I made a beeline to the wall of newer comics, which were situated in the far corner of the store behind the big bookshelves of gaming manuals in the back. Nowadays, I mostly kept up online, but I still tried to buy one or two titles in person for tradition’s sake. Plus, I always liked to see what old issues happened to circulate. You never knew when you’d stumble upon a rare one.
I whipped around the corner whenbamI slammed straight into a guy who was standing there. He was solidwith a big, built frame, and I shook my head for a second, preparing to apologize.
“Beck?”
I swallowed hard. Oh, fuck. That voice.
I knew that voice because I’d recalled his low charming tone every time I jacked off this week.
“Cay,” I said as my gaze landed squarely on him. Anxiety bloomed anew, causing a fresh batch of sweat to prickle along my forehead. He stared at me, those pretty, dark eyes guileless, genuine surprise on his features. Which ruled out that he was somehow stalking me. Granted, this comic shop wasn’t even in my neck of the woods anyway. His dark strands were swept to the side, his jawline sharp and angular, and the Avengers tee he had on fit his frame far too well, the fabric straining against his broad shoulders and defined pecs.
I licked my lips, realizing I was pretty much just gawking at him. “What are you doing here?” The words came out sharper than intended because I was less than friendly on a good day, but I regretted them when he took a step back.
Cay jerked a thumb toward the racks. “Comics.” The duh was implied, but my cheeks heated. He stared at me curiously, those brown eyes wide. “So I’m guessing you didn’t want lunch?”
I blanched at once, all the embarrassment pummeling me like a finishing move in Mortal Kombat. Fuck, I was such a dick for not responding to him, but it’d also be wayworse if he realized just how much he’d been popping up in my fantasies lately. A cool, supersweet guy was trying to be my friend, and I was busy having a fucking identity crisis.
“Whoa, sorry, that was rude of me to bring up,” he said, lifting his hands as he tried to smooth over the situation. “No sweat, man. It’s okay if you don’t want to hang out. I’m not going to try to push anything.”
My heart raced a million miles a minute. The window was closing in front of my face, and for some reason, the idea of not seeing him again was far worse than anything my anxiety could cook up.
“I want to eat you.”
The words left my mouth in a garbled rush, and the second I realized what I’d blurted out, the life drained from my body. Dead. Just dead. Bury me now, and hide my porny fanart collection.
“I’m good with lunch,” I forced out again, enunciating the words slowly. Cay stood in front of me, his lashes fluttering and his mouth slightly open at my outburst. His mouth was right there, those plush lips Idefinitelyremembered on mine, and I couldn’t help but think about our kiss.
His eyes crinkled a moment later with a brilliant smile that lit up his face. The breath snagged in my throat as I stood there,dumbstruck.
“You want to grab lunch?” he asked, snagging one of the comics from the rack. “I just need to buy this first.”
“Uh…” I started, my mouth suddenly far too dry. Well, fuck, I couldn’t get out of this now. “Yeah, sure. Let me just get my comics first.”
“Where do you want to go?” Cay asked, his stance relaxed. “Anywhere you want, my treat.”
“Are you going to judge me if I say McArthur’s?” I said, skimming the rows of comics for the ones I was looking for. “I usually grab a burger there after I do my comic run.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” Cay let out a long, loud exhale. “No judgment here. The steak place was not my scene.”
“Mine neither,” I said, my heart thumping a little harder. I could survive a lunch. He flashed me another charming-as-fuck grin, all white teeth against his tanned skin, and a punch of lust landed square in the sternum.
I snagged the issue of She-Hulk and a Superman/Batman storyline that was going on right now. The sight of Superman and Batman on the cover was not helping tamp down the horny thoughts roaming through my brain.
“I thought for sure you were going to suggest somewhere fancy,” he said, jerking a thumb at me. “Dressed like that and all.”
I glanced down, my nose wrinkling. I’d worn a pair of gray slacks and a maroon button-down with the sleeves rolled up. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“No, no, you look good,” Cay said, pivoting on his heel to start walking toward the counter. Heat flushed my cheeks at the compliment. My body was a fucking traitor. Not that I had instantaneous attraction to anyone, but I’d never blushed around a guy before. Definitely hadn’t jerked off to thoughts of a guy, except for Henry Cavill as Superman, but that didn’t count. Okay, maybe Hugh Jackman as Wolverine too, but again, didn’t count.
I licked my too-dry lips as I stepped behind Cay. My gaze drifted downward as he leaned forward, resting a forearm against the counter while Ethan rang him up. The jeans he wore were a bit weathered, but with the bend, they placed his ass on clear display. The guy was seriously muscular there, and the sight had my cock perking to attention.
He shifted, and I couldn’t help but follow the motion.
“Beck?” Ethan’s voice snapped me to attention. He arched a brow as he glanced between me and Cay. My cheeks heated again, and guaranteed I was a lovely bright red now. Busted.
“Yeah, just wanted to pick up these,” I said, handing over my comics and fishing my card out of my wallet. Ethan rang me up in no time, and I stood right next to Cay, all too aware of the scent of his cologne, that spice and cedarwood that sparked my awareness. Wanting to bury myself in his shirt to get another whiff was a completely normal urge. Ethan slipped the comics into the crisp bag, and I grabbed it, offering a nod.
“Have fun,” Ethan said with a grin.
