Page 13 of Something Unavoidable

“You’re with a different hookup every night. I worry. We all do.”

Izzy hid the flash of hurt and gave Micah a sly smirk, removing Micah’s hands from his face. “I don’t think the guy who decided his husband’s dick wasn’t enough gets to have an opinion on my sex life.” He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but he didn’t take them back.

Micah’s eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared as he inhaled slowly, then breathed out again. “You can’t distract me by acting like an asshole,” he said, voice steely but calm. “I’ve been your friend way too long for that to work.”

Izzy’s next breath ached. “I’m not acting,” he said, the closest he could bring himself to an apology. He was an asshole. Everyone knew that. “Yet, you still put up with me,” he continued, the joke falling flat.

Micah sighed and shook his head but thankfully let it go. “Ryan commandeered a table. Come sit with us.” He pointed to one of the large booths on the far side of the dance floor.

Izzy shook his head. “I’m fine.” He gestured to the bar. “Damion’s taking care of me, and I have a friend on the way.”

It was Micah’s turn to wrinkle his nose. “Dude, you’re the one who invited us out, and you haven’t even said hi to Nicky.”

“If you wanted me around, you should have thought through your plus-one,” Izzy shot back.

Micah heaved a sigh and waved Damion down, clearly needing another drink to deal with Izzy’s bullshit. “Seriously? Why are you still clinging to this grudge? I thought work went well this week.”

“It’s not a grudge,” Izzy grumbled, annoyance flaring. “The guy just pisses me off. Your husband may have ordered me to put up with him, but that doesn’t mean I have to play nice on my night off.”

“I don’t get you two,” Micah said, almost to himself. “If I didn’t know it would end in violence, I’d lock you in a room until you got it out of your systems.”

Izzy ignored him. He was here to have fun. Keegan wasn’t fun. He drained the last of his drink and set the glass on the bar. “Dance with me,” he said, taking Micah by the shoulders and steering him toward the flashing lights and writhing bodies.With any luck, app guy would arrive soon and Izzy could put on a show.

Izzy cursed and bangedhis fist against the tiled bathroom wall, frustration coursing through him. His pants were around his ankles, his asshole wet with lube, and his erection still raging. The stall door slammed shut behind his almost-hookup’s retreating back, and the sound of the bathroom door followed it.

“Fucker,” he grumbled, dragging his jeans back up, and tucked himself away, not in the mood to take care of his hard-on after that clusterfuck. It wasn’t about getting off anyway. If that was all he wanted, he could have dealt with it at home with a lot less disappointment.

The so-called “aggressive top” had been questionable from the word go. He’d insisted on buying Izzy a drink, then seemed annoyed when Izzy declined, not in the mood for chitchat when he was about to vibrate out of his skin. When they reached the bathroom, things had improved slightly. He’d ordered Izzy to get himself ready, watching with a hungry gaze as Izzy arched his back and spread his legs, stretching himself with two fingers, then three. The dirty talk had been unoriginal, but that was easy enough to block out. In the end, it had all fallen apart when Izzy insisted on protection.

It wasn’t the first time he’d had a guy call things off over condoms. It was bullshit. Sure, plenty of guys went without these days. Between PrEP and DoxyPEP, going raw didn’t hold the danger it used too, but that didn’t mean Izzy wanted some random’s come dripping out of his ass for the rest of the night. He always used protection for anal. Always.And, dependingon the guy, he avoided swallowing when it came to oral. Most hookups were fine with it—especially once he reminded them that, as good as he was at blow jobs, if they came down his throat, they wouldn’t get a chance at his ass.

He scrubbed his face, the guy’s parting insults still echoing inside his skull, then pushed out of the stall and ran smack into a firm body that didn’t so much as shift at the collision. Izzy stumbled back, an apology on his lips before he realized who he’d run into.

Of course. Just his goddamnfuckingluck.

Keegan was a solid barrier between Izzy and the exit, his stance wide and his arms folded across his chest. One arched brow lifted as he took in Izzy’s flushed skin and disheveled clothes.

“What’s your problem?” Izzy snapped, flustered, and angry that he was flustered. He had no reason to be embarrassed. He turned to the sink to scrub the lube off his fingers and splash water on his face.

Keegan didn’t respond, but Izzy could feel the judgment rolling off him.

It made him want to scream. “Well?” he demanded, ripping a handful of paper towels from the dispenser to dry his face, ignoring the ones that drifted to the floor. “You might as well say it. I can tell you’re dying to.” He threw the paper towels in the direction of the trash. They ended up on the floor too, but whatever. He was too agitated to care. His skin was pulsing with a combination of arousal and anger, and if Keegan didn’t get out of his way, Izzy was going to do something stupid.

“You deserve better.”

Izzy flinched. That…wasn’t what he’d been bracing himself for. He blamed the alcohol for the way his eyes started to prickle; it must finally be hitting him. “Gee, thanks,” he snarked. He stormed over to the trash and grabbed the paper towels, stuffingthem in the can. “I never would have realized that without your valuable insight.”

Keegan sighed. “Do you have to twist everything I say into an insult? I’m not your enemy, Isaac.”

Izzy saw red. He pushed into Keegan’s space so fast that Keegan’s back hit the exit door. With his fists twisted in Keegan’s shirt, Izzy used his height to his advantage, glaring down at him. “Stop pretending you know me,” he snarled.

Keegan’s hands were hot, tight bands around Izzy’s wrists, but he otherwise didn’t make a move to defend himself, and his expression stayed infuriatingly neutral. Izzy hated it. Izzy was burning up—the anger, frustration, and arousal making his blood race. He wanted Keegan to lose his cool too. To give Izzysomethingthat proved he wasn’t alone in his desperation.

What buttons did he need to push to make Keegan snap?

“Why do you thinkI’m pretending? It’s not like we’re strangers.”

Izzy’s nostrils flared, and a muscle in his jaw jumped as he ground his teeth. He was so close to Keegan that their chests brushed with each inhale, and Keegan could pick out all the different shades of blue and gray in his eyes. “You don’t knowanything,” Izzy rasped out. Then between one breath and the next, his mouth crashed down on Keegan’s, punishingly hard.

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