“Thanks, Rye,” Stone told her as he followed her to the door, opening it for her.
“Yup. Have fun. Don’t do nothin’ I would do.”
He laughed, watching as she hurried down the steps to Nico’s truck. She opened the rear door, closed it a moment later, then hurried to the SUV, getting into the backseat instead of the front. The headlights came on a second later.
“I swear I had nothin’ to do with that,” Stone told him again as he went to the grill.
“No, but I think Stevie did.” Nico shook his head, grinning. “It’s the same thing Niyah would’ve done if she were here.”
“She wants us to be alone, huh?”
Nico chuckled, then grabbed the bag he’d brought in with him. “I picked up a bottle of wine. The guy at the store said to let it breathe. I don’t have a clue what that even means.”
Stone laughed. “I thought you said you liked red wine.”
“Stevie’s a fan. I’ve only had it once. I just wanted to see how far you were willin’ to go.”
Stone met his gaze, unable to hide the fact that the simple statement lit him up from the inside. “You might come to regret that later.”
Nico’s sharp inhale made him smile.
***
Nico was nervous, and he had noidea why.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t been on a date in a year or anything.
Oh, wait. He hadn’t. He didn’t count his outings with Stevie because they did everything as friends. And they hadn’t had a chance for anything formal since they shifted their relationship status into the more serious range. Aside from sleeping in his bed every night and fucking like rabbits, nothing had really changed.
And it had been significantly longer since he’d been on a date with a man. He could count on one hand how many of those he’d had in his lifetime. None of them had been remarkable or worth a repeat.
“You ready to eat?” Stone asked as he pulled the steaks off the small grill.
Even if he weren’t, he would’ve said yes because he needed something to do other than stand there like a complete fool.
“Can I help with anything?” he offered, still holding the wine bottle.
“Nope. Just take a seat.”
Nico pulled out one of the bar stools since those were his only options.
“Not that one,” Stone said.
Nico frowned and moved to the next one.
“Or that one.”
Realizing there was amusement in Stone’s voice, Nico turned to look at him.
The guy was smiling, and damn if that smile didn’t amp up his sinfulness to the nth degree. Stone Jameson was by far the most attractive man Nico had ever laid eyes on—dark hair, chiseled features, and a smile that warned of devilish deeds to come. And yeah, maybe Nico was a little biased since Stone had quite literally altered the course of his life in one single night. He’d opened Nico’s eyes to things he never knew about himself—and yeah, even a few things he’d suspected. In doing that, he’d allowed Nico to connect so many dots.
“You can sit anywhere you want,” Stone said, his eyes glittering with mirth.
Nico took a seat in his second selection, then got up almost instantly to grab the glasses that were sitting on the counter. Before he sat, he poured wine into both.
Untilthat night, with Stone and Stevie, Nico hadn’t realized he was gay. Well, technically,bisexualwas probably a better term since he was quite fond of women, too. One in particular. However, afterthat night, he realized he had a preference. Not so much for a gender specifically, but rather a particular aspect of his encounters. His night with Stone and Stevie had opened his eyes to what it felt like to be truly dominated by someone. For years, he’d hoped to find it again, but he learned that most women, and even the few men he’d been with, expected him to play that alpha role. He could, and he did, but it only took a few times to realize he preferred to be on the opposite side. At least when he was with a man.
Stone placed one of the plates directly in front of him.
