It’s clear that I’m around stars, right now.
“Charlie, I have a VIP for you to meet,” Logan says. “This is my boyfriend, Chase Cameron.”
Charlie doesn’t miss a beat.
Doesn’t bat an eyelash, or question anything, or give Logan some sort of disapproving glance because I’m not famous.
He reaches out his hand, smiling wide, and shakes my hand.
“Charlie Maccan,” he says. “You’re the photographer of Logan’s dickfest portraits, aren’t you?”
I crack a smile. “That would be me. You liked them?”
“I love the photos. In a purely friendly way, of course, Logan. Chase, I’m not trying to steal your man. Promise.”
“No harm, no foul,” I tell him. “Which ones were your favorites of the set?”
“The black and white ones. And some of the ones that were hyper-contrasty, in front of the art. Those paintings arefucking wild, man. Do you know who the artist was?”
“Oh, the paintings in the background are all mine.”
Charlie’s eyes go wide. “You painted those?”
I nod. “Mhm.”
“Well, we need to chat, then,” Charlie says. “I have to have one of those for my apartment here in New York. I was going to ask Logan about it earlier, but I’ve been crazy busy.”
I pull out one of my business cards and hand it to him. “Anytime. I can do commissions, too. Anything you’d like. Could even paint you a neon-soaked dickfest, if you wanted. Not Logan’s dick, though.”
Charlie lets out a deep, genuine laugh, and already I’m relieved that my sense of humor goes over well with him.
“You didwell, my friend,” Charlie says to Logan, waggling his eyebrows. “He looks like that, he’s talented,andhe’s funny?”
“I know,” Logan says. “Trust me, I know.”
“Maccan! Get your ass over here!” a woman in a ballgown says to Charlie and he gives us a wave.
“Find me at one of the tables later tonight. I’m talking art with your boyfriend, Stone!”
Once Logan and I are alone again, he smiles at me. “That’s Charlie. And yes, he’s always like that.”
“He’s great. Shit, I thought everyone here was going to be pretentious and have sticks up their asses, but he seems fun as hell.”
Logan nods as he pops a caprese appetizer into his mouth. “You’ll see a lot more of him, anytime you visit me in LA. He’s a great friend.”
I hum. “Oh, so you think I’ll be visiting you a lot in LA, huh?” I tease.
He glances up at me. “Damn well better be. How the fuck am I supposed to exist without you?”
I bite the inside of my cheek.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, actually. The photography gig I’m going to interview for next week involves an amount of travel, because they work with historic buildings all around the country. Their main headquarters is in New York, but guess where their West Coast one is?”
“Is it really in LA?”
“It sure fucking is.”
His eyes glimmer, and he reaches out to squeeze my waist. “Chase.”
