Page 25 of The Poster Boy
“Close the door, Jay.” Marek raked his gaze over my bare chest, and though it wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before, it felt different knowing he could take his time looking. Knowing that I’d bared myself for him. Well, not him. It wasn’t supposed to be him.
Against my better judgment, I closed the door. “What are you doing here,Myers?”
Instead of answering, he pulled out his phone, and I knew before he hit send that my nightmare had really come true. I’d matched with Marek fucking Myers on the app.
Ding
Humoring Myers, I grabbed my phone and read his message.
Is this some kind of a joke?
I looked up at him, noting the furrow in his brow, the tight way he held himself like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Well, if it’s a joke, it’s the universe playing a trick on us.”
Myers considered that for a moment. “Are you even gay? Or bi?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, reminding me that I was half naked. And yet still half hard. Annoyed. Aggravated. Aroused. Fuck my life.
“I’m not out, if that’s what you’re wanting to know.”
Myers rolled his eyes. “Obviously. I just meant, like, you weren’t fucking with me? You were really looking to hook up?”
Letting out a huge sigh, I leaned against the door. “I’m gay. I’m not out and trying to find people to hook up with who won’t turn me into the next… you… can be tricky. No offense.”
Myers scoffed. “None taken. I didn’t exactly plan to be out either.”
He looked sad and vulnerable in that moment, and I hated that it softened my opinion of him, if only slightly.
“No, I guess you didn’t.”
Myers cut his gaze over to the bed where a row of condoms and a bottle of lube lay. He looked back at me, andbefore I could protest, he pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it aside.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he took a step toward me.
“Well, I’m here. You’re here. The supplies are here. Do the math, Brookbank.”
Something smoldered in Marek’s gaze. Something that tugged at my core, tempting me toward him. I kept my feet planted in place before I did something stupid like cross the room and devour him. “That’s a terrible idea.”
“It’s a great idea,” Marek countered.
He’d closed in on me somehow, and I was stuck between him and the door with nowhere to go. But now I was stuck in place because I didn’t want to run, not because I couldn’t.
Up close, Myers smelled fucking amazing. Like soap with a hint of spice, a bit leathery too.
“I don’t even like you.”
Myers only grinned. He fucking smiled at me, wide and bright and completely unbothered. “Good, because you’re not exactly a prize yourself. But we’re both here, we’re both…”
“Don’t say it.”
“Queer.” Myers gleefully ignored my protest.
He stepped closer, invading my space in a way that I shouldn’t allow. Or like. He was so close I could feel the heat radiate off his body. So close it would be nothing to erase the distance and kiss him. Fuck him for having a pretty mouth.
“Listen, Myers.” I didn’t know what to say, I just knew I had to get him out of here before I did something regrettable.
“You hate me. I know. You’re not the first.You won’t even be the last. And if you want to keep hating me, that’s fine. But it’s been months since I even thought about hooking up with anyone. Not since that shit show with Clark and the firestorm that happened after. We don’t have a lot of options, Brookbank. You know it, and I know it. There’s a million people out there who want their fifteen minutes, and if fucking a hockey player will get them there, they’ll sell us down the river for a nickel.”
