Page 22 of Strut

There was no hiding the relief on Hunter’s face. “You want me to take a walk?”

“No. I won’t be long.”

And I wasn’t. The call lasted all of three minutes. Three minutes that were about to change my life.

CHAPTERFIVE

Hunter

The second Alecfinished the call, his hand landed on my wrist, his fingers digging into the tender flesh of the underside. But it was his eyes that held me spellbound, wide and dark with pleasure like they’d been in that bar that night, and my cock perked at the memory.

“They optioned me!” Alec’s gaze drilled into mine as he practically bounced on his toes. “Berlini Man rang Cage to say I’m shortlisted for an ad campaign they’re planning and to make sure I was available. They’ve set up a go-see with their team and a test with their photog next Friday afternoon. They’re looking at another model as well, but they told Cage they loved Kelvin’s raw images from the editorial.” Alec’s eyes blazed with excitement. “Holy shit, Hunter. A chance at my first big campaign!”

Without thinking, I squeezed his hand. “Well, of course they loved the images. They were amazing. And I don’t care who the other model is, my money’s on you based on what I saw the other day.”

Alec’s free hand went to his mouth, his face flushed with delight, clearly still trying to process the news. It wasn’t just a great opportunity. In Alec’s world, it was the biggest. And with only a year under his belt, it was also freaking amazing.

Alec freed his hand and held both out between us. They were shaking. “Jesus, look at me.”

I’d moved before I even realised, hauling him into my arms, the warmth of his body so damn good against mine. He stiffened, then relaxed almost immediately, his arms circling my waist as I tried to ignore how my heart skipped and just how fucking amazing it felt. Everything I’d worked so hard to forget. All the reasons I’d run the first time.

“Congratulations,” I whispered into his hair. “You’ve earned this. I’m so damn proud of you.”

He pulled back just enough to look in my eyes. “I haven’t got it yet.” He was so close, the heat of his breath fanned across my lips and went straight to my balls. “But I have you and Rhys to thank for getting me this far.” His gaze dipped to my mouth and he quickly scooted back to put some much-needed distance between us.

I let him go, clearing my throat of something that felt too close to disappointment. “We simply saw your potential, Alec. The rest has been all you. Did they say who’s doing the shoot?”

Alec nodded. “Darcy Fenchurch. I haven’t worked with him before, but I recognise the name. He’s big, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, he’s big. We’re friendly. I’ve done a few fashion events with him, but he can pretty much cherry-pick his jobs these days. He has his own way of doing things, but then we all do. He’s much more directive than Kelvin or me, so be prepared to hold a pose for a long while. But lots of people think he’s the bee’s knees and it’s a great opportunity to get some images from a big-name photog into your book, so try and wangle it in the release form if you can.”

Alec’s smile grew wide. “I still can’t believe it.” Then his brow creased. “I’ll wait and see if anything comes of it before I tell the others. They already call me golden boy. And don’t mention you know me if you run into Darcy, okay?”

I respected the hell out of him for that and tipped his chin up with my fingers. “I won’t say a word. But also, there’s nothing wrong with success, Alec. You have nothing to apologise for.”

He pulled free of my hand and sighed. “I know, but I live with these guys. I’ll tell them if I get it.”

I waited but it seemed Alec was done talking so I got to my feet. “Then it’s time to get you home.”

His brows knitted together. “It’s not a date, Hunter. I can get home just fine without your help.”

“But I’d like to—”

“I said I’m fine,” he snapped, and I swallowed any further protest.

“In that case, I’ll walk you down.” I stood and offered a hand to help him to his feet. He stared at it for what seemed like forever before he finally accepted, and I felt ridiculously happy as my fingers tightened around his. But that absurd version of myself wasn’t done, because when Alec was on his feet, instead of letting him go, I tugged him close enough to catch tiny flashes of grey in the outer circle of his blue eyes, close enough to watch his pupils darken and catch his sharp intake of breath. “One question.”

His gaze narrowed but he didn’t pull away. “And that would be?”

Now or never.“What if I wanted a date? A proper one?” My heart raced.

Alec’s brows hit his hairline and he stepped back, freeing his hand. “Adate?”

Oh boy.“Yeah. That thing where we go out as a couple and I likely make a fool of myself.”

Alec bit his lip like he was fighting a smile. “Based on past experience, you don’t need to go on a date to do that, just saying.”

My hand hit my chest. “You wound me. But seriously, how about it? I like you and you like me. Did you have a good time today?”

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