"Wait, what? Are you serious right now?" he laughs. He fucking laughs. "Oh man, you fucked up big time. Good luck fixing things. Anyway, I was calling to see if you know where I can find a copy of the Hawthorne invoice. I need to get this billed out today."
My jaw hangs slack as I pull my phone away from my ear to check the number on the screen before looking around the room because I'm being punk'd, right? There is no way he just said that to me. This time, I don't bother to hold back my growl.
"It's in the "To Be Invoiced" file on the server." I spit out the words through gritted teeth. Is this guy for real?
“Oh yeah, so it is. Thanks, man, have a good day, and congratulations again,” he hangs up before I can respond, leaving me reeling as I sit on the floor, still staring at my phone.
"What in the actual fuck was that?" I mutter as I peel myself from the rug and make my way upstairs to throw on some running gear. I always do my best thinking while I run.
Unfortunately, I only get minutes into the run before my mind starts to drift back to the beginning. When Ryan was just a hot guy in a bar, before i knew he was it for it. Fuck, who am I kidding? I knew he was it for me the second I laid eyes on him.
CHAPTER 5
2 years ago
DREW
“I shouldn’t be here,” I say to myself as I stand staring at the door to JACKS. This is potentially the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done. After a full week of trying to get the green-eyed songbird out of my head, I finally relented to myself and my baser instincts. So here I am, about to go into a bar, alone with the hopes of finding a guy I know nothing about and with no idea if he will even be here again tonight. Well thought out plan there Drew.
Blowing out a deep breath, I rub my sweating palms over my suit jacket before reaching out and pulling open the heavy door. The sounds of the busy bar filter outside as I force myself to walk through the door once again, kicking myself for not just staying and watching the end of his set last week, buying him a drink, and asking for his number like the grown ass man I’m supposed to be.
I glance around JACKS, trying not to look like a creeper and also trying to avoid making eye contact with any of the horny little twinks hanging around. Apparently, I give off big dick energy, according to the blonde guy in a glitter crop top who tried to pick me up the last time I was here. I attract them like moths to a flame, but I'm here to catch a butterfly. Ryan, that's what he introduced himself to the crowd as. Ryan was the most beautiful butterfly of them all. God, he was gorgeous. Tattoos and long dark hair peeking out the bottom of his backward baseball cap, just topped off by the most incredible green eyes I've ever seen.
And he kept those eyes on me right up until the moment I left. Could he tell I was into him right off the bat? Is that why he was staring at me, SHIT, what if he was just looking in my general direction and not directly at me? What if I have this whole thing wrong, and I showed up here like an absolute creeper? He probably won't even remember me.
He probably sings to hundreds of guys. Fuck it, I'm here now, so I might as well get a beer and reevaluate every decision I've made that led me here.
I sip my beer, thankful that the bartender couldn't tell just from my face that I'm here to find the hot singer guy who may or may not have been looking at me last Friday. I'm halfway through picking the label off my bottle when I sense someone sitting on the stool beside me and clearing his throat. I look up from the mess I have made on the bar top with little scraps of paper, and there he is.
This time, he’s wearing a black v-neck t-shirt that exposes his long neck and tattoos all over his arms and enhances those beautiful greens of his. The baseball cap is gone tonight. Instead, he wears his hair loose but pushed back, likely to keep it out of his eyes. The stubble dawning on his jaw makes me wonder how it would feel rubbing against my balls with my cock in his mouth. Oh wow, slow down, Drew. Although that would be so hot.
“Well, hello there, Captain.” He says with a megawatt smile decorated by deep dimples on either side of the most kissable lips known to man.
"Sorry, what?" I did hear him. I just don't understand why he called me captain. Surely I'm not giving off military vibes. Am I sitting too straight now? Should I slouch a little, try and act cool?
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you, you look just like Chris Evans… Captain America?”
"Erm, no, that's a first… Thank you? I mean, he's hot, right? That was a compliment?" I ask and groan at my rambling. "I'm Drew, by the way." See? Grown ass man fully capable of introducing himself to a hot singer dude.
"Nice to meet you, Drew, but I think you'll be Cap to me. I'm Ryan, and thank God. I was afraid we couldn't be friends if you didn't know who Captain America is." He laughs, and I swear the place lights up, or maybe it's me that lit up.
I watch his eyes move over my body. He's totally checking me out. It's the slouch. I definitely look cool.
“Are you wearing that on purpose, Cap? Just for me? Or maybe you wanted to make sure I would recognize you?”
He asks with a smirk playing on his lips as I look down at my Tom Ford suit and then back up to meet his eyes.
“What, the suit?” So he did see me. He was looking at me.
“You were here last week, dressed a little like this, although maybe it was a navy suit? You watched some of my set, right?”
"Oh yeah, you sang Tay Tay's song?" Tay Tay… Really? Did I just say that? It takes herculean strength not to facepalm right now. I totally blame my niece. She's at the point in her life where she listens to Taylor Swift non-stop. She's a swiffer. I think that's how you say it, and since I love her, I might have gone deep into a rabbit hole to make her happy by learning a few songs with her and… having a bit too much fun with her at last year's concert. What can I say? I'm the best guncle.
"Well, look at you, remembering my song." How could I not? He was looking straight at me while he sang it. "So, what brings you here tonight? A night out with friends?" Is he trying to figure out if I'm here alone tonight, or is he just being friendly?
“Nope, I actually had a lot of fun last week. This place has a great atmosphere, so I decided to drop by again. Thought that maybe the handsome guy with the guitar would be here again tonight,” I dare to look at him, and his beautiful grin is on full display again. Those dimples deepen just for me. My heart stops for a beat. I feel the urgent need to be closer to him. That feeling was completely new to me.
“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. Why don’t I get you a drink and see if I can find him?” He asks with playfulness in his tone.
