Page 14 of Strut

I ordered the Hero Special, a pitcher of water, and a coffee. When the server left, I side-eyed Alec. “What the fuck is a Model Lite?”

He grinned and tapped the side of his nose. “When I first started coming here before my shifts, I always left most of the bread on my plate. The owners were scandalised and thought I didn’t like it. When I explained about my work and needing to be careful, they took it as a challenge to come up with something that was really tasty but healthy. Voilà, the Model Lite. Lots of shaved meat and salad with a lite spicy dressing, all wrapped up in their ciabatta bread that’s had all the bready bit removed, leaving only the thinnest crust to contain the filling.” He shrugged. “It’s fucking delicious.”

“You don’t look like you need to be careful. You look... great.” I ran my gaze over him, not even trying to hide my appreciation, but he only rolled his eyes.

“That’s because Iamcareful, but I’m not obsessive, okay? Most of the guys don’t have to be.” His glare brooked no argument. “Now can we move the conversation on?”

I nodded, knowing there wasn’t a model alive who wanted to talk about their weight to an outsider. Besides, remembering him shirtless at the bar, I could see he hadn’t lost as much weight as I’d thought. I tried for safer ground. “Did you have a shoot today?”

“No. Just a ton of castings. I swear they’re the worst part of this job.” He glanced out the window as a group of rowdy young men passed by the deli, then looked back. “Running from one side of the city to the other for a one-minute look over before being told thank you and we’ll let you know. I can usually tell straight up by their expression when I sign in whether I’m what they’re looking for. At the beginning I pushed for everything. These days I’m just as likely to say, ‘tell me now and save us both some time.’ I had a couple of those today but the rest are possibles.”

I frowned at his flat tone. “But you’re doing well, right? Kelvin wasn’t kidding when he said those shots were great. I can’t believe how much more relaxed you are in front of the camera now. You always had that specialsomething, but having it and being able to grow it into a consistent and marketable look are two very different things. And you’ve done that, Alec. With fucking bells on. What I saw in Kelvin’s shots was way more sophisticated than how you presented a year ago.”

A blush stole over Alec’s pale cheeks. “Thanks to you and Rhys. How is Rhys, by the way?” He slickly changed topics and indicated my T-shirt. “Is that one of his?”

I glanced down at the startling warped black-and-white check that looked like an optical illusion. “It is. They’re selling like hotcakes. Figured I could maybe drum up some interest while I’m here. I brought a whole suitcase of his shit with me.”

Alec chuckled. “Shouldn’t be hard. He’s crazy good.” He paused, frowning. “I read that interview with him inOut Undermagazine earlier in the year, about what happened to him as a kid. Jesus, Hunter. And then to come out and talk about it publicly like that? He’s a fucking hero. Did you know about it?”

Pride bloomed in my heart for my best friend, and I nodded. “Yeah. We were best friends through all of that. I wanted to go with them that night, but it was my mother’s birthday, so I couldn’t. Rhys did it hard for a long time after that happened and he doesn’t want others to go through the same thing. He wants people to start talking about this stuff more openly. And he deserves to be happy. I’m over the moon he found Beckett.”

“So, they’re obviously still together. I feel bad for not keeping in touch. We exchanged a few texts after the article came out, and then again after the court case with Shayne, but the last six months have been a bit nuts.” His gaze slid off mine and back out the window.

“Rhys gets it,” I reassured him. “And he and Beck are fine. They moved in together a while ago now and are grossly happy. I carry a supply of anti-nausea meds whenever I visit.”

Alec laughed and I saw him relax just a little, so I kept to topic. “It sure made it easier on everyone when Shayne pled guilty, even if his sentence was way too short. But Rhys’s lawyer is talking about an extended restraining order when the guy gets out, so hopefully that’ll come through.”

Alec nodded and we chatted for a while about Rhys and Flare and the Auckland fashion gossip until things fell quiet again.

“Were you and Rhys ever... you know?” Alec’s gaze danced off mine and onto a table across the way.

I bit back a smile. “Boyfriends? No. We fooled around a little in high school when we both first came out. Safe exploration, I guess. We were each other’s first kiss, but it didn’t last long. We’re good friends and neither of us liked the other enough in that way to risk screwing things up.”

Alec met my gaze with a smile. “Good decision.”

“How about you?” I threw the question back. “Who was your first kiss?”

A deep flush blossomed on Alec’s neck and made its way north toward those blue, blue eyes. “Dammit, I’m blushing, aren’t I?” He shook his head and took a long, slow drink from his water glass.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” My gaze lingered on his throat until I forced it up to his eyes. “It’s all that pale English-rose skin. You do realise, a lot of womenandmen would kill to have that. It’s one of the first things I noticed about you.”The first of many.

He stared, and it was my turn to look away as I realised I’d actually said that last bit out loud.Really smooth, Hunter.Thankfully, the server arrived with our food and drinks and I was saved any further foot-in-mouth fuckups and Alec kindly let it go.

Alec’s Model Lite looked pretty damn good filled with wispy thin prosciutto, crunchy fennel, a little bit of chicken, herbed mushrooms, peppers, and salad. But one look at my Hero Special and I was in love with the monster heart attack sitting on the plate. And with the first bite of the crunchy bread mounded with shaved beef and salami and layered with melted cheese, eggplant, roasted peppers, thinly sliced lettuce and tomato, all topped with warm spicy mayo, and I couldn’t hold back the rumbling groan of appreciation.

“Oh my god. This is better than sex,” I mumbled around a full mouth, making Alec smile.

He flushed, his attention shifting to his own sandwich. “I think that depends on the sex. Should I feel sorry for you?”

I swallowed the gargantuan mouthful and grinned. “I refuse to answer that.” I took another bite, closed my eyes, and savoured the juicy heaven in my mouth.

We ate in silence for a bit until I finally surrendered and pushed the last few bites aside before my stomach burst in an explosion of carbohydrates and fat. I slouched in my chair and groaned. “Tell Ben I said thank you for the recommendation.”

“I will.” Alec finished the last of his sandwich, then licked at the thin dressing that slicked his lips, his eyes dark on mine.

Fuck, he was sexy.

We sat for a long minute like that, unspoken questions filling the space between us, until he finally sighed and reached for a napkin to dab his mouth, a crime in anyone’s books when my tongue and lips were right fucking there for Pete’s sake.

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