“Hang on. I have one more thing to add.” Gray closed the distance between us and gave me a thorough once over before continuing. “Whatever ideas Charlie put in your head about me...forget it. I’m not interested.”

I furrowed my brow. “You know about the band idea?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s an ongoing thing for Char. He’s been on a mad quest to rule the world since he was five. And I think he’ll actually do it one day. But I doubt you’re his ticket to stardom.”

I should have laughed it off ’cause I one thousand percent agreed with him. However, I didn’t like the notion I’d been sized up and discarded by someone who didn’t know anything about me. No one should be judged on “Sweet Caroline”, for fuck’s sake.

“Oh really? Why not?” I deadpanned.

He stared at me for a long moment as though willing me to back down and maybe even change the subject. Silence. Finally, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

“You’re a good looking guy, Justin. You’re young and if you’re hungry enough, you can make things happen for yourself. I’m not trying to be a dick, but if playing music is where your heart lies, you need to hone your skills. You’re a beginner. That’s not a bad thing, but there are a million good guitarists who think their band is the next big deal. The ones who make it aren’t always the best musicians, but they’re almost always the bravest. I don’t think you have what it takes...yet.”

I was too taken aback to say anything at first. When I finally found my voice, all I say was, “Fuck you.”

“And that’s the other thing.” He pushed away from the wall and stepped into my space until we stood toe to toe. “I’m not gonna fuck you.”

My forehead creased hard enough to give me a headache. “Excuse me? Are you for real?”

“I am. Don’t look so insulted. Hey, it’s smart business to lay it all out before you get started. I’d hate for you to have any false expectations. If you think taking this job is gonna get you some kind of special treatment or help further your career aspirations, think again.”

I shook my head in a sort of daze. Fuck him. Like big time, fuck, fuck, fuck him. And fuck Charlie. I should have known this was too good to be true. I figured I’d be the one to say or do something stupid though. Not Gray. I was the last person who’d ever seduce someone to get ahead. According to the shit storm I’d unleashed a few months ago, I had the opposite problem. I’d followed my instincts with the help of tequila and ended up getting caught in a compromising situation with my pants around my ankles and my dick up someone’s ass. I was an expert at destroying opportunity, not exploiting it.

There had to be twenty perfect comeback lines, but I couldn’t think of one. Nothing funny, nothing snarky, and certainly nothing intelligent. Surprise warred with pride and made it difficult for me to see through the fiery red haze clouding my vision, let alone think of a pleasant way to tell him to take the generous salary, all the perks, and his ginormous record collection and shove them up his ass. And when he stared at me as if waiting for polite reassurance or an apology of some kind, I did what I always did when I got pissed and frustrated...AKA, the opposite of what I should have done.

I pushed Gray’s chest and backed him against the wall, then I captured his face between my hands and sealed my mouth over his in a rough kiss. My non-violent version of a ‘fuck you’.

It didn’t go quite as planned. I was a novice when it came to unleashing my bi side. I mistakenly thought I could feign indifference to things I was just beginning to realize turned me on. I forgot how much I loved the scrape of a beard against my face. And I forgot how satisfying it felt to hover over a masculine man and know for half a second, he wasn’t entirely immune to me. His lips were soft, his breath was warm and I could have sworn his dick was getting hard. Or was that just me?

Gray gaped at me in shock when I broke the connection and stepped back. He set his fingers over his lips and narrowed his eyes. “Why did you do that?”

“’Cause you told me not to.”