“How do you do it?”

Jonah turned his head to the side to see Christian lying on one of the wicker loungers staring up at the stars. They’d come out to the deck separately after dinner, Christian with a book, Jonah with a glass of whiskey that he’d long since finished.

“How do I do what?” he asked.

“You know what. How do you handle being, well, you? Famous. Having all these people come up to you and spill their entire life’s story for an autograph and a picture with you?”

When Chris put it that way, it seemed so cheap. So transactional. Jonah had never looked at it that way. Sure, the amount of time he got to spend with each person he met was minimal—a few minutes, at best—but he always like to try and find common ground with them and establish a genuine connection, rather than phoning it in like some celebrities did.

“I just talk to them,” he said with a shrug. “At first it bothered me, hearing them talk about how much they loved me or the characters I play, but after a while, it just became natural. Part of life.” That didn’t mean he always enjoyed it, but he did his best to put on a happy face even when he wasn’t feeling it. “Plus, without my fans, I wouldn’t have a career. I would be no one.”

Christian frowned and shook his head. “You wouldn’t be no one to me.”

The words warmed him, a feat on such a chilly night. “No? Who would I be to you?”

“The same guy I looked up to in high school.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You looked up to me in high school?”

“You didn’t know?” Christian asked with a snort. “Oh come on. Mason and I followed you around like two coon hounds begging for a bone.”

Jonah laughed at the expression. Oh yeah, he was definitely back in the South. “I guess I didn’t realize. I just thought you wanted to hang out.”

“We did. But we always thought you were too cool to want to hang out with us. And then when you did, we didn’t really know what to do.”

“The fact that you both thought I was cool in high school just goes to show how delusional you both were. I was a theatre nerd. I auditioned for every play from freshman to senior year. The football team showed up one year just to throw popcorn at me from the front row.”

He wasn’t exaggerating much. The football team had actually shown up to throw popcorn at him, but it was because he’d stolen the wide receiver’s girlfriend and that was their revenge. But he didn’t want Christian to think he’d ever seen himself as above everyone else. Even now, he still saw himself as the same person he’d always been—just with a wider audience.

“Joke’s on them. Now people pay to sit in the front row of the movie theater and eat popcorn during your movie,” Christian pointed out.

“You’re right. I should give them a call, see if they’ve forgiven me yet.”

“Or you could… not. God knows I never want to talk to the people I went to high school with again.”

“Was it really that bad? I mean, I know you said it wasn’t horrible being gay, but overall?”

Instead of answering him, Christian just grimaced. Jonah let out a slow breath. If only he had known back then. He would have tried harder to… what? Include Christian? There’d been a two-year age gap between them, and while that didn’t sound like much now, he’d already been a junior when Chris started high school. And once he’d graduated, what could he have done from California?

“Well, I’m sorry you had to go through it,” he said lamely. Words wouldn’t go back and undo the damage that had been caused.

“It’s okay. I mean it,” Christian said, cutting Jonah off before he could protest. “I made it out and I moved away and found a group of people who accepted me for who I am. Met my first boyfriend and forgot all about this place.”

“What was he like?” And why did Jonah want to find out where that boyfriend lived and threaten him with bodily harm?

“He was sweet. One of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He supported me wanting to go into journalism, and he even met my mom once, when she was in the hospital.”

Jonah clenched his hands at the thought of this nameless, faceless guy sitting beside Christian in the hospital, waiting to see if his mom would be alright. He deserved to have someone who knew just how complicated the relationship was. Who’d seen just what she had put him through.

Jesus Christ he needed to get a grip.

“If he was so great, why’d you two break up?” he asked. And if he sounded petty, maybe Christian wouldn’t notice.

“He went into the Peace Corps,” Christian said. “I offered to wait for him, but he said it wouldn’t be fair to me, so we broke up. I’ve seen him a couple times since then. He got married about a year ago.”

He could practically feel his blood pressure going down. “Oh. I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you two.”

Christians shrugged. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago, and if we hadn’t broken up, he wouldn’t have met Aaron.”

“What about you? Has there been anyone else since then?” It didn’t matter, but Jonah was still curious.

“There were a few on and off throughout college. The last one ended about a month ago. It… wasn’t as great.”

“What happened?” If the guy had hurt Christian in any way, he would regret being born.

“He was just a dick. He didn’t support my career choice, didn’t really care about me as a person. I should have broken up with him a long time before he dumped me, but I thought he was the one. It was stupid, in retrospect.”

“Oh trust me, I know a thing or two about dating people long after you should have stopped.”

Christian rolled onto his side, propping his head up so his elbow dug into the cushion. “Tell me more,” he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Oh boy. He needed more alcohol for this. “I told you my agent arranges dates for me, right? Only they aren’t just dates. Sometimes I have to actually, you know, date them for a few months. Like… this girl. The last one I dated. Her name was Olivia and she was just the worst. All she wanted to do was be seen together. She didn’t even really have an interest in dating me. I mean, none of them do. Not really. But they at least make an effort.”

And now he was ranting. Again. Christian probably thought he hated his job, and there were parts of it that were worse than others, but this honestly took the cake for the worst girlfriend he’d ever had to pretend to have.

“How long did you have to date her?” Christian asked.

“Four months. At least my agent was the one buying the gifts.” Not that he didn’t have the money, but the idea of buying a present for someone who wouldn’t even appreciated it grated on Jonah’s nerves.

“That sounds horrible. I mean, being in a bad relationship is hard enough, but faking a relationship when you don’t even like the person?”

Christian hit the nail on the head with that one. So much of his life was staged already—from where he ate to the interviews he gave—that he just wanted one person to see him for who he truly was. One person who could know him intimately. Someone he could confide in, but also someone he could enjoy having sex with. A partner in every sense of the word.

“You know, I could handle all of that. I could handle the fake dating, the women who send me letters no decent human being should ever have to read, all the screams of ‘I love you’ from people who don’t even know me; I could do it if I had someone to go home to. I mean… do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had sex?”

“I’m going to guess it’s been longer than the two months it’s been since I had sex.”

Two months? “I thought you said you and your ex broke up a month ago.”

Christian shot him a wry grin. “Yeah, I did say that. Did I mention he wasn’t a very good boyfriend?”

Unsure whether to laugh or commiserate, Jonah just pressed his lips into a tight line. “Yeah, it’s been slightly longer for me,” he said after a beat.

“How long?”

“Try seven months.”

“Jesus Christ. Seven months?” Christian exclaimed. “That’s… that’s like… monk level, right there. God, no wonder you needed a vacation. Although I gotta say, this definitely isn’t the best place to vacation if you’re looking to get laid.”

“Yeah, oddly enough, I wasn’t actually thinking about sex when I booked the flight to Louisville. Besides, even if I flew halfway around the world to Majorca or Ibiza or wherever the fuck, who would I have sex with?”

It was a dilemma he’d run into shortly after his first big break. He’d gone home with a woman he’d met at a bar and the next morning, Aspen had called him fuming about the pictures that had appeared in the National Enquirer. One-night-stands, it seemed, were out of the question. And since he was constantly linked to so many high-profile actresses, he couldn’t risk word getting out and blowing their cover. It would ruin his career. No one liked a cheater.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a fair point,” Christian said. He bit his lip and looked at Jonah, then back up at the sky.

“What?”

“Hm? Nothing.”

Yeah, that totally sounded like nothing. “No really. What were you gonna say? I want to know.”

“Believe me when I say you really don’t. It doesn’t matter. It was just a stupid thought.” Christian’s words came out rushed, as though he couldn’t say them fast enough.

“Dude, relax. Whatever it is, it’s fine. You’ve got me really curious, and now I want to know.” He had a feeling he knew what Christian was going to say, and in all honesty, he wasn’t completely opposed to it. But if it turned out that wasn’t what Christian was thinking, he didn’t want to make things awkward between them.

“I um…” Christian stared at his hands, which were clasped tightly together. “I could end your seven-month streak. That is, if you don’t mind being with a guy. And it’s totally fine if it’s super not your thing,” he added quickly, speeding back up again. “It’s just you haven’t had any contact in a long time, and I could definitely use some contact and it would probably be beneficial for both of us; and you could count on me to keep things quiet. It isn’t like I’m going to go blabbing to the Enquirer or something. Do you know they pay their leads? That’s super unethical and—okay I’m gonna shut up now.”

The entire time Christian had been talking, a smile had been growing on Jonah’s face. By the end, he was beaming and doing his best not to laugh. It wasn’t a funny situation, really. There was nothing humorous about the fact that Christian wanted to have sex with him. But there was something absurd about the entire scenario. It seemed like the opening to a bad porno. They were both horny, so, what? They should have sex with each other?

It wasn’t such a bad idea, when he thought about it. Christian was attractive. Okay, he was fucking hot, if Jonah were being honest with himself. And it wasn’t as though he was entirely opposed to having sex with a guy. Sure, he’d only ever been with women, but that didn’t mean anything. Just like this wouldn’t necessarily have to mean anything. For all he knew, they’d just give each other hand jobs and that’d be it. It was just two friends helping each other out, and then they would never have to talk about it after this week. Besides he had enjoyed kissing Corbin. Would it be the same with Christian?

Christian was staring at him expectantly, and belatedly, Jonah realized he was waiting for an answer. “Sorry. Really sorry. I was in my own head there for a minute. I don’t think it’s a stupid thought. In fact, I think it’s a very practical thought, one that I’m very much on board with.”

“Y—”

“Wait. Before you say anything, I just want to try something, okay?” Christian nodded. “Good. Close your eyes.”

As soon as Christian had, Jonah sat up, facing Christian, and scooted to the edge of the lounge chair. He reached out and cupped Christian’s jaw, drawing a gasp. Apparently Christian was very much in approval of what was happening. The stubble under Jonah’s hand was different, but not necessarily bad. He brushed his thumb across Christian’s lip and it was his turn to gasp when Christian darted his tongue out against his skin. Lust and desire flooded his veins, emboldening him, and leaned in, replacing his thumb with his lips.

He wasn’t prepared for how right it felt. Their difference in height and positioning on the lounge chairs made the angle a little strange, but that didn’t matter. Christian’s lips were pliant and soft against his, parting ever so slightly as an offering, one that Jonah took. He deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing across Christian’s in a sensual slide. Christian let out a groan and the sound went straight to Jonah’s cock.

They broke apart, panting. Christian’s expression was hungry and wild, and Jonah knew without seeing himself he probably looked the same. No, this wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was very, very good. He was going to need so much more than just a kiss.