CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Three Years Later
DEREK TOOK A final look at himself in the mirror and then wandered out into the living room he shared with Dylan Prescott. They’d recently moved up in the world. Well, that was what he liked to think. They’d vacated the little dump they’d lived in throughout college and moved into a three-bedroom with two baths that overlooked the beach further down from where they used to live.
With him now managing the gym where he’d worked for years, and Dylan making a living through his catalogue modeling gigs, the two of them made enough to be able to split the rent on the bigger place and enjoy a little more comfort than what they’d once had, and tonight…tonight his buddy Dylan had once again talked him into doing something monumentally stupid.
“I feel like a fucking idiot,” Derek grumbled as he walked around the couch where Dylan was sitting.
“Why? Because you actually had to make an effort—” When Dylan caught sight of Derek, his words stopped and he got to his feet to look him over.
For the first time in his life, and hopefully the last, Derek was dressed in a tuxedo. The jacket and pants he was wearing had been measured to perfectly fit his body, and while he conceded he looked pretty damn good, he’d left his black nail polish on for a bit of fuck you flare.
“Shit, man, you look hot. Very James Bond.”
Derek tugged on the lapels of the jacket and shrugged. “Yeah? You think?”
“Umm…yeah.” Dylan walked over to him, dressed in an almost identical outfit, except for the additions of the black buttons on his white shirt. When he stopped in front of Derek, he laid a familiar palm over the lapel on his chest and smoothed it up to his shoulder, where he flicked away a piece of lint. “You’re going to make us a lot of money tonight.”
Derek screwed his nose up. “I think if anyone’s gonna make money for this damn auction, it’s going to be you.”
“Have you seen yourself? Derek, you look… Just trust me. There’s going to be a very broke man tonight because he’s going to have to outbid everyone else that’s going to fight for you. Including myself.” Dylan gave him a thorough once-over. “Damn, I had no idea you’d clean up this good.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“No, no. I don’t mean it like that. It’s just…I only ever see you in gym clothes or your jeans. But this. This takes you to a whole other level.”
“Down, boy.” Derek chuckled. “Put on a suit and Prescott becomes easy—who knew? Stop looking at me like you want to suck my dick or I just might take you up on the offer.”
Dylan laughed at that. “Bullshit. We tried that when you first moved in with me, and that was an epic fucking fail. But if you ever think you could be interested in the one whose hand is actually in your pants instead of the one you constantly daydream about…I’m willing to try again.”
“You’re hilarious, asshole.”
“Hey, I’m just saying. You’re the one with the little—or should I say big—issue. I mean, the equipment is definitely all there. It’s just not wanting to come out and play—with me.”
Derek raised an eyebrow at his roommate. The pretty bastard was having way too much fun at his expense. “Done?”
Dylan gave a shit-eating grin. “Yeah, I guess. But even you have to admit, it was an epic fail.”
Derek laughed at the memory. He was right; there were no two ways about it. When he’d first moved in with Dylan, they’d gotten drunk one night and things had progressed from flirtatious comments to a few kisses and a lot of hands. Then, well, Dylan had slipped his fingers down his shorts and Derek had been all for a hand job from the gorgeous guy. However, his cock hadn’t cooperated, and even after Dylan had tried his hardest to pump some life into it, it wasn’t having any of it.
Nope. His dick had wanted one person only. Jordan. God. It felt like that had always been the case, and always fucking would be. But since he avoided Jordan like the plague, Derek had made it somewhat of a mission to track down men of similar builds and temperament to his feisty former professor. He knew that was fucked up, but hey, what else was new when it came to him?
Which got Derek thinking. When was the last time he’d gone out and hooked up? Had it really been months ago? He needed to get out more, and his brain and body needed to stop fixating on something he could never have again.
“Yeah, no offense,” Derek finally said. “But one major fail with you is all I think my ego can handle.”
“Ha,” Dylan barked. “Yeah, right. You have more attitude in your little finger than most men have in their entire body. And just because you didn’t get it up that night, doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy imagining it later in my room by myself. You let me see all those tattoos on your body, and… Yeah, that was all it took.”
“Damn, I had no idea you were in there jacking off to me each night, Prescott.”
“Yeah, right. Don’t flatter yourself. After living with you as long as I have, all my fantasies are long since gone. Trust me.”
Derek chuckled and snagged the keys off the kitchen table. “Yeah, yeah. Okay, wise guy, remind me again what happens after some strange man purchases me for the night.”
“Well, you collect the check. The money goes to the True Colors Fund, then you go on a date with him.”
Derek looked doubtful. “And that’s it?”
Dylan nodded as he scooped up his own keys. “That’s it. Dinner. A movie. Whatever floats his boat.”
“What if wall-banging sex floats his boat?”
Dylan headed to the door with Derek following behind. “Then hope it’s someone you’d like to crush against a wall?”
“Gee, you’re a lot of help, Prescott. Can I refuse? Do they know we aren’t on sale for sex?”
“Aww, are you worried about your virtue?” Dylan quipped as they headed for Derek’s Jeep. He’d purchased it a couple of months ago, and as he popped the locks, he flipped his roommate off.
“Hey, if I don’t worry about it, no one will. And I just want to know the rules up front.”
As Dylan climbed inside the car, he shrugged. “The men are aware of the bidding rules, but I’ve gotta be honest. If I won you for the night, I’d totally try for the wall-banging sex.” Derek glanced over at his passenger, and Dylan winked. “I mean, a movie would not be my first choice. At least not the kind of movies they show at public theaters.”
Derek raised an eyebrow. “Good to know the way to your heart, and dick, is through a simple tuxedo.”
Dylan shrugged. “What can I say—there’s something about a man in a tux.”
“Oh, I get it. You’re looking pretty sharp yourself. But no touching tonight, Prescott…not unless you pay me.” Derek laughed at himself. “God, that sounds so wrong. Okay, let’s get going. Apparently I have some rich schmuck waiting to take me on a date.”
* * *
JORDAN WASN’T SURE why he’d let Brantley drag him along to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center tonight. This wasn’t the way he usually liked to go about donating toward causes he believed in, and he believed strongly in helping the homeless youth among the LGBTQ community. But really, an auction?
He’d almost laughed when Brantley asked him, because he was the last person Jordan would ever expect to turn up to one of these events. But then Brantley had admitted he wanted to get out more and maybe meet someone new and see if…well, just see “if,” and who was Jordan to say no to that?
Ever since Daniel Finley had moved to Chicago, Jordan had been trying to get Brantley back out into the dating world for what felt like forever, and he would just about mortgage a fucking house to buy the guy a date if that was what it took to have him sit down and eat a meal with a man whom he might have something in common with. Or at least have really good sex with.
Lord knows the guy could do with a couple of rounds in a bed with a hot guy to remind him how to use the appendage between his legs.
But it was none of Jordan’s business what Brantley did, or who, for that matter. He just hated seeing his friend so isolated when he was such a good catch for some lucky guy.
So there he was, standing at the back of an auditorium full of horny men ranging in age, pretending to be there to support a good cause, when really, it was just an added benefit of ogling all the eye candy about to be paraded on stage and the chance to date someone way out of their league.
Well, out of their league. Let’s be real.
With a glass of Chardonnay in hand, Jordan leaned into Brantley and asked, “So do they have a menu of sorts?”
“A menu?” Brantley asked, his eyes wide.
“Why do you look so shocked? Surely it makes sense that we get to see what it is we’ll be purchasing. Right? You get a catalogue at an auction house, so I figured with all the prime beef they’re about to display, we would get a menu here.”
“Jordan,” Brantley said.
Jordan frowned and then looked back to the stage, where several men were muscling to get closer to the runway. “What? That’s why I’m here, right? I mean you. That’s why you’re here. I’m not bidding. I currently have my hands full, thank you very much.”
Brantley smiled, and Jordan felt himself reciprocate. He’d been seeing Dr. Stephan Reid for a couple of months now, and things were going…well.
Stephan worked over at the local hospital, and that was where they’d first met. Jordan had been coming out of a meeting where he’d donated funds to an expansion of the children’s wing, and they’d literally run into one another and hit it off. Since then, they’d gone out to dinner several times, and one night they’d even gone to the local symphony, and all in all it was going…well.
The only problem was they hadn’t quite made it to the bedroom yet. Stephan was a little older. Actually, he was right around Brantley’s age, and whenever they’d come close and Jordan would make a move, the guy’s pager would go off or he’d be called into work. As frustrating as that was, though, Jordan was beginning to suspect that maybe he wasn’t as into Stephan as he should be, considering the lack of sex wasn’t bothering him. But Stephan was kind and generous, and they had similar interests when it came to giving back to those less fortunate than themselves, and Jordan figured it was worth giving it a little more time to see if it could develop into something more.
“Oh yes, Stephan. How is he?”
“Busy,” Jordan replied. It was the truth. He was always busy, but that worked out for Jordan, too, because honestly, he liked his freedom. He not only worked at the university these days but also sat on the board of several charities he found important, and he was the owner of two of the major apartment towers being built down on the main strip of Sunset, and somewhere in the middle there, he saw Stephan when he was free.
“Maybe one day soon when he’s not busy, we can all get together and have dinner?”
Brantley had asked him this a couple of times now, and while Jordan wasn’t opposed to bringing Stephan around, he wasn’t sure how permanent he was and would really rather play it by ear.
“Yeah, maybe. I’ll have to ask him.”
“Please do. I think it’s only fair I get to meet the man who’s finally held your interest for longer than a night.”
Oh, there’s another one, you know… Jordan thought, and then immediately wondered why the hell Derek Pearson was in his head. He hadn’t heard from Derek in years. After the night of commencement, Jordan had gone off on his family’s vacation and when he’d come back, just as they’d decided, that had been that.
Jordan had gone back to work at the start of a new semester, and he hadn’t run into Derek since.
It hadn’t escaped his notice, though, that in a town the size of Sunset Cove, it was likely that Derek purposely avoided him and all his local haunts, because otherwise they would’ve run into one another by now.
He was about to give Brantley some lame response to the question about dinner when the lights went down and a spotlight lit up a man on the far left-hand side of the stage.
“Good evening, everyone. Are you all ready to part with some Benjamins for maybe a Peter or Paul?”
When the crowd around them whistled their agreement, Jordan glanced over at Brantley. He caught his friend’s eye and flashed him a grin before raising his hand and wolf-whistling right along with the other men. As everyone settled, the auctioneer ran through the rules of the event for the crowd. It was simple.
This was not a sex for money auction.
If you were interested in someone, you were to raise your hand in a calm manner.
Yeah, right. Jordan wasn’t sure the crowd currently jostling one another for a prime position by the stage knew the meaning of the word calm.
And finally, if you purchased someone and couldn’t write a check to be cashed the following day, the man would then go to the next highest bidder.
In other words, Jordan noted, you’re shit out of luck.
The auctioneer then invited them to enjoy themselves and get their wallets ready, because the first man up for grabs that evening was: “The manager of one of the local gyms of Sunset Cove. I’m sure even those in the back of the crowd will have no problem seeing his towering physique. Let me hear your best version of a wolf whistle, boys, because this guy is all kinds of alpha. Derek Pearson.”
As Derek’s name boomed through the speakers on each corner of the stage, Jordan’s jaw almost hit the floor, and then he caught himself right before Brantley glanced over his shoulder and mouthed, “That’s Finn’s Derek, right?”
When the spotlight moved from the auctioneer to the center of the stage and the curtain drew back to reveal Derek, Jordan’s only thought was, No, that’s my Derek.
He absently nodded as Derek walked forward to center stage, and Jordan couldn’t help the small grin that touched the side of his mouth at the expression on Derek’s face. The guy was not happy to be the main attraction in a room full of horny men vying for his attention, or, in actuality, bidding for it.
He was dressed the part, though, that was for sure. Derek looked gorgeous in his classic tux, with his hair cut short on the sides and styled back from his face. His broad shoulders filled out the jacket in a way that made Jordan’s palm itch to touch, then his eyes moved down to the hands by Derek’s side and Jordan noted the black nail polish and felt his dick twitch.
Jesus, Derek looked beyond hot. He was attitude and sex in a suit. One that Jordan desperately wanted to peel him out of.
Hands started to fly up around him and the bids rolled in. The auctioneer was going on about “talents” and “measurements” as Derek strolled up the stage to the left then turned to walk back to the center before heading to the right. The more Derek walked, the more confident he became, and on his second pass of the left-hand side his eyes roved over the crowd and found Jordan’s.
To Derek’s credit, he didn’t falter, he merely slowed his pace and narrowed his eyes a fraction, which anyone in the crowd would think he was doing to look suave and sexy, but Jordan knew better.
Derek was watching him now. Had him in his sights, and hell, that look had Jordan edging back into the crowd away from Brantley, who’d been swallowed up by the sea of men. When Jordan was as far back as he could get, he looked at the man standing beside him. He was tall, taller than he was, at least, and that was when he was struck with a brilliant plan.
Jordan placed a hand on the man’s arm and leaned up to speak in his ear. With the music so loud and the crowd going nuts, the man had to lean down, and Jordan said, “I will give you a hundred dollars to stand here and bid on that man. One dollar over every bid, no matter how high it goes, until you win.”
The man’s eyes widened and Jordan pulled a hundred from his wallet.
“Deal?”
The man looked back to the stage and raised his hand, issuing the first bid. When Derek’s eyes flew to his bidder, and then to Jordan, this time his feet did falter.
Mhmm… Derek always had been smart, and Jordan was positive that he knew exactly which man was going to be taking him home tonight.
* * *
HOLY SHIT. HE would know that face anywhere.
When Derek had first stepped onto the stage and the lights had shone into his eyes, he’d squinted, trying to see if he knew anyone in the crowd. Then about a minute into the ridiculous song, like a magnetic fucking pull, his eyes had drifted to a man watching him, and there, standing in the rowdy crowd of men, was Jordan Devaney. And God he looked amazing.
In tight jeans and an even tighter lightweight black V-neck, Jordan looked sexy. So damn sexy. And the heat that fired his eyes when he’d checked out Derek’s tux made it close to impossible for Derek to remain decent.
“Okay, it looks like we have a bit of a bidding war happening. The young redhead down the front here and the gentleman in the back.”
Derek’s eyes darted to the tall man who Jordan had been standing beside, to see that he was now alone. Jordan was nowhere in sight.
Where the hell did he go? Derek had been positive Jordan would try and make a play for him. Lord knows he was arrogant enough to buy ten minutes of his time. But he was gone. And it pissed him off that he was disappointed.
“Do I hear a final bid?”
When the man in the back shouted out a preposterous amount of money that Derek didn’t believe he actually warranted, the auctioneer hit the gavel to the podium and declared him sold.
Well, fuck. He’d hoped when he’d seen Jordan that he’d— Jesus, stop already.
“Congratulations, to the gentleman in the back. I have to say, you had a real run for your money tonight. If you head out the exit on your left, you can pay the lady by the stage door and then we’ll let you back to meet up with your date.”
Derek heard the whoops and whistles as his “date” made his way through the crowd. He did as he’d been instructed before heading on stage and took a bow, which the crowd loved, then pivoted on his heel and walked behind the curtain.
As he stepped backstage, Dylan stood there with a huge smile. He was up next, and Derek wondered if the guy was crazy enough to actually enjoy this kind of thing.
“Two thousand and one dollars.” Dylan shook his head and then clapped his arm. “I knew you’d break one K, but two? Hot damn.”
“By a dollar. That hardly counts,” Derek pointed out.
“Someone just paid two thousand dollars for your time, and Derek, it all counts. Now hurry along—your Richard Gere awaits you through those doors.”
“I thought you said I didn’t have to fuck the guy.”
Dylan frowned and then busted up laughing. “You don’t. I was thinking more Lancelot and less Pretty Woman.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I just heard my name, so…wish me luck out there.”
“Oh please, you’ll bring in three grand easy with that face.”
Dylan pulled the curtain aside. “Hey, it’s hard being this pretty.”
“Yeah, for the other guys looking at you.”
Dylan waved his hand over his head and called out, “Have a good time on your date.” Then he disappeared out onto the stage.
Derek made his way to the side exit, and as he stepped out into the hall he came face to face with Jordan, who was lounging back against the wall with his ankles crossed and his hands deep in his pockets.
Derek looked him over, and before Jordan had a chance to speak, he said, “You’re not supposed to be back here.”
He unbuttoned his tux jacket and headed down the narrow hallway. As he did, he saw Jordan out of the corner of his eye and knew that he was following.
When Derek got to the room where he and Dylan had been told they could freshen up, he pushed inside, hoping to find it full, but instead found it the complete opposite.
As the door opened and shut behind him, he knew Jordan was standing there and decided to hell with this. Why was he nervous? It had been three years since he’d seen the guy.
He hadn’t called him. He didn’t need him. But when he turned around and saw Jordan with his hands on his hips and an exasperated expression on his face, Derek sure as fuck wanted him.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, as Jordan took a step forward.
“I’ve come to collect my date.”
“Your date?” Derek asked, hearing the incredulity in his own tone as he looked around for the guy who had purchased him.
“Yes. I won you, after all. Now I get to take you on a date. So…do you have any place in particular you’d like to go?”
Derek crossed his arms over his chest. “With you? Nowhere. I’m not going on a date with you.”
Jordan pursed his lips in a pout, and it galled Derek that he wanted to kiss it right off his mouth. “After all this time, you’re still mad at me.”
Fuck yes, he was. Not that he’d ever admit that. “Actually, I don’t feel anything about you at all.”
“Liar,” Jordan said as he walked toward him.
“What do you want, Jordan?”
“Well, since I just paid a little over two thousand dollars for your time, how about we start with that.”
Derek sighed. “This is insane, even for you.”
Jordan laughed, clearly taking that as a compliment. “Oh, I didn’t come here tonight with the knowledge that you were going to be up for sale. That was just a happy coincidence. But now that I’m here, I thought it was my duty to let you know how hot you look in that tux.”
The guileless eyes Jordan aimed at him didn’t fool Derek for a second. The guy was certifiable. They hadn’t seen each other in years, yet the second Jordan flashed the right look his way, Derek felt himself wanting to fall back under his spell. Jordan was his fucking kryptonite.
“You paid that much money to tell me I look good in a suit? You shouldn’t have bothered. My roommate told me for free.”
Jordan’s eyes narrowed and he shrugged. “Hot is what I believe I said. And I don’t care who told you. They’re not me. And we both know you like hearing it from my lips best.”
Derek close to growled with frustration because, fuck, Jordan was right. Then, for the first time in three years, Jordan reached out and touched him. His fingertip grazed the line of his jaw, and before he could remove it, Derek captured Jordan’s wrist and held it in place.
“Why?” he demanded again. “Why are you here?”
“I told you, it was a coincidence.”
“One you couldn’t let pass by. You just had to make sure that I saw you up close, huh? Is it a thrill to know that after all these years you still make my dick hard?”
Jordan shook his head. “No. I mean, it is a thrill. But you’re wrong. It was the other way around. I wanted to see you up close. It’s been so long, Derek. You don’t call me anymore. And I never see you.”
“So you paid two thousand dollars for the privilege? Jordan, I’m pretty easy to find for free.”
“Yes, but you made it clear by staying away that you didn’t want to be found.”
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, whatever…” Derek muttered.
“I just thought it would be nice to catch up. I don’t know. We were friends too at one point, weren’t we?”
Derek laughed, but the sound lacked any kind of joy. “Is that what you want now?” he asked, his voice lowering several octaves. “To be my friend?”
Jordan grimaced, and Derek wondered if the thought of being “just” friends felt as wrong to Jordan as it did to him.
“Has something changed that I don’t know about?” Derek asked. “Because I’m sorry, I don’t want to be your friend. And the last conversation we had, you told me that you had no desire to date anyone.”
As the words left his mouth, Derek saw Jordan’s cheeks flame, and he shifted his feet as though he were uncomfortable. The silence that then fell between them was like a dead weight, and as if a light bulb switched on inside of Derek’s head, he shoved off the wall and pointed at Jordan.
“You’re seeing someone,” he said, and Jordan took a step back. Not surprising, considering any idiot could see Derek’s temper had just been flipped the fuck on.
He advanced on Jordan, who retreated, and for the first time in their ever-changing relationship, Jordan looked nervous.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
Jordan tilted his chin up, defiant as always, and finally answered, “Maybe. I mean. Yes. Kind of.”
When Jordan’s back met the wall, Derek kept coming until he had him pinned against it and was now caging him in with a palm on either side of his head. Even after all this time, and with no real claim on the guy, the thought of someone other than himself with Jordan made Derek close to homicidal.
It should’ve been me, he thought, as he fumed down at Jordan. But it never fucking is.
“Did you really just pay that much money to tell me you’re dating someone else?” Derek was aware that he sounded beyond pissed, but his tolerance for bullshit and etiquette had just run out.
“No, I just wanted to—“
Derek took Jordan’s chin in his hand, effectively stopping his words, then he brushed their lips together and whispered, “Don’t lie to me. You have never lied to me. Not even when it fucking hurt.”
Jordan brought a hand up and encircled his wrist, and the expression that flashed in his eyes made Derek’s breath get lodged in his throat. He looked torn.
“I paid that much money on impulse because I saw you and wanted to touch you. That’s the truth. It’s as simple as that.”
“But you’re dating someone else?” Derek asked one last time, and Jordan closed his eyes and nodded.
Derek’s body trembled at the impact of that silent but final answer, and as he stood there looking down at the one man he’d always wanted but was forever out of his reach, he pressed a kiss to the corner of Jordan’s mouth and said, “One of these days, we will get this right.”
When Jordan’s eyes opened and he stared up at him, Derek released his wrist and said, “But it’s not going to be today.”
And with that, Derek exited stage left.