Page 15 of For the Cameras

I glanced down at the sheet of paper in front of him, which was a trivia group sign-up sheet. There were spaces for up to six names, but only his name was written there.

My heart ached, even though my dick was still at a solid half-chub looking at Adam.

It was clear how hard he wastrying, coming here tonight.

And it couldn’t have felt good to be sitting alone at a trivia table, even if you did happen to be the hottest guy in the room.

“Are you meeting anyone else here?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. Just me.”

I plopped down across from him immediately, taking the paper and a pencil and writing my name beneath his.

“Then I’m on your trivia team,” I said, resolute. “I’m not going to be much help, because I know about as much trivia as a brain-dead chihuahua, but I’ll do my best.”

My little joke got a half-smile out of him, and I could see his whole body relax as he realized I was here to stay.

I knew how it felt to be alone in public, and even for me as an extrovert, it could really suck. I wanted to be here for Adam, and when his green eyes met mine again, I knew I’d made the right choice.

Even if he had no clue that I’d just been getting hard while watching his video.

“Thanks, Chase,” he told me.

“You and me,” I said to him again, the same thing I’d told him after my little pep talk while filming at his house. “We’ve got this.”

6

ADAM

It wasn’t often that I thought back to middle school these days, but sitting there alone at the trivia table had brought those memories back screaming, in full force.

Week after week, the gym coach, Mr. Matthews, would choose two star athletes to pick members for whatever sport we were playing that week. And every week, I’d be one of the last people picked.Deadlast, most of the time. Soccer, basketball, baseball, flag football—it didn’t matter. I’d be standing there, looking down at the washed-out grass, trying not to look as pathetic as I felt. Even though I eventually filled out and got taller, I’d been a scrawny, nerdy kid until middle school, and nobody wanted me—whether it was for throwing a football or at the lunch tables later on.

Sitting at the trivia table alone tonight hadn’t quite beenthatbad, because I was an adult now and I knew that technically, I could leave whenever the hell I wanted.

But until Chase showed up, I’d felt like I was plunged right back into my old school days.

Now that he was sitting across from me, I just had to figure out how to act normal aroundhim. The way Chase looked at memade me feel so many things at once. He paid more attention to me, which I liked, even if it made me feel like a crazed animal inside.

I breathed deep, remembering all of the advice I’d tried to commit to memory.

Compliment people.

Let them know they’re appreciated.

They can’t always read your mind.

“Thank you for coming to join me, Chase,” I told him. “I’ll do my best. I like to think I’m pretty okay at trivia.”

“Bet you’re pretty damn good at it,” he said.

“I do enjoy watchingJeopardy.”

“Hey, you,” a man said, coming up and leaning in to give Chase a kiss on the cheek. “Where have you been, Chase?”

“Hey, Frankie,” he said, looking up at the guy, who was about six foot five, stocky, and had sandy-blond hair. “I’ve been around.”

“We missed you at Bolt the other night,” Frankie told Chase, not looking at me. “Come hang out with us over at the bar.”

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