Chapter One

Zander

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Ding.

“Fucking phone.”

I didn’t need to pick up my cell to know who was texting me. I wasn’t in the mood to answer, and belatedly wished I’d put the damn thing on silent when I’d gotten home.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

“Goddammit Rhys.” I grabbed my phone and flipped it over so I could see the screen. I’d been right. There were four new messages from Rhys, and that didn’t count the four he’d sent me over the last hour.

Ding. Ding.

With a muttered curse I opened the message thread. Rhys was nothing if not persistent, and if I didn’t answer the texts then I knew a phone call was next.

Dude! You’re 30 mins late!!!

Earth to Zander!!!

Quit ignoring me. I’m not giving up until you answer.

For fuck’s sake asshole. Your friends are celebrating something huge and you’re being a dick.

Those were the first messages. Now I was getting into the ones he’d decided to send in rapid fire. They were pictures.

There was one of Blaze and his new husband Galen, their arms wrapped around each other as they laughed about something and looking as happy as any newlyweds should.

The next one was of Cody and his boyfriends, Isaac and Jonah. Isaac was kissing Cody’s neck as Jonah had his arms wrapped around both of his men, and they too looked happy as fuck.

There were a selfie of Rhys holding a ridiculous pink drink with an umbrella and several mini swords holding cherries. He was giving the camera a pouty look, even though his blue eyes were sparkling.

He’d snapped a photo of Layla talking to a petite woman with black hair, each holding drinks in their hands and smiling flirtatiously. There was also one of the whole group taken with what suspiciously looked like a selfie stick.

The last picture was the one that made me feel like a complete douchebag. It was a group photo of everyone at The Den, the bar Rhys, Blaze, Cody, Layla and I worked at, along with our friend Tristan and our boss and the bar owner Evan.

We were all in the picture, including me, because it had been taken at the shift change, only minutes before we’d left to meet up at Chimera. It was the gay bar/club that had opened after Envy, a sleazy gay club with a bad reputation for drugs and illegal activities had been shut down.

Last Friday Blaze and Galen had surprised everyone by going to the courthouse and getting married. The only people who knew had been Layla and Evan because they’d stood witness, and after the quick ceremony Blaze had shown up for his shift absolutely glowing.

It was now Tuesday and Rhys had organized a belated bachelor party for the men at Chimera on our slowest night so most of us could attend. Evan and Tristan were working, which wasn’t a surprise. Tristan was a veteran who struggled with PTSD and would never be able to handle being in a club, even on a Tuesday night. It would be too loud and crowded for him. Evan hated clubs. I’d known him for almost ten years and it was no secret that he’d rather gargle with bleach than set foot inside a club.

I didn’t hate clubs. They were a good release when I was in the right mood, but tonight was not one of my better nights. I’d spent the entire day trying to psych myself up to go and celebrate with my friends, who if I wanted to be honest with myself, were family, but I couldn’t seem to get past my foul mood.

The idea of going out and being in a crowd of people listening to deafeningly loud music and dealing with flashing lights was bad enough. To be surrounded by people enjoying themselves while I was on the pity bus, made the outing seem downright unbearable.

Ding

Rolling my eyes I opened the newest text, then bit my lip as I read it.

I know what today is, and I’m sorry for pushing you. Come out, have a drink and see your friends. We love you, Z, and you need to be around people you love right now.

Rhys was notorious for having a sarcastic wit and a biting sense of humor, but he was also an incredibly caring man and picked up people’s moods better than most.

He was right. Sitting at home wallowing and thinking was going to drive me crazy. I might not enjoy it, but getting out and being around my friends would be therapeutic, and remind me that love still existed.

* * * * *

“You made it!”

It had taken me almost an hour to jump in a quick shower, change into some clubwear and get down to Chimera. I wasn’t feeling great, but the routine of getting ready had alleviated some of my earlier tension, and having a drunk Cody throw himself in my arms the moment I came up to where my friends were hanging out was pretty damn great too.

“Sorry it took so long,” I said in his ear as I hugged him back.

Six months ago Cody had been a scared and nervous twenty-one year old who could barely look strangers in the eye, and couldn’t handle being touched. Now he was a vivacious and outgoing twenty-two year old who embraced every aspect of life. His energy was infectious, and I was so fucking happy he’d found peace and broken free of his past.

I knew his boyfriends had played a big part in helping him heal from a childhood filled with sexual abuse, and I loved having the new and improved Cody around.

“No excuses, just dancing and drinking!” Cody gave me a smacking kiss on the cheek before letting go of me, only to be scooped up into Isaac’s arms.

“Hey, Zander,” Isaac greeted loudly so his voice carried over the music.

I waved my greeting since I didn’t feel like shouting, and laughed when Jonah came up behind both men and grabbed them in a big hug.

“Dancing time!” Cody exclaimed, shimmying his ass as he looked back at his men.

Jonah winked at me and swept his men out onto the dance floor as I chuckled. They were an unusual combination, but they were perfect together.

Cody was on the smaller side at five-nine and slender. With his blond hair and bright blue eyes he looked young and a little delicate. That was normally my type to the letter, but Cody was like a little brother to me and there’d never been anything sexual between us.

Isaac was a bit taller, and definitely broader. With his dark brown hair and eyes, not to mention his youthful beauty, he was also incredibly good-looking. He and Cody had been best friends for over a year before they started dating, and while it had been obvious to the rest of us that they had feelings for each other, it had taken Jonah to come into their lives before they could admit it.

Jonah was definitely not my type, but I could appreciate how handsome he was. He too had dark brown hair and eyes, but he was six-one and broad. He was also a decade older than Cody and seven years older than Isaac, but they fit perfectly together. After their engagement a few months ago, I couldn’t help wondering if a commitment ceremony was on the horizon.

“Mr. and Mr. Wells,” I greeted with a grin as Blaze and Galen came back from dancing. They were both sweating and grinning, and sober.

As an alcoholic Blaze didn’t drink, and from what I could tell, Galen kept his drinking to a minimum around him. I didn’t know if it was in solidarity with Blaze or because he wasn’t a big drinker, but it was wonderful he was so understanding and supportive of his husband.

Blaze was another one who’d changed for the better when he’d found love. I’d known him for three years now, and while he’d always been happy and kind, before Galen had come into his life the spark that was so uniquely ‘Blaze’ had barely been a flicker.

At twenty-four Blaze was the second youngest at the bar, and from the moment I’d met him I’d felt a kinship with him that made me extremely protective of him. Blaze had struggled and suffered in his past, but Galen had helped him see that his time on the streets and the things he’d had to do to survive didn’t define him as a person. Blaze had helped Galen break free from his oppressive and emotionally abusive family.

Blaze reminded me of a wild child, in his looks at least. He wore his light brown hair so it brushed his shoulders, and he had a three quarter sleeve tribal tattoo on his right arm, and several more adorning his chest and sides. He also had his nipples pierced. Galen, on the other hand, was as clean cut as they came with his stylish brown hair, dark blue eyes and classic good looks, not to mention his charm and confidence.

“How are you doing tonight? You didn’t have to come if it’s too hard,” Blaze said in my ear as he pulled me into a hug.

If anyone understood painful anniversaries, it was Blaze.

“I’m okay. Took a little bit of prodding but I feel better already,” I answered honestly as I squeezed him back.

Just then the music changed from thumping house music to a pumping dance song, and the lights dimmed. Blaze pulled away and winked before turning toward the back of the club.

“What the fuck?” I asked Rhys as he came up to where I was standing with Blaze and Galen.

“I hope you brought a lot of singles.” Rhys grinned and pressed a cup of what looked like fruit punch in my hand.

“Go-go dancers?” I asked, taking the drink and looking out over the dance floor. It wasn’t until several spotlights lit up and illuminated a stage on the far side of the dance floor, not to mention several raised platforms near the bar and DJ booth that I realized what Rhys meant.

Envy, the club the building used to house, hadn’t had dancers. It had been known for its backroom, and being the place to go for illegal drugs, and prostitution. It looked like Chimera was going for a different vibe.

“Good ones too.” Rhys grinned and I took a sip of my drink.

We watched as four dancers came out onto the stage through a hidden door and took their places on the raised platform, and my mouth dropped as my eyes zeroed in on one of the men in particular.

He was beautiful.

His dark brown hair fell to just below his chin, and shone under the spotlights. While the silver booty shorts he was wearing were eye catching, it was the way they highlighted his tight and toned body and accentuated his narrow waist and lean limbs that made me stare.

Because he was on a stage across the room I couldn’t tell how tall he was, but he was definitely on the shorter side, and he knew what he was doing. I watched as he smiled shyly out at the crowd, playing them up and whipping them into a frenzy as he slid his hands down his torso, smoothing on a layer of body glitter. He was perfect, and my cock stirred as the music changed and the men began to dance.

They were all good. Their wiry, sinewy bodies writhed and moved along with the music. The shimmering and ever-changing lights created the most incredible contours and shadows on their shiny costumes, and their glittery skin shone.

I was mesmerized.

The man I’d been checking out looked like he was born to dance. Every move was fluid and sensual, and when he turned to the man dancing beside him and they started grinding together, their hands sliding and moving over each other, my half erection turned into a full hard on.

“Like what you see?” Rhys asked in my ear, his tone teasing.

“Oh yeah.” I couldn’t pull my eyes off the man in the silver shorts.

“They’re all regulars here, and the two in the middle are featured dancers, although it’s weird to see them all on a Tuesday. That’s Jesse, Angel, Skylar and Toby.”

“Skylar,” I repeated, my eyes still glued to him. At that moment Skylar had Angel bent over as he grinded against the slightly bigger man’s ass, and when he gave it a hard slap I had to bite back a groan.

“Figured you’d like him.” Rhys winked and nodded to my drink. “Finish that and we’ll go get another, maybe stake out a place closer to the stage.”

I quickly drained what was in my cup, almost choking as the mix of rum and vodka burned my throat. I didn’t even bother asking what it was, my money was on a custom club drink.

I waved to Layla as we passed her and the woman from the photo Rhys had sent dancing together, and followed Rhys to the bar.

“Two vodka and soda,” Rhys ordered when the bartender sidled up to us.

I pulled some cash out of my pocket and put it on the bar to pay for the drinks, my eyes still on Skylar as he crawled over to the side of the stage and turned to give the audience a closer look as his gyrating ass.

I couldn’t look away. He was the hottest man I’d ever seen, and my dick was so hard it was bordering on painful as I imagined all the things I’d like to do to that perfect ass.

Rhys handed me a drink and nodded for me to follow him. We wove through the crowd and settled into a spot against a bar table near the stage.

It was like the rest of the room melted away, and all I could focus on was Skylar and his hypnotic movements. A lot of dancers I’d seen tended to strip with their clothes on, rubbing their junk and thrusting their hips. Skylar didn’t do any of that. It was true that he occasionally slid his hand down his torso, but he avoided his obviously hard cock and kept his hands on his hips and abdomen. It was almost as though dancing was turning him on so much he didn’t need any other stimulation.

As I sipped my drink I watched Skylar make eye contact with different guys in the crowd, giving them coy and innocently sensual looks, and the men were lined up to shove bills in his shorts.

I was just lifting my nearly empty drink to my lips when Skylar’s gaze shifted and his eyes locked on mine. He didn’t pause in his movements, but the look he gave me wasn’t innocent and coy. It was heated and filled with lust and desire, and he didn’t break eye contact right away.

I stilled my hand, staring back at him, wondering if he was really seeing me or if this was part of his act.

His gaze finally shifted to the men holding money out for him, and he sidled over to the side of the stage, squatting down so they could give him the tips.

“Looks like someone was eye-fucking you as hard as you were him.” Rhys elbowed me in the side as he leaned close so I could hear him.

“Maybe, or maybe he’s hoping to open my wallet.”

“Dude. There’s a hundred guys here, and a whole crowd flashing him cash at this exact second. Unless you’ve got a sign over you that says you’re rolling in it, I doubt he’d put that much effort into getting a tip out of you.”

I shrugged, not wanting to think that what Rhys had said could be true. He was a dancer and I was in the crowd, there’s no way he’d notice me over everyone else.

Before Rhys could say anything else a guy came up to us, his eyes raking up and down Rhys’s body. He was hot with his buff physique, dark skin and nearly black eyes, and I could see Rhys’s appreciation as he checked out his new admirer.

“Dance?” the other man asked.

Rhys shot a glance at me and winked as he reached for the other man’s hand. I chuckled and watched as they headed out on the dance floor.

I glanced around to see where my friends were. Galen and Blaze were dancing over where I’d left them, their arms around each other as they kissed passionately. Jonah, Isaac and Cody were standing around a bar table sipping drinks and exchanging looks of love. Layla and her mystery lady were nowhere in sight, and Rhys was attached at the pelvis to his dance partner.

Standing alone in the middle of a crowded club was exactly what I’d worried would happen tonight, but as my eyes shifted back to Skylar on stage, I suddenly didn’t mind so much.

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Zander’s story will be available early fall 2017

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