Gage opened the front door of Second Chance Books and headed straight back toward the office. The only light in the store was shining from back there since there was still nearly an hour before the officially posted opening time.

He knew Calvin and Jack would already be there, though, just like they were every morning. And even though they said they unlocked the door early in case any customers needed to come in, Gage figured he was the real reason why they did it.

After all, how many people really needed to make an emergency trip to the bookstore before eight in the morning?

“Good morning,” Gage said, knocking on the open door as he stepped just inside the small office. “How are my two favorite people today?”

They both turned to look at him and they both gave him a nearly identical quizzical stare.

“Did you get laid last night?” Calvin asked, earning a snort from Jack and a laugh from Gage.

“No, thank you very much,” Gage answered, still chuckling a little. “But I did swing by that photography studio we were talking about yesterday when I left the gym.”

“Oh, really?” Calvin and Jack asked at the same time, earning yet another laugh from Gage.

“Yeah, really. And you two are gonna be finishing each other’s sentences before too long if you keep working and living together.”

“That ship has already sailed, my friend,” Calvin said, shooting his fiancé a grin. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, do you, babe?”

“Nope,” Jack answered, leaning in for a quick kiss. “Not a thing wrong with it, as far as I’m concerned.”

Calvin turned his attention back to Gage. “But I know you didn’t come in here just to tell us how cute we are together, so… spill. What happened at the studio? I assume you talked to that cute little photographer some more?”

“To Newton?” Gage asked, even though of course that was who Calvin was referring to. Unless there was another cute photographer in Silver Lake that Gage needed to check out. “Yeah, we talked a little… or, I guess I did most of the talking? But he took a few pictures of me and said he would work on getting me some examples of what he can do, so I’m pretty excited.”

“That’s awesome, Gage,” Jack said, crossing the room to clap him on the shoulder. “When you get the examples from him, you’ll have to bring them over, so we can take a look. If they’re good, I’d love to have him do something like that for us—maybe for some of the other businesses in town, too.”

Gage nodded. “I was already thinking the exact same thing. And I already know I’m gonna love what he comes up with. You saw the inside of his studio, right? It’s beautiful. And you guys—you really should have seen him behind the camera. It was like he… I don’t know, like he transformed. He was all business. Even a little bossy.” Gage chuckled to himself at the memory. “I’m not gonna lie, it was kind of hot.”

Jack shook his head, but Gage could see the corners of his mouth twitch up. “I’m gonna go turn on the lights out front while Calvin pumps you for more details on that.”

“Whatever.” Calvin rolled his eyes and waved Jack away. “You don’t know if that’s what I was going to do.”

“Wasn’t it?” Jack asked, before ducking out the door.

Calvin waited a beat, then whispered, “It was, but don’t tell him that.” He clasped his hands together and nodded toward the chair next to his desk where Jack had been sitting before. “Now come in here and give me every single detail.”

Gage pulled up a chair and tried to collect his thoughts. There wasn’t a lot to tell, really, but he knew Calvin wasn’t about to take that for an answer.

“Like I said, we didn’t really talk much—or he didn’t, anyway—but there’s something about him, Calvin. Something vulnerable…” Gage paused as he tried to find the right words, then shrugged. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but just being around him makes me feel a little protective. I just want to give him a hug, if that makes sense.”

Calvin’s smile widened, and his eyebrows raised with each new revelation, until it looked like he might bounce right out of his seat by the time Gage finished talking.

“Of course, that makes sense,” he said, clasping his hands together excitedly. “This guy is cute, he’s single—is he single? I didn’t see a ring… but anyway, he’s probably single, and he made you feel warm fuzzies inside from the moment you laid eyes on him, right?”

That sounded right… sort of? Mostly? But was it weird for Gage to feel that way, since Newton was basically—well, not basically, he was actually—still a stranger?

Would Calvin think it was weird?

“I mean…” Gage began, then cleared his throat. “I don’t know if it was warm fuzzies… but I did feel something like that, I guess.”

“Whatever.” Calvin grinned. “I know you, Gage. I’d put money on warm fuzzies. So… the only real question left is—is he gay?”

Gage shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Bi? Pan? A little curious?”

“I don’t know.”

Calvin’s face fell. “What do you mean you don’t know? How do you not know?”

Gage thought back to the two brief encounters he’d had with Newton so far. He did feel pretty confident that Newton wasn’t straight—or at least not all the way straight—but he definitely didn’t know for sure.

He definitely was sure that it wasn’t any of his business, though.

Or Calvin’s.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fantasize a little about what he hoped the answer might be.

“I just don’t know,” Gage said, finally, giving a half-hearted shrug as Calvin sighed. “That didn’t really come up while we were talking about taking pictures to promote the gym.”

Calvin shook his head and sighed again, heavier this time. “You should have at least tried to find out, Gage, really. But anyway, was there at least a little bit of a spark? A little chemistry? Anything? You’re killing me here.”

“Oh, there’s something there, for sure,” Gage said, nodding. “At least for me. But I don’t have any idea if he feels the same sort of spark or chemistry or whatever. It’s just too early to tell.”

“You need to find out!” Calvin’s face lit back up like a Christmas tree. “You need to see him again, Gage. You have to.”

“I’m going to,” Gage said, returning his friend’s smile. “You can count on that.”

Gage opened his eyes and stared up at his bedroom ceiling. He’d been lying in bed for at least an hour and still was nowhere close to falling asleep.

It was too damn hot in his bedroom.

And he couldn’t stop thinking about Newton. Couldn’t stop picturing his face, the way his bright blue eyes lit up when he smiled, the way he lost all of his insecurities the moment he stepped behind the camera.

Gage tossed the bedsheets aside and huffed out a short breath. He could get up and turn on the air conditioner. Or maybe drink a glass of water.

Or something to deal with this damn heat.

But that still wouldn’t do anything for his other issue. Hot or cold, he was pretty sure he wasn’t getting Newton off his mind anytime soon.

He reached down and absently adjusted himself over the fabric of his boxers, his cock already half-hard as that cute, sexy smile flashed through his mind one more time.

Damn.

He really wasn’t going to be able to sleep with a Newton-inspired hard-on, and his insistent cock was getting harder by the second.

Gage raised his hips just enough to shove his boxers down around his thighs, his erection slapping back up against his stomach. No point in trying to ignore it anymore.

He wrapped his hand around his cock as soon as it was free, closing his eyes again as he slowly began to stroke.

Yeah, this was what he’d been needing to do. This was what would finally let him get some rest.

It was easy to picture Newton—hell, that’s all he’d been doing all day. But it was different this time.

This time, he could imagine those bright blue eyes looking up at him, that wide smile teasing as he hovered just above Gage’s cock.

Gage’s hips thrust upward, making him gasp as he pictured Newton opening his mouth and tentatively licking the head before taking it in as far as he could.

“Oh, fuck,” Gage gasped, his hand flying over his cock as he kept thrusting his hips in time with each stroke.

He could already feel the orgasm building inside him. It had been building all damn day, and each thrust, each stroke, just pushed him closer and closer to the edge.

Gage wrapped his free hand in the bedsheets and felt every muscle in his body flex as a long, low moan escaped his lips. His climax started washing over him like a tidal wave, overtaking him and blurring his vision as he opened his eyes just in time to see the first pearly white ropes spill out over his fist and streak across his abs.

“Yeah, Newton… fuck… fuck…”

For several long seconds, he couldn’t move, couldn’t think, could barely even breathe. That orgasm had been the most intense he’d had since… maybe ever. And sure, part of that could probably be chalked up to the fact that he was in the midst of what was turning out to be a months-long dry spell.

But the bigger part? The main reason why he was so turned on, so damn horny that he literally couldn’t see straight?

That was because of Newton. No doubt about it.

Maybe it was because he was new in town. Maybe it was because he was so cute and sexy that Gage had to resist the urge to scoop him into his arms every time they were within a few feet of each other.

Or maybe it was because even though Newton seemed shy and vulnerable—almost fragile, really—there was still an air of mystery surrounding him that suggested Gage didn’t quite have him figured out yet.

He wanted to figure Newton out, though. He wanted to get to know him better.

Gage just hoped that Newton would let him.