“It might be cheaper to tear it down and start from scratch,” Eli mutters as he flops onto the couch.
“You’re probably right, pretty boy,” I chuckle. “But all the same…rest until he gets here.”
He looks up at me shyly. “Where are you going? And why do you keep calling me ‘pretty boy’? I’m a man, you know.”
“Do I ever,” I grin. “To answer your first question, I’ll be out there with Knuckles, trying like hell not to beat his face in. And as for your second…” I tilt my head, letting my eyes drift over him with deliberate slowness. “I call you ‘pretty boy’ because that’s what you are.”
His face turns crimson, and I can’t help but laugh.
“And the blushes just make you even more so,” I tease. “Though, I’ll admit…I’m a little disappointed. This is the first time we’ve met where you haven’t fallen into my arms. I rather liked having your pretty boy body pressed against mine.”
Eli laughs, shaking his head. “Even when I was out cold?”
“What can I say?” I shrug, grinning. “I’ll take what I can get. Now, rest.”
“Bossy,” I hear him mutter as I leave the office.
***Eli***
It’s been a week since the Shadows bought the garage, and I’ve learned a few things.
One, Knuckles is a jerk. But the guys seem genuinely surprised by how he’s been acting, which means he wasn’t always like this. That part worries me.
I keep wondering if it’s my fault somehow.
And two…Skip flirts with everyone.
And I meanevery… single… person… he… sees.
Contractors, electricians, plumbers, decorators, food delivery workers. If they’ve walked through those doors, they’ve gottenthesmile. That flirty, confident grin that probably melts half the population and leaves the other half tripping over their words.
Male or female, it doesn’t matter. Skip doesn’t discriminate.
For a minute there, I’d been stupid enough to think he might actually be interested in me. That he found me attractive. But I’ve quickly learned how wrong I was.
“I’m off tomorrow,” one of the interior designers says in a voice so sultry it could melt steel. “Want to meet up and… get to know one another in a far moresexyway?”
I manage to refrain from rolling my eyes… but only just.
Okay, so I’ll never have the kind of confidence that woman has. Or the skinny pink-haired man dropping off supplies, the one currently raking his eyes down Skip’s body like he’s trying to memorize it.
“Care for a third?” the man asks boldly. “I’m not into pussy, but I don’t mind sucking your dick while you eat her out.”
“Dammit, Skip!” Spike shouts from somewhere across the garage. “Get a damn room! I don’t want to hear that shit.”
Skip just laughs, turning toward the guy with that same easy grin. “Sorry, man,” he says, shaking his head. “Not into twinks…cute as they may be.”
“Your loss, sexy,” the man smirks, sauntering toward the entrance. “This twink would’ve totally rocked your world.”
“Lucky me,” the woman purrs, dragging a finger down Skip’s arm. “Guess I get you all to myself.”
I shouldn’t care. Really, I shouldn’t.
But when I glance back at Skip, I see it…the flicker of interest in his eyes as the woman leans closer, her hand trailing down his arm. It’s small, maybe even harmless, but it’s there. And it stings more than I want to admit.
Of course, he’s interested. How could he not be? She’s beautiful. Confident in that effortless way people like me will never be.
And me? I’m the awkward chunky guy who passes out when things get stressful. The one who hides behind spreadsheets and inventory lists because numbers don’t judge or stare too long.I’m not the kind of person who catches someone like Skip’s attention. Not for more than a second, anyway.
