Page 99 of Strut

I wove my way in and out of the stream of foot traffic until I reached the corner just in time to catch sight of Alec darting across the street toward the subway. “Alec!” I shouted with my hands cupped around my mouth. It was loud enough to make him turn, along with most people two blocks away. Like I gave a fuck.

His brow furrowed and he dismissed me with an irritated wave and kept going. Well, fuck you too. I shouted his name again. “Alec Charles Williamson! Don’t you dare walk away from me.”

That earned me a number of decidedly nervous looks, along with a few amused smiles, and there were even some who paused and turned to watch what they clearly thought was going to be a drama-worthy interaction. Fucking New York.

But much to my surprise, it worked.

Alec stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, his horrified gaze registering all the people staring our way. Then those eyes locked on mine and his chin tipped up in that stubborn way I kind of loved, and he scowled. But he didn’t walk away, so I took that as a win. Instead, he walked to the steps of the nearest apartment building and waited while I caught up.

“What the hell are you doing?” he hissed, glancing around the street. Most people had continued on their way, but there were one or two standing outside a café two doors down, sipping their morning coffee and pretending they weren’t hanging around for the show.

“You promised me you wouldn’t run,” I snapped. “When I found you on the High Line. Youpromised.It’s not a difficult concept, Alec. I don’t run, you don’t run. Simple, yeah?”

His cheeks blazed but his gaze narrowed, and I could see he was fighting it. “Didn’t you hear a word I said back there?”

“Every stupid one of them,” I fired back, not bothering to drop my voice. “And I’m still trying to work out where your brain was at the time cos it sure as hell wasn’t in your head.”

His eyes shot open, and he glanced toward the small group of men outside the café. “What the hell, Hunter? We have a fucking audience.”

“So?” I almost growled. “Are you worried someone will hear how much I fucking love you?”

He winced.

“Yeah.” I stabbed his chest with my finger. “I didn’t realise that this relationship we have going, you know, the ‘I’ll be there for you’ one, was predicated on you being a model, or living in New York, or having a job, or anything else except the fact we actually fucking cared for each other.”

Alec blanched but I wasn’t done.

“Now, call me old-fashioned, but I kind of thought we had more than that, Alec, or maybe that was just me. Maybe you never really believed I had what it took? Because if that’s so, then you can go wherever the hell you want and I’ll leave you alone. But if I mean more to you than running away at the first hurdle, then shut the fuck up and get back up to that apartment and fight with me properly. Although to be honest, I’d prefer it was you and metogetheragainsthim. For fuck’s sake, Alec, don’t let him rip us apart.”

Alec stared at me like I was a crazy person, not saying a word, and it occurred to me that maybe a public tirade hadn’t been quite what Kip had meant by reminding Alec that I loved him. Huh. Go figure. Well, it was too late now.

Finally, Alec cocked his head and a glimmer of amusement flashed in his eyes. “Not to be petty, but I need to point out it wasyouwho ran away first.” The fire had gone from his voice and a weight lifted from my heart.

I stepped closer. “It was.” I reached up to tuck a few stray blond locks over his ear, then cupped his jaw. “And I’ll always regret wasting a year I could’ve spent with you. I was stupid. Don’t make the same mistake. You’re better than me.”

He blinked hard and sighed. “I hate it when you say exactly the right fucking thing.” He kissed my palm and the fight drained out of him. “How in the hell do you do that?” He smiled and the shock of it after the morning we’d had sent a bolt of warmth through my chest.

I grinned. “I might be a slow starter but I fucking rock this relationship deal, right?”

He snorted and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Come here.” I pulled him in for a slow kiss, capturing a taste of his sweetness as the buzz of Manhattan passed by. “I love you,” I whispered into his ear, then crushed him to my chest.

“I love you too.” He slid his arms around my waist and held on tight. “What the hell am I going to do about those photos, Hunter? They’re everywhere.”

I nuzzled his neck. “Well, Kip says he has an idea.”

Alec snorted and shook his head. “Fuck me. Like the last one worked out so well.”

It was hard to disagree. “Unless you’ve got a better idea, maybe you could at least listen to him.”

I pulled back and kissed him again and the crowd outside the café started a slow clap. I looked over Alec’s shoulder and shot them a wry grin. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll be here all week.”

A few of them laughed and I grabbed Alec’s hand. “Come on. Let’s get some breakfast into our stomachs and then talk to the scary one.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

Alec

---