Page 20 of No Reservations

Without breaking eye contact, he swallowed and said, “October sixteenth. You have two hours to confirm the date, or we’ll go with your competitor.” He disconnected the call and dropped his phone on the side table.

My fingers twined in his, I started to lean in closer to press my lips against his when the date he mentioned burst through the growing haze of lust. “Wait, did we have an event on October sixteenth?”

He blinked and shook his head as if he had to bring his brain back to real life. “It’s a TV appearance for the band. You don’t have to be there.”

“Oh, good, because I have a work trip that weekend. They want me to rep the brand in Vermont.” I eased up on the couch next to him, our hands still tangled. “I don’t really want to go, but it would be good for my job, you know?”

Cole reached for his phone, but I drew his hand back to his lap. “I don’t think there’s anything on the schedule for then. It should be…” His voice trailed off, and his dark brows bunched together. He pulled his hand away from mine. “Matthew, I forgot. The contract ends September first. That was when we are supposed to stage the breakup. We won’t be together in October at all.”

Something cold and uncomfortable twisted through my stomach. The contract made me queasy already. It all started outso simply, but now feelings were involved. I was majorly out of practice for dealing with those. Taking money to have fun with Cole seemed wrong somehow. The reminder of a staged breakup made things even worse.

“Oh yeah.” I tried to keep my tone light and unaffected, but I wasn’t sure how well I managed. “I forgot about that.”

We sat in silence for a long moment, not looking at each other or making any moves to touch beyond the casual press of our thighs as we shared the couch. My mind tumbled through a kaleidoscope of thoughts. I didn’t want to break up with him. I was having fun with Cole. The money in my bank account sure helped, but this wasn’t about it at all. The payment felt dirty somehow. I’d agreed to the contract, but then stepped outside the bounds of it the moment we climbed into bed together.

Cole broke the silence first. “The contract includes two more public appearances. I leave for home next week, so you’ll fly out for the last one. That’s all in the contract.”

“Yeah.” I pushed my thigh against his, and he sucked in a deep breath. Risking a glance at him, I continued. “There are some things that happened that weren’t covered by the contract we should probably talk about.”

A muscle in his jaw jumped and his brows drew together.

The last thing I wanted was to stress Cole out more than he already was. “Hey.” I reached out and stroked fingertips over his jaw. Our eyes met. “I’m not sorry. There are no regrets on my part. I know that’s not what you’re paying me for.”

He shook his head halfway through my sentence. “No, Matty.” His fingers twined through mine, and he drew them closer to brush a kiss across my knuckles. “That was… Being with you had nothing to do with business or my public reputation.”

I bounced my eyebrows at him, my smile growing. “It was fun, right? Nothing wrong with a hot as hell music exec and his ruggedly handsome paramour getting busy between the sheets.”I couldn’t let Cole stress about it, even if the whole thing confused me, too. Maybe it shouldn’t. We were two consenting adults. Sex was sex.

As I coaxed a smile out of Cole’s tight lips, my mind rejected the flippant thought. Sex had never just been sex for me. My one long-term relationship ended tragically, and I hadn’t embraced the hookup culture since then. To be honest, I hadn’t done much of anything with anyone other than Santi in my whole life.

And Cole.

I wasn’t a blushing virgin or anything. This wasn’t a case of some rich and powerful man sweeping an innocent off their feet. If anything, I held the reins on the whole fun diversion thing. I shook my head but smiled to keep Cole from wrinkling his brows again. The last thing I wanted was to become another source of stress for the man.

“I haven’t been with anyone in quite a while, Cole, but I’m not sorry I was with you.” I knocked my knee into his again. “I wouldn’t mind a repeat performance, to be honest.”

Before his growing smile could grow into anything more, Cole’s phone vibrated on the side table. He sighed and pulled away to grab it. “Yes?”

I got up, headed to the door, and slipped my flip-flops on before turning back to catch his eye. “I’ll be back soon,” I whispered before heading out. I fought the urge to blow him a kiss.

Sex was on the table. The thought kept me smiling as I strolled toward the inn. Hmm… sex on a table could work, although the cabin’s bed and couch would be a lot more comfortable. An image of actually pushing him over a table and taking him from behind spun through my mind, but I shoved it away. I didn’t need to walk around the inn grounds with a hardon.

The September break-up still loomed in the future, but who knew what would happen before then. Another charity dinner and a much smaller, exclusive event for LGBTQ+ media would take place out in California. I’d get to see Cole’s place. The thought drew me up short, and I shuffled to a stop near the stairs up to the inn’s back door.

The cabin at Halcyon felt like neutral territory. We were both guests in a place far removed from our everyday lives. Make believe was easy in a lakeside vacation cabin. It was even easier at the fancy events that felt like something out of a movie to me. What would happen when I walked through the door of his actual home? How real would it feel then?

One of the inn’s silver golf carts rolled by me, and the employee at the wheel flashed me a smile. I nodded and jogged up the steps and went inside.

A few men sat scattered around the front room, and I could spot a couple more in the cozy parlor to my left. Tomas held court behind the check-in desk like usual, his white smile flashing at a hunk in a white tank-top with a floral tattoo over one shoulder. I wandered toward one of the plush chairs in front of a brochure strewn coffee table.

Rock climbing. Parasailing. I sifted through a few more brochures, but nothing felt right for the next adventure with Cole. I didn’t want to terrify him, and I supposed I should plan things in public more often. No one would snap photos of us strapped to a parasail a couple hundred feet over the lake. It was part of my job to show off our fake relationship… or whatever this was. Maybe Pride Night at a beach volleyball setup on the other side of the lake? It didn’t feel right. I slumped back in the chair just as my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Wes:Mattheeewwww! You haven’t texted in three days. What’s up? We saw the pic of you and Cole at the Expo in NYC online. Damn he’s hot in a tux!

Wes, Deandre, and I had a group chat we’d started back in college. It surprised me that I hadn’t even looked at it in that long. I guessed I’d been totally wrapped up with Cole. I’d kept the photo of us together at the expo on my phone. He was damn hot in a tux.

Matthew:Yeah. It was fun. I’m trying to plan another date out in public now. Something that will help him relax.

Wes:A blowjob usually works.

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