumpy. All he needs is a club and he’d have the look down.”

William stood close, his hands on his hips. “I’ll have you know that Arnie has gotten me some great jobs. And I know he’s different.” He leaned right into Garvin’s space. “But so are we, remember?” He held Garvin’s gaze until he lowered his head slightly. “He’s made me a ton of money in the past few years. Like, piles of it.”

Garvin put up his hands. “Sorry. Heaven forbid I disparage the Barney.” He curled his lips, and William lost it, collapsing onto Garvin as he slipped his arms around him. William lay with his head against Garvin’s side, still chuckling. “So what did he want?”

“He’s got some bookings for me. A potential commercial, and some gigs for fashion week in Paris. I’m doing really well. Photographers love working with me, and so do the designers. I have a body that they seem to design clothes for, and I’m easy to work with.” He shrugged as Garvin pulled back.

His eyes widened. “I can’t see that. You were always the biggest diva of anyone I’ve ever known.”

William shook his head. “Let me ask you something. Would a diva come up here to the wilds of Alaska to find you? Or spend hours out in the frigid cold and snow to try to find people lost in an avalanche? I know you always thought I was flighty and self-absorbed, and maybe I was. Maybe I didn’t think about anyone other than myself and damn the consequences. But I’ve changed. I grew up and figured out some shit.”

“I see,” Garvin said flatly.

William wanted to smack him, but he drew closer and kissed him, hard, possessively, like he had wanted to for days. He held Garvin’s cheeks, taking control of everything as he pummeled Garvin’s lips, giving him all the energy he had. Garvin seemed shocked for a split second, but then he hugged him tighter.

That was all the permission William needed. He tugged up Garvin’s shirt and slipped his hand underneath, running it up his hot belly to his chest, tweaking those pert nipples until Garvin groaned against his lips. Then, just when Garvin writhed under him, William pulled back. “No, I don’t think you do.”

“What…? I thought….” Garvin whimpered, and damn, William liked him that way. His eyes were wide, and his chest heaved as he breathed. It was a damned good look on him.

“I know what you thought. But I have changed. I figured out some shit. I think things through now, in case you haven’t noticed. I work hard at what I do, and success has come my way because of it. I don’t spend my evenings out with the guys, and I don’t go to clubs and dance the night away. I stopped all that shit.”

“You did?” Garvin asked.

“Yeah. It was making me look old before my time, and I got this wake-up call. Suddenly the friend I thought would always be there was gone. He just fucking left.” William growled as he squeezed Garvin’s nipple, getting a hiss for his effort. “Damn, you like that?” He grinned. “Maybe you’ll get a little more, but first….” He kissed him again, hard and firm, reveling in Garvin’s fresh taste. “You need to understand. I waited for you. I had been for a long time, and then you never got over your grief. I wanted to help you. Fuck, I was always there, even when you called at two in the morning. But then you left, and….” William shrugged. “So I tried to be the person I thought you needed. I cleaned up my act and threw myself into work, trying to be a better version of myself. And I did it. I am that person… but you were still gone.” He almost shook as he let all of that out. He had been holding it inside for so long that it poured out of him fast and with little control. Maybe he hadn’t changed as much as he thought, though the old William would probably have blurted it out sooner.

“So you decided to try to find me?” Garvin asked.

“Yeah, I did. I figured you’d never come back, so I came looking for you… and nearly froze my ass off. But I came anyway.”

Garvin swallowed. “So how long do you have? I know you have to go back. There are jobs you have to take, and your life isn’t up here in the middle of nowhere, as you put it. So how long before you have to go?” The way Garvin said it made William think he might actually care.

“A couple of weeks. My agent is setting up some Zoom calls so I can talk to folks, but they are going to want to meet with me before making a final decision. So I have a little time.” He hoped he got that long. Things had a habit of changing.

“I see. Is that all Barney wanted?” Garvin asked.

“You know guys like him. He’d feel much better if I were back in LA where he would know where I was and what I was up to.” William rolled his eyes. “I think he figures I’m going to go back to doing things like I used to. But I don’t think so. I’m not a kid anymore. I probably have two or three good years left and then I’ll be too old. Then it will be younger guys who’ll push me aside.” If he was honest, that was part of what brought him here.

“I see.” Garvin held him tightly. “You know, from where I stand, those young guys don’t have anything on you.”

“I wish that were true. But it’s the way of things. Guys like me get older, and younger guys with tighter abs and big pouty lips or gazes that smolder on command are coming up, and they want their spot in the sun. Me, I’ve had more years in the business than most guys.”

“Yet you still are in demand,” Garvin pointed out. “So I don’t think you have anything to worry about. But I understand. You have to make hay while you can.”

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