BAMF E-Book

SJD Peterson

• Herausgeber: Dreamspinner Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 324

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

With his fauxhawk, sleeve tattoos, and visible piercings, Ridley Corbin has the whole badass vibe going on in spades. The image serves him well as the self-proclaimed protector of the underdog, and he wants nothing more than to be Alex Firestone's hero. Alex, a mild-mannered library assistant, has moved to Slater, a quiet college town, hoping to hide from his past. He keeps to himself, but that doesn't save him from catching the unwanted attention of the campus bully. But not all is as it seems. Alex's past comes calling, and it's time he becomes top dog.

Leseprobe

Readers love Roped

by SJD PETERSON

“I truly adore Jo Peterson, definitely as a person, but she constantly blows me away with her writing. Roped is book four in her Guards of Folsom series and each book I think “There’s no way she can meet or exceed the previous book”. But, each time, she does, and I believe I’m going to stop wondering how she does it. I have certain authors that no matter what they write, be it romance, paranormal, contemporary, urban fantasy, or a combination of all, I always enjoy their work. SJD Peterson is one of those authors.”

—Rainbow Book Alliance

“Jo Peterson, in my opinion has showed her versatility as a writer in this instalment from The Guards of Folsom series and moved in a completely different direction which I personally found immensely rewarding as a reader. She never fails to grab my attention and keep me enthralled, I didn’t think it could get any better but, Jo has proved me wrong.”

—Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews

“I found this story really intriguing and I can’t wait to see how the future comes together for Tek and Jamie.”

—Joyfully Jay

“I will be the first in line to buy the next book in the series because I can’t wait to find out what the author has in store for the Tek and Jamie and all the rest of the men of Folsom.”

—Love Bytes

By SJD PETERSON

BAMF

Beyond Duty

Leon

Masters & Boyd

Plan B

Tuck & Cover

GUARDSOF FOLSOM

Riveted

Pup

Tag Team

Pony

Roped

WHISPERING PINES RANCH

Lorcan’s Desire

Quinn’s Need

Ty’s Obsession

Conner’s Courage

Jess’s Journey

Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

DREAMSPINNER PRESS

5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886  USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

BAMF

© 2014 SJD Peterson.

Cover Art

© 2014 Reese Dante.

http://www.reesedante.com.

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/.

ISBN: 978-1-62798-902-2

Digital ISBN: 978-1-62798-903-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014940024

First Edition July 2014

Printed in the United States of America

This paper meets the requirements of

ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

To Scott, thanks for the great one-liners.

Chapter 1

RIDLEY CORBINwas the protector of the underdog, a role he’d come into as a direct product of his upbringing. A squirrely little kid, he had buckteeth, bright red hair, and was a good ten pounds and two inches shorter than the next smallest kid. A runt, and an ugly one at that, he’d been bullied nearly every day of his first three years at Gates Elementary School.

During those early days, he’d drop to his knees next to his bed and beg God for a little brother or sister. It would have been cool to have had a sibling to play with—even if he or she were forced to play with him by their mom. Apparently something had gone wrong during his birth, though, and they’d had to pull out Mom’s baby box. But hey, at least the prayers had been good for something—he got a puppy.

The summer between third and fourth grade, Ridley thought he’d gotten the next best thing to a sibling. Brock Hanners moved into the house next to his, and Ridley thought that, since they were the only two kids on the cul-de-sac, Brock would want to play with him. He was wrong.

Brock was huge; well, at least to Ridley’s scrawny little ass he was. Much to his dismay, Brock bullied him too. He used to steal Ridley’s bike, take his toys, even came over once and knocked down his clubhouse. Granted it was only a couple of kitchen chairs and old blankets and he was the only member, but it was his. Instead of the friend he had hoped for, Ridley found himself even more miserable after Brock moved in. He was being picked on at school and now bullied at home as well.

However, Ridley was a smart kid and Brock, well, he wasn’t too bright. Brock had been held back a couple of years—hence why he was so much bigger than everyone else. So when classes resumed in the fall, they came to a little agreement. Ridley would do Brock’s homework and Brock would keep Ridley safe at school. Brock was like his own personal bodyguard. Not a perfect arrangement, but he learned some great study habits doing the work of two, and it saved him a crap-ton of ass beatings.

Brock moved away during their junior year of high school, but by then Ridley had had his teeth fixed, his hair had changed from Bozo red to a nice chestnut color, and, most importantly, he’d grown. He was still scrawny, but he was inching up on six feet and had a wicked bank shot.

It would have been easy to become one of those kids who felt that just because he’d been bullied his whole life, it was now his turn to be the bully. Instead, he became more like Brock, except Ridley did it for free and he was a lot smarter. Okay, he was nothing like Brock. He never took advantage of someone and he’d never failed a class, but he did take to the protector part.

So it was only natural that he was on the move as soon as he heard Kyle Bouche’s familiar sneer—Hey, nerd boy. Where can I find a book on Gustave Courbet?—on the other side of the books he was searching through. Damn, he hated that guy. Kyle was the big man at Slater University. Quarterback for the football team, student body president, as well as president of his fraternity, blah, blah, blah. Ridley didn’t normally pay attention to the shit that went on around the campus, couldn’t care less. He kept his head down, stayed to himself, and worked hard to keep his grade point average at a 4.0. The only reason he knew about Kyle’s activities was because the fucker liked to brag about them. Personally, Ridley thought Kyle was a complete and utter dickhead.

Ridley eased his way around the aisle, and there in the next row was Kyle, smirking at Alex Firestone. Ridley was about to step in and teach Kyle a few manners, but stopped when he saw Alex glare at Kyle and say, “Look it up on the computer like everyone else.” Alex then went back to sorting the books in his cart.

Ridley tensed and his hands tightened on the Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood he was holding as Kyle moved up close to Alex. Kyle puffed his chest up in an obvious attempt to intimidate Alex. The idea made Ridley crazy and he wanted so badly to slap Kyle up against his thick head. The little bantam rooster had no idea who he was messing with. Yes, Ridley fancied himself protector of the underdog, but with Alex the need was even sharper. It was personal. If Kyle laid so much as a finger on Alex, Kyle would be washing the cold blood from his face later. Ridley had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing at the irony.

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” Kyle snarled.

Ridley shifted slightly, fighting back the urge to pounce when Kyle put the cart between him and Alex and leaned in close. He couldn’t see Kyle’s face but clearly saw the narrowed gaze and challenging look Alex gave him in return.

“Yeah, you’re the guy who is going to use the computer to search for your book like everyone else,” Alex informed Kyle without so much as flinching.

Alex worked in the library, and although Ridley didn’t really have a need to be in the library—with his major in mechanical engineering, most of his studies were done hands-on or on the computer—he found himself drawn there anyway. Basically he was there to gawk at the star of his wet dreams, Alex Firestone. No, he wasn’t a freaky stalker. He just hadn’t built up the nerve to approach the sexy man. Okay, it might have been bordering on stalkerish since he’d been doing quite a bit of gawking over the last six months, but damn, it was Alex Firestone.

Alex was the same six-foot height, and although he tended to wear dress shirts and slacks that were a bit big for him, Ridley could tell Alex had an impressive build beneath the cotton material. He also had the most amazing gunmetal-blue eyes Ridley had ever seen. Oh, and then there was the fact that Alex had a head full of unruly blond curls and the biggest and sweetest dimples ever. He also wore heavy-framed black glasses, and the bow ties he sported were just too adorable for words. Basically, Alex worked the fuck out of cute.

Miss Fenton pushed past Ridley and snapped at Kyle, “Can I help you, young man?”

Alex didn’t so much as blink nor take his gaze from Kyle as the librarian stepped up to them with her hands on her wide hips. Ridley suspected Alex knew Kyle was a fucking coward and would probably attempt to sucker punch him if he looked away. Alex wasn’t only adorable, he was smart, a combination Ridley found very appealing. Fake alphas like Kyle Bouche, with all their posturing and crowing, usually played dirty. Ridley knew the kind all too well and he was actually hoping the egotistical bastard was stupid enough to try something. It had been a while since he’d thrown down and he was itching for a good fight. The idea of doing it to protect Alex, earn a few brownie points with the man, was all the more appealing.

“I said, can I help you, young man?” Miss Fenton asked again as she stepped up closer still. “Oh, Kyle, I didn’t recognize you. How are you, son?” Her tone instantly went from angry to sickly sweet once she recognized whom she was talking to.

For a long, tense moment, Kyle didn’t move nor did Alex take his eyes from him, but when Kyle finally turned to Miss Fenton, there was a fake smile plastered on his face. “I’m great, Miss Fenton. Wow, you’re looking good. Is that a new haircut?”

Miss Fenton was about a hundred years old—or at least she looked as if she were—never married—big shocker there—and was as wide as she was tall. Not to mention she had a reputation for being a raging bitch—something Ridley had personally witnessed—so Kyle’s compliment was like everything else about the man, fake.

“Oh, you little charmer, you,” Miss Fenton giggled. “Now what can I help you with?”

Kyle laced his arm in Miss Fenton’s and pulled her along. “Aww, sweetie, you’ve already helped with putting a smile on my face with your presence. But if you could point me in the direction of where I can find a book on Gustave Courbet, I’d much appreciate it.”

Ridley shook his head when he heard Miss Fenton giggle again and offer to escort Kyle to the correct location. Hundred-year-old mummies with nasty dispositions should never, ever giggle, nor should one try to make them. It was just—Ridley shuddered—gross. Kyle may be a major shit, but he was a hell of an impressive actor. There was no way in hell Ridley could smooth talk the cranky ol’ bat. Obviously, Kyle didn’t care what kind of person someone was as long as he got his way. Kyle was the kind of douchebag who’d sleep with the walking mummy if he thought he’d get an advancement of some sort. Ridley shuddered again.

Alex watched Kyle and Miss Fenton until they disappeared before he returned to his work. Ridley watched with astonishment as he finished shelving the last couple books from the cart. The man wasn’t only cute, smart, and had a sexy ass, he was brave. Alex seemed to be the kind of guy who didn’t back down or let bullies intimidate him, even if at a disadvantage. Alex definitely tripped all Ridley’s triggers.

When Alex met Ridley’s gaze as he moved down the aisle, he grinned and shrugged. Ridley could only nod in response. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Alex out, say something, anything, but Ridley’s mouth was dry and he couldn’t get anything out past his restricted throat. Christ, Alex got him all tongue-tied and feeling like an awkward school boy with just one look. Once again, Ridley failed to grab hold of a perfect opportunity to talk to the man. Instead he stood there like a complete knob.

Frustrated, Ridley took his book and headed to the large open area with plenty of workstations. He scanned the area; most of the tables were occupied by students with their noses in textbooks.

Brittney looked up at him and batted her lashes. “Hi, Ridley,” she whispered and waved.

Ridley swallowed down his groan. He didn’t know Brittney’s last name, although she’d told him several times, he just didn’t care. He gave her a curt nod and kept moving. He was normally friendly with most people, but he’d learned not to engage Brittney a few months prior. While she was cute, even if a little nerdy, she was annoying as hell. She was always twirling her mousey brown hair in her fingers, popping her gum, and good lord the girl could talk, and fast. He’d lost the gist of the conversation more than once while he stared at her, trying to figure out when the hell she would take a breath. It seemed like she could chatter for hours without taking one.

Ridley took a seat as far from Brittney as he could and opened his book, flipping through the pages without looking at them, keeping an eye out for Alex. He caught one man sitting at the far end staring back at him with a suspicious expression on his face. Ridley waved and smiled charmingly. The guy instantly looked away. He got that a lot. People got a glimpse of his heavily tattooed arms and facial piercings and assumed he was a thug. Or maybe he stood out more in this environment because he rarely—okay, never—brought a backpack, notebook, or pen to give the appearance of doing any kind of research or actual homework. Instead he always grabbed a random book, flipped through it without ever reading a single word, and watched Alex. Now that he thought about it, he really was totally a freaky stalker.

An hour later Ridley was still flipping through the pages of the same book when he noticed Alex grab his coat and shrug it on as he headed for the main entrance. Not only had Ridley spent his time checking Alex out every chance he got, but he’d also been having a bit of a talk with his inner chickenshit. He wasn’t used to dealing with that part of himself. Once he’d overcome his rough elementary years, Ridley had grown into a pretty confident guy. He’d never had an issue with his sexuality, nor had he ever been afraid to approach a guy before. Again, his only excuse was this was Alex Firestone, the most amazing fucking man he’d ever laid eyes on. Still, Ridley was able to wrestle down the nerves, pop a mint to help with the dry mouth and throat, and chase after Alex.

“Hey, Alex.”

Alex stopped on the stone steps outside the library and looked back at Ridley with a wary look.

“It is Alex, isn’t it?” Ridley asked with a grin. Of course he knew his name, but it was the only thing he could come up with to get Alex talking. Actually, Ridley was pretty fucking proud he’d gotten that much out, considering the fact that his stomach was churning and he was so goddamn nervous he wanted to puke.

“Yeah,” Alex responded hesitantly. “Do I know you?”

He held out his hand. “Ridley Corbin.”

The instant Alex placed his hand in Ridley’s, he swore he felt sparks. When Alex shook it, that little spark ignited and heat rushed through Ridley.

“Do I know you?” Alex asked again.

“No, we’ve never met,” Ridley said with a shake of his head. “I’ve noticed you a couple of times on campus and I asked around until I found out your name,” he lied, sort of.

It was a hell of a lot more than a couple of times, but Ridley wasn’t about to tell Alex he’d noticed him a few hundred. How creepy would that sound? After the struggle he’d had finding the courage to approach Alex, Ridley sure as hell didn’t want the guy running and screaming, or worse, taking out a personal protection order against him. Ridley tried his best to give Alex his most charming smile but wasn’t sure if he pulled it off. Alex’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Ridley’s mouth. Hopefully it was the silver ring in his bottom lip that caught Alex’s eye and not something stuck between his teeth.

“You didn’t need the stealth tactics. You could have just asked me what my name was.” Alex’s grin turned sly. “You know, during one of all those times you were in the library.”

Oh damn, busted. Only Alex’s gaze wandered down Ridley’s body appreciatively, and it caused some of the nervousness to seep away. Apparently he was intrigued and Ridley hoped that meant he was interested.

“I was just heading over to the diner to grab a bite to eat. Care to join me?” Ridley offered.

“Thanks for the invite, but I’ve got something I have to take care of,” Alex said with a shrug.

It would have been nice to take Alex to dinner, spend a little time getting to know him, but Ridley didn’t dare push too hard, and he sure as hell didn’t want to sound desperate. “Okay, maybe another time?” Ridley asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Alex responded with what sounded like sincerity, but then he turned his back and tossed over his shoulder, “See you around.”

Alex tromped down the steps, and Ridley struggled to find something to say, unwilling to let Alex get away just yet. “Wait,” he called out and hurried down the stairs to catch up. “I couldn’t help but notice the way Kyle was fucking with you. You have any problems with that asshole, don’t hesitate to let me know, okay?”

“Thanks. I’ll be sure to let you know if I need a knight in shining armor,” Alex said with a wink.

“Let me give you my number.” Ridley patted his pockets. Shit! “Got a pen?”

Alex pulled one from inside his coat and handed it to him. Ridley patted his pockets again like he thought a notebook would have magically appeared in the two seconds since the last time he’d checked them. Before thinking it through, he grabbed Alex’s hand and wrote his number across his palm and then opened Alex’s coat and slid the pen back into the pocket of his dress shirt. “Talk to you soon, Alex,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

Alex cocked his head and looked at him with a strange expression on his face. Ridley would have given just about anything to know what he was thinking. It was a struggle not to squirm under Alex’s scrutiny, but somehow he managed. In fact, it was a major fucking relief when Alex finally nodded and with a smile said, “Yeah, talk to you soon.”

Ridley stood there, no doubt drool dripping from his chin as he watched Alex walk away. His pert butt swayed with each step he took, holding Ridley’s attention. He liked the way Alex moved, his sexy-as-hell swagger was fucking hypnotic, and Ridley’s body heated further, a tingling sensation settling into his groin. It had been a while since he’d been laid, and after all the time he’d spent fantasizing about Alex, it was getting to the point where even a slight breeze would cause his dick to perk up.

Alex disappeared into the crowd at the end of the block, and then Ridley stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat and headed in the opposite direction. He whistled as he walked, avoiding eye contact with anyone, ever aware of the ache between his legs. A man could only ignore the needs of his body for so long. He was getting tired of spending all his nights with nothing more than thoughts of Alex, a bottle of lube, and his right hand for companionship.

It wasn’t just the previous six months he’d been stalking—checking out—Alex since he’d been laid. He’d moved from southern California to Slater more than a year prior, having been awarded a full-ride scholarship. Slater was a small town located in the upper peninsula of Michigan and didn’t have a lot to offer outside the tiny university. Much to Ridley’s dismay, he learned soon after arriving in Slater that the town was completely lacking in any kind of nightlife. Ridley had never considered a study group or sporting events a form of satisfying entertainment. The closest dance club was thirty miles away, and during the winter months, it may as well have been three thousand.

He’d always enjoyed a very… fulfilling sex life before he left home. He’d always been insatiable, and dammit, he wanted a fucking blow job at the very least. Having someone who looked like Alex consuming his thoughts made the unfilled desires all the more intolerable. Somehow he had to not only convince Alex to go out with him, but get that sexy fucker in his bed.

Chapter 2

RIDLEYHADaccepted the fact that he was becoming a wee bit obsessed with Alex, definitely bordering on becoming that creepy stalker dude. He didn’t want to be that guy, so as hard as it was, he stayed away from the library for an entire week after giving Alex his number. Neither the realization of obsession nor his resolve did little to curb his new obsession—checking his phone every five seconds.

Thinking a full seven days would be a sufficient waiting period, Ridley showed back up at the library. Actually, seven days was all he could stand. He was jonesing to see Alex again, and there was no fucking way he could stay away another day. With a new haircut, shaved close on the sides, the top styled into a fauxhawk, and a ten-spot shelled out to have his beard trimmed nice and close, he pushed through the doors and instantly scanned the area for his lust interest. He’d also sprung for a new silver ring to replace the black bar in his eyebrow as well as matching hoops in both his ears. He was totally styling and looking damn fine, if he said so himself. Ridley just hoped Alex would appreciate the shit he’d gone through, not to mention the money he’d spent to look good for him.

He spotted Alex leaning against the front counter. Although his back was to Ridley, he’d know that mess of blond curls anywhere. What stopped him dead in his tracks and caused his heart to race like a runaway locomotive was what Alex was wearing. Previously, Ridley had only assumed Alex had a nice, athletic body, but it had been difficult to be one hundred percent certain with how baggy his clothes were. Now he knew exactly how impressive Alex’s lean, muscular body was by the way his skinny jeans clung to his well-developed thighs and pert little butt. His tight blue T-shirt showed off his broad shoulders and was tucked into jeans at his narrow waist. Christ on a stick, the man wasn’t just gorgeous, he was a fucking god! And there Ridley was, popping a boner standing in the entryway and not even caring about the strange looks people were tossing at him or the way they sidestepped him.

Ridley pulled his shirt out of his suddenly overly tight jeans and stepped up to the counter next to Alex. “Oh, hi,” he greeted in mock surprise.

“Hi. Ridley, right?” Alex asked.

He was ridiculously happy that Alex had remembered his name and smiled broadly, all the while trying to act calm and cool, like it was no big thing. But in his head he was screaming, Yes! Yes! Alex Fucking Firestone remembered my name! Damn, he was pathetic.

“Yeah, that’s right. How have you been?” Ridley responded with as much nonchalance as he could muster. He wasn’t sure how it looked, but at least his voice came out steady and didn’t squeak.

“Good. I meant to call you, but by the time I got home, your number was smudged. I’ve been watching for you.”

“Seriously?” he said excitedly and a bit too loudly. He quickly clamped down on his excitement, turned, and went to rest his elbow on the counter and… yeah, missed the whole smooth-operator thing when he practically fell on his ass when his traitorous trembling knees buckled.

“Whoa there,” Alex said and grabbed onto Ridley’s arm to keep him upright. “You okay?”

Ridley briefly thought of lying and telling Alex he had low blood sugar and hadn’t eaten, or he had a rare disease that caused him to get excited randomly, but while he was searching through and discarding lies, he found himself saying, “I’m fine. I get a little flustered when I’m around you.” Shit! Where the hell had that come from or rather, why the fuck did I say it? Ridley turned away from Alex, set his elbow on the counter, and rested his forehead against his palm, his embarrassment complete. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” he admitted.

“I thought it was cute.” Alex grinned.

Ridley glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Wow. Way to kick a man when he’s down,” he muttered playfully.

“What? It was cute.” Alex laughed and Ridley wouldn’t have thought it possible, but damn if it didn’t make Alex all the sexier.

“Cute, huh?” Ridley arched a brow. “You’re going to have to make that up to me, ya know?”

“Well, if you were hoping I’d replace your man card with mine, sorry but I lost mine a hundred”—Alex made the universal symbol for quotation marks—“cute remarks ago.”

“Guess you’ll just have to have dinner with me, then,” Ridley informed him, feeling a little more confident. “You know, for stripping me of my card.”

“Here you go,” said a little redhead, handing Alex a large manila envelope.

“Thanks, Amanda,” Alex said with a grin and took the envelope. He tucked it under his arm and then turned to Ridley. “Okay, when?”

It took him a minute to catch up, or maybe he was in shock that Alex actually said yes, because Ridley stood there with his mouth gaping, staring like a deer caught in headlights. He was batting a thousand for the dork squad. Thankfully, Amanda gave him a helping hand by distracting Alex.

“Any chance you can cover my shift on Saturday? I have a date,” she asked.

“Anyone I know?” Alex responded.

The two of them chatted about schedules and some guy named Kevin that Alex didn’t seem to like too much, but Ridley wasn’t really paying attention. Since he was pretty sure he’d heard Alex say “okay,” Ridley was taking the opportunity to take some deep breaths, slow his racing heart, and doing his fucking damnedest not to break out into some kind of lame happy dance. He’d already embarrassed himself enough, and with his no-rhythm ass jerking and twitching around, Alex would have been screaming and running from the crazy or falling to the floor with laughter.

“Did you need anything?”

“Oh… um, no, I’m good,” Ridley told Amanda. It was a bit delayed, but he caught up quickly when she cocked her head and gave him a funny look.

“Alrighty, then,” she muttered. “See you later, Alex.”

Alex waved to Amanda and then turned to Ridley. “So, when?”

“No time like the present,” Ridley said smoothly, having gotten a little control of his giddiness.

“Dude,” Alex chuckled, checking his watch. “It’s just after nine in the morning.”

“I’m sure it’s noon somewhere in the world. Besides,” Ridley said with a shrug. “I’ve never been one to follow the rules.”

“Is that so?” With the glint in his eyes, Alex looked like he was laughing at Ridley, just a little. “I have some things to take care of this morning. How about we meet up at two at the pub on Main?”

“That works. See you then!”

Ridley made a beeline for the front door. Seriously, he needed to get the hell out of there because the jerking and twitching dance was getting nearly impossible to contain much longer. He stopped with his hand on the door and looked over his shoulder. Alex was leaning against the counter, his eyes on him. Ridley waved and stepped out of the library, but once again he had the feeling that his lust interest was laughing. Ridley wasn’t sure if that boded well for him or not. Whatever. He had a date and had less than five hours to get his shit together and see if he could fish out his backup man card.

ITTOOKevery bit of the time he had to primp. He had the craziest fucking hair. It should have been easy to style since the sides were shaved and it had just been cut and styled earlier that day. But after a long, hot shower with extra time for meticulous manscaping, he was left struggling with all the fancy hair products the stylist had given him. No matter how many times he tried to duplicate what the stylist had done, he couldn’t seem to get it right. His fauxhawk kept ending up looking like a limphawk. The third time he washed it, he was starting to worry all the crap he was adding to it, the heat of the blow dryer, straight iron, blah, blah, blah, was going to leave him permanently bald. He ended up calling his best friend Rae.

“I’m here! What’s wrong,” Rae said by way of greeting when she rushed through the door.

“Help,” Ridley pleaded while holding up the hair glue and spray.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me, Ridley,” she grumbled and snatched the products away. “You sounded panicked. I thought there was something seriously wrong.”

“There is. Look at this crap,” he countered and pointed to his hair. “I have a date in less than an hour.”

“You made me rush over here for your hair?” Rae slapped his arm.

“Ow, stop beating on me and start helping,” he groaned and plopped down in the chair. “And stop being so damn dramatic. You make it sound like you had to rush across town rather than down the hall.”

“Yeah, well,” she said and rolled her eyes. “Ever think I might have been doing something important?”

“No, now start styling.”

“Tell me again why you’re my best friend?” she quipped as she started putting the sticky stuff in his hair.

“So you can pass math.”

“Oh, right,” she chuckled. “So let me guess, you have a date with Mr. Hot and Geeky?”

“What makes you think that?” he demurred.

“Because you’ve been talking about him for months and he’s the only person you’d get this freaked over your hair for.”

“Yeah, whatever.” But he wasn’t fooling Rae. She had had to listen to him go on about Alex once or a thousand times. He felt no guilt or shame. He’d had to listen to her going on and on and on about some guy in her economics class. They were even.

Rae ran her fingers through his hair for a minute and then exclaimed, “All done.”

“No way!” He jumped up and ran to the mirror. How in the hell had she done that so quickly? It was perfect.

“Time to work on your clothes.”

“My clothes?” Ridley looked down at the black T-shirt and jeans he was wearing and then at Rae with wide eyes. “Oh shit! I don’t look good, do I?” Ridley asked, panic beginning to cause his gut to flutter, and not at all pleasantly.

“Good thing you have me,” she reminded him and started pulling shit from the closet. “Now about my payment.”

By the time Ridley slid into the booth at Jake’s Pub twenty minutes before two, he didn’t even care how deeply in debt to Rae he was. Even the nightmare of having to escort her to the ballet version of Romeo and Juliet would be worth it. Confession—he hated the ballet. Although, he’d have endured worse than spending a couple hours watching guys in tights with bulging packages hop around if that was what it took to make her happy. She not only made sure his hair was perfect, she had also helped dress him and prevented more than one freak-the-fuck-out meltdown.

He was calm, cool, collected, and looking super fine, sipping on a pint of craft brew—and then he spotted Alex walking through the front door. Instantly his heart began to race, and he choked on his mouthful of beer. Damn, if he hadn’t chosen his seat perfectly because by the time Alex spotted him and headed over to the booth, he had stopped coughing and wiped away the beer that had run down his chin. He couldn’t do anything about the speed of his heart or the butterflies going nuts in his gut, but at least his voice was strong and even when he said, “Hi, Alex.”

“Hi,” Alex replied with a smile as he slid into the booth across from Ridley and waved toward the waiter. “How’ve you been?”

A complete and utter fucking mess. “I’m good. How was your day?”

“Productive,” Alex responded and winked. “Can I get a pint of Guinness?” he asked the waiter.

“Sure. You ready for another?” the server asked Ridley, pointing to his nearly empty mug.

Ridley downed the rest of his beer and handed him the mug.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Alex commented, glancing around the room. “I’ve been meaning to check this place out. It’s cool.”

“You’ve never been here?” Ridley asked with true shock.

Jake’s Pub was the only place in town to get a beer, play pool, and just hang out. Well, there were the First Presbyterian Church, the post office, and the organic deli to hang out at, but he just couldn’t picture Alex in any of those places. The pub fit him, so it was all the more unbelievable that he had never been there.

“Nope,” Alex responded after thanking the waiter for the beers. “I don’t really get out much.”

“Well, then, I feel all the more special for you accepting my invitation.” He lifted his mug and Alex clinked his against it.

They both took long pulls of their brews. Ridley’s gaze was drawn to Alex’s throat and his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. Ridley couldn’t help it, he imagined Alex swallowing down other things, hard things, intimate things. A tingling sensation ran across his groin, and he knew he needed to keep his naughty thoughts in check or he’d be embarrassing himself once again in the form of a wet spot on the front of his jeans.

“So what do you do for fun?” Ridley inquired, needing the subject changed. He prayed Alex didn’t say fucking or BAM, soggy jeans.

“Between my work and school schedule, I don’t really have much time for fun,” Alex admitted.

“You know that old saying, all work and no play makes Alex a—”

“I’m far from a dull boy,” Alex interrupted with a smirk. “I simply needed to take a bit of a”—he waved his hand dismissively—“break from all the fun.”

“The chess club knows how to party, huh?” Ridley teased.

“You have no idea,” Alex muttered.

For a split second there was a look of regret in Alex’s eyes that was in sharp contrast to the easy smile on his face. It was gone before Ridley could be sure, but it made him think there was a bit more to Alex than just a cute library assistant and college student. Ridley wasn’t sure why he felt that way from such a fleeting look, it was just a feeling he had. More astonishingly, that one look made him realize he didn’t want to just fuck the guy, he wanted to know everything about him, including what had caused the regret.

“So what’s your area of study?” Ridley asked as he ran his finger along the condensation on his mug.

“Accounting and financial management. Shocked?”

Ridley couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. “No, not really.”

Given Alex’s appearance, it didn’t surprise him at all. However, he was quickly learning not to assume anything when it came to Alex.

“What about you? Wait, let me guess,” Alex amended and tapped his finger against the table as he studied Ridley.

Ridley did his best not to fidget under the scrutiny, but it was tough. He liked having Alex’s eyes on him, liked the thoughtful expression on his face. Ridley sipped his beer, keeping his gaze locked with Alex’s.

“I got it! You’re studying to be a rocket scientist.”

It burned like hell as beer shot out his nose when he choked on a laugh. Ridley set his mug aside and grabbed his napkin. “Fucker,” he grumbled as he wiped the beer and snot from his face.

“That was entertaining.” Alex chuckled. “I take it I didn’t guess correctly,” he commented smugly.

“Yeah…. No. Mechanical engineering.” Ridley threw the napkin at Alex, who snatched it out of the air easily. Ridley cocked his head at him. “Impressive reflexes.”

“What? You’re surprised a geek can be as good with his hands as he is with his brain?” Alex crumpled the napkin and tossed it aside.