Page 1 of Euphoria

Hugh

Prologue

Hugh wasn’t sure why he couldn’t get Luke on the phone. He had called him at least twenty times in the last fifteen minutes, and not reaching him wasn’t an option. Luke liked for him to check in every few hours, to let him know where he was, but he really didn’t mind. Hugh knew that was Luke’s way of caring about him. It was nice to have someone worrying about him the way that Luke did.

They had only been together for a little over six months now, and he wondered if moving in with Luke was a good idea, but it had turned out to be a great decision. It gave them more time to hang out together outside of work. Hugh worried that working and living together might prove detrimental to their relationship, but Luke assured him that was ridiculous.

He ran into their townhome and found the place empty. Hugh looked out the front window to see if Luke’s car was in the parking spot, and it was. “Where the hell is he?” Hugh whispered to himself. If he had to guess, Luke went out for a run or had a friend pick him up, but it wasn’t like him not to answer the phone.

Hugh pulled out his cell phone and called Luke, hoping that he’d finally answer. Instead, he heard Luke’s phone ringing upstairs. “Shit, he must have gone out without his phone.” Hugh ran up the stairs and followed the sound of the phone. It was the ringtone that Luke had programed into his phone for when Hugh called. He thought it was hilarious that Baby Got Back played every time Hugh called him. Maybe he was just being overly sensitive like Luke said, but he was hoping that after six months together, Luke might change the ringtone to something a bit more romantic.

The ringing was coming from the master bedroom and Hugh opened the door and stopped dead when he found Luke in bed with another man. “What the fuck?” Luke shouted at him.

“Yeah, I was about to ask you the same question. Who the hell is he?” Luke shouted pointing to the blond who was currently taking up his side of the bed.

“This is Jace,” Luke said, He was introducing the guy as though they had all just met up at a restaurant. Hugh wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew from seeing the two of them together that whatever it was had been happening for some time now.

“How long have you been cheating on me, Luke?” Hugh shouted.

“Technically, Luke is cheating on me with you,” Jace insisted. “You know, since he met me first.”

“You’ve known this asshole since before we met?” Hugh asked. How had he missed Luke having a guy on the side? Wait, if Jace was correct, wouldn’t that make him the guy on the side? He felt sick, and Hugh was sure that he wasn’t going to get a strait answer from Luke or his boyfriend.

“I need to get out of here,” Hugh said more to himself than them. He walked into the closet and grabbed a suitcase that had sat empty since he moved into Luke’s place. Luckily, all hisstuff was in storage because Luke already had everything that they needed. How did Hugh miss all the red flags that Luke was waving? He controlled every aspect of Hugh’s life, and he allowed it.

He quickly packed his clothing and shoes into the suitcase and nearly lost his shit when he heard Luke and Jace laughing in the bed that they shared. How could Luke do this to him? He knew that this couldn’t have been the first time Jace had been in his bed, and the though of sharing the same space with the guy made him ill. The thought of sharing the same man with the guy made him want to beat the shit out of them both, but that wouldn’t solve anything. All he wanted to do was get the rest of his crap and get out of there. He’d process the rest later.

Hugh walked out into the bedroom and cleared his clothes out of the dresser that he and Luke shared. “I’m going to be leaving shortly if you want to stick around. You can have your turn with Luke, babe,” Jace teased.

“No, thank you,” Hugh spat. “I don’t want any more turns with Luke. In fact, you can have all the turns with him from now on, asshole.”

“Don’t be a sore loser, babe,” Luke said, pouting out his lip at him.

“I’m not being a sore loser,” Hugh insisted tossing his socks into the suitcase. “In fact, I don’t feel as though I’ve lost anything at all.” It felt as though his entire world was crumbling around him, but there was no way that he’d let Luke, or his new boy toy know that. He’d find a way to pick up the pieces later—when he had time to digest everything. For now, he was going to get out of there and find a place to stay for a bit until he could get an apartment. Finding a new job might have to wait, but working with Luke felt like a punishment.

“Ouch,” Luke said, grabbing his bare chest and being dramatic in true fashion. He was always a bit, “Much,” but Hughthought it was charming—well, he used to. Now, he just found Luke to be annoying, and playing along with him wasn’t going to happen. Luke wanted a rouse out of him, and Hugh refused to give him one.

He turned to leave, not bothering with the formality of saying goodbye to either of them. “Oh, babe,” Luke called after him. Hugh stopped in the doorway, not bothering to turn around. “Leave your key on the counter downstairs. I never want to see you again.”

“The feeling is mutual, but I’m afraid that you’re going to have to put up with seeing me on Monday. I’ll be at work at nine, as usual.” He knew that he was taunting Luke—reminding him that he wasn’t going to be rid of him so easily. He hated the idea more than he’d ever let on, but for now, he was going to find a way forward without Luke. He’d have to deal with Luke until something better came up, and then, he’d make a fresh start.

Colter

Colter Williams wasn’t sure if he was on the right path in his life, but he had already been down so many wrong paths that there surely couldn’t be anything left for him to travel. Buying the old building that was going to hopefully one day be his new bar was a dream, but turning it into an actual bar was going to be a nightmare.

He was living back home, in Georgia, taking care of his grandpa, and when he passed, Colter felt as though it was time for him to move on. He had no other family, as far as he knew, and staying in the house that he had grown up in suddenly felt wrong.

His grandpa had raised him after his parents both died in a car accident when he was only seven. He missed his parents, but his grandpa gave him a magical childhood. He took him camping and fishing and even taught Colter how to drive a car when he was sixteen. His grandpa was his best friend and when he passed, Colter’s whole world felt as though it was closing in around him. His grandpa had left the old house that had been in their family for generations to him, and there was no way that he could sell it. Not until he could decide if he was making theright decision to leave town and all the memories behind. His grandpa had also left him his ancient cat, Melvin, to take care of. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what his grandfather was thinking by leaving Melvin with him. The cat hated him, and Colter spent most of his time avoiding eye contact with the little devil. The best thing his grandpa left him was a second chance to start over. He left Colter a hefty bank account to give him the funds to do just that. It was almost as though he knew that Colter would need to find a new life somewhere else, and that gave him some peace.

After his grandpa’s funeral, he packed up some of his stuff, loaded it into his pickup truck, and headed north until he was tired of driving. He stopped in a town that he’d never heard of for the night and the next morning, he found the building that would become his bar. It was directly across from a place called The Kink Club. Colter wasn’t sure what they sold, but he was sure that thirsty people would head over to his place after shopping. He had planned to stop at the club and introduce himself on his last trip to town, but he was too busy running around with the realtor, hoping to find a small house to buy. If he planned on running a business in town, he thought that living there might gain him some more customers, wanting to meet the new guy.

He had found a nice place in town, not that it could ever compare to his family home, but then again, there was no family left to enjoy it with. The house was a four-bedroom, two-bath home that reminded him of a beach bungalow. He liked the vibe of the house and could see himself living there for a while. He just hoped that his bar would take off because if not, he’d be moving back home in no time flat.

Today, he was in town to do the final walkthrough of his house and then, he was going to apply for a liquor license. The contractors working on his bar promised that they’d have theplace ready in three more months, and he needed to be ready to unpack everything that he had bought for the place. He needed to hire a cook and some waitresses and figure out the rest of it as he went. He needed a manager who had experience running a bar so that he wouldn’t be in the dark once his place opened. He hoped to take care of hiring a manager this afternoon after he ran the rest of his errands.

His favorite part of the bar, the sign, was being installed in one day, and he couldn’t wait to see his grandpa’s name in lights. Colter had decided to name his place, Abner’s Bar and Grill, and he knew that wherever his grandpa was, he was watching him and smiling at the idea of having a bar named after him.

He walked into the bar to pick up the liquor license paperwork that he had left in his new office. It was the only finished space in the whole place. He waved to a couple of the guys who were working around the bar and walked back to his office, trying to avoid having to talk to anyone. He needed to get downtown to the courthouse to file his request to be able to serve alcohol and he didn’t have time to answer a million questions about what color paint he wanted again.

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