Page 1 of Rico

One

Rico Demara’s thumb hovered over the send button on the text he just typed out. It should’ve been a no-brainer to say yes to a night of mindless fucking with no strings attached that he occasionally enjoyed with Basil Landry. The two men had been acquaintances for years, following a random hookup one night. Rico wouldn’t go so far as to say they were friends since ninety percent of their time together was spent getting each other off. He knew the basics about Basil—his name, age, phone number, his occupation—mechanic—and the fact he never fucked anyone without a condom, nor did he smoke or do drugs. He also had an incredibly talented mouth, but beyond all that, Rico knew little about the man. He had no idea if Basil had brothers or sisters, if he had any family he was close to, or even if he was originally from San Francisco or had grown up somewhere else before moving to the Bay Area. Basil knew just as little about Rico. It’s how the two men preferred to keep their relationship. Whenever they both found themselves unattached, they hooked up—plain, simple, and uncomplicated.

Rico wouldn’t have hesitated if it was any other night than Wednesday. His staff at the Cock & Bull, the pub he owned, could handle things while he took the rest of the night off, so thatwasn’t why he wavered in his response to Basil. Nope, the reason why he couldn’t press that damn button was becausehemight walk in.

Hewas a six-foot-two, two-hundred-pound, delicious man named Evan. Rico didn’t even know the guy’s last name, but that hadn’t stopped Rico from lusting after him. Evan came in like clockwork every Wednesday night at six thirty for the past seven weeks. He sat at the end of the bar, ordered a burger or sandwich for dinner, had a few beers, and chatted with the staff and other patrons. If the Giants played a baseball game that night, he watched it on the large-screen TVs above the bar, cheering and groaning with everyone else, depending on whether the local team was winning or losing.

He was in his late thirties, with a fine physique, and was so damn good-looking, he made Rico’s mouth water. With light-brown hair, chocolate-colored eyes, and classic features, he garnered the attention of men and women alike but never returned their interest—at least not that Rico had noticed. Evan always seemed a bit shy whenever anyone hit on him, but he never appeared insulted if it was a guy. In fact, Rico knew some of the regulars were trying to figure out whether Evan was gay, straight, or bi without coming right out and asking him. Either way, it wouldn’t bother anyone since the Cock & Bull was an all-inclusive establishment catering to many in the LBGTQ+ community.

Over the past year and a half, the C&B had become a popular place for both locals and tourists, no matter their sexual orientation. Occasionally, the bouncers needed to kick out a few bigots, who somehow missed the prominent pride flag in the front bay window, but it didn’t happen often.

If Rico had to guess, Evan was in the closet. Several times, while looking through the reflection in the mirror behind the bar, Rico caught Evan eyeing him with a lustful expression thatwould quickly disappear again before anyone else would notice. Rico even tried a little subtle flirting with the guy last week, but all Evan did was blush, finish his beer, and say he needed to get home.

It drove Rico nuts that he couldn’t get a read on the guy, and the last thing he wanted was to be someone’s experiment or dirty little secret. But he couldn’t stop watching the door and the clock, waiting for Evan to stroll in.

He was just about to say fuck it and hit send on his phone when the object of his growing obsession arrived, looking yummy in faded snug jeans and a royal blue Henley. Evan greeted the hostess, Elena, as he did each week, then headed for an open stool at the end of the bar.

Since the other bartender, Austin Haynes, was busy making some mixed drinks, Rico poured a Coors Light draft, ambled over to Evan, and set it down in front of the man, who chuckled. “Thanks, Rico. If you know what I want before I even order it, I guess this means I’m a regular now.”

Rico hated how much it turned him on to hear this man say his name in that rumbling voice that he felt all the way down to his toes. And what was up with his cock’s reaction to Evan’s statement about knowing what he wanted? If the man knew what Rico really wished Evan wanted from him, he’d probably leave and never come back.

Why the fuck did he have to be attracted to the closeted ones? Been there, done that, had the bruises on his heart to remind him it was a bad idea to get involved with any guy who was too mortified to admit he was into men and not women.

Rico forced himself to treat the hunk like all the other patrons. “Guess so. Want a menu?”

Evan glanced at one of the boards hanging on the walls around the restaurant, announcing the night’s specials. “Nah,don’t bother. The whiskey burger sounds good—I’ll have that. Medium rare, please.”

“You got it.”

Thankfully, the next few hours were busy because it kept Rico from constantly ogling Evan, although he had to suffer through watching him get hit on by two men and one woman. Perverse satisfaction stole through Rico when all three were shot down—politely, of course.

Around nine p.m., Rico’s friends Scout Turner and Alex Shepherd walked in, surprising him because of the late hour. Scout was a self-made millionaire and the founder and CEO of Turner Continental, which owned several hotels and apartment complexes, including the Paradox Hotel & Residencies across the street from the Cock & Bull. The hotel took up the first twenty-eight floors, while condos occupied the next fourteen. Rico lived on the thirty-second floor, while Scout and Alex’s home was one of two penthouses.

He and Scout had known each other since they met when their separate elementary schools were funneled into one middle school. When Rico’s parents were killed in a car accident at the end of his sophomore year of high school, he had to move in with his aunt, uncle, and cousins in another school district. Despite that, Rico and Scout stayed close, and Rico thanked God for that friendship on more than one occasion.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Scout, the Cock & Bull would still only be Rico’s pipe dream. When Rico had trouble getting a bank loan to open the business, Scout stepped in and became a silent partner. At first, Rico adamantly turned his friend down, but the bastard could be relentless when he wanted something. In the end, the only way Rico agreed to accept the money was if it was considered a loan that he would repay, and thanks to the success of the C&B, he had no trouble making the monthly payments with interest to Scout.

About a year ago, Scout hired Alex as his new personal assistant and winded up breaking his steadfast rule of not dating or fucking any of his employees. Alex had gone high school with Rico’s cousin, Gino, but they were both a few years younger than Rico, and he hadn’t remembered Alex from school when Scout introduced them. Rico liked to think that a conversation with his friend a few months later prompted Scout to take a chance on love, which the man had finally done. Back in December, right before Christmas, Scout and Alex got engaged while on a trip to New York City. The wedding would take place in October, with Rico being Scout’s best man and Alex’s sister standing up for him.

Rico was annoyed to feel relieved when Scout and Alex took the two now-empty stools beside Evan on the short end of the bar, hoping it would cut down on the number of people hitting on the man. Evan’s stool was in the corner next to the wall, so there was little space for someone wanting to squeeze past the other two men to talk to him.

Tossing two cardboard coasters on the bar in front of Scout and Alex, Rico said, “Hey, what are you guys doing here this late?”

Scout was the one to answer. “Just came from the art gallery that’s handling Rex’s exhibition. Tonight was the private showing before the gala on Saturday. You’re going, right?”

Rex Adams was a friend of Scout and Rico and a well-sought-after artist as of late. After years of hard work, Rex’s career finally took off about twenty months ago. It was after movie star Magnus Keller, who lived in the Paradox penthouse opposite Scout and Alex’s, had done a recorded interview from the sanctity of his San Francisco home. When the female reporter asked who the artist was of the stunning painting that hung in his living room, he told her about Rex, whose art also graced some of the walls in the lobby of the hotel downstairs. Rex hadn’teven known about the interview until after his phone started ringing off the hook. Since then, his paintings sold like crazy. Canvases that were in storage for years now hung in the homes of some of the wealthiest people around the world. To say the guy was still shell-shocked was an understatement.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m glad he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.” Rico always knew his friend had talent and that it was only a matter of time before everyone else knew it too. In fact, he proudly had two of Rex’s paintings on display in his living room, having been gifted them as housewarming presents when he moved into his condo.

“Right. If we knew all it would take was for Mag to open his big mouth, he would’ve been a hit years ago.”

“What can I get you two? The usual?”

Scout glanced at his fiancé, who nodded. “Why break tradition?”

Rico chuckled, then left to retrieve a Guinness draft for Alex and a Grey Goose and club soda with a twist of lime for Scout. By the time he brought the drinks to them, they were involved in a full-blown conversation with Evan about the upcoming NFL draft the following weekend. As Rico set the glasses on the bar, Evan stuck his hand out to Scout. “By the way, I’m Evan Calhoun.”

Rico’s longtime friend accepted the handshake. “Scout Turner, and this is my fiancé, Alex Shepherd.”

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