Page 26 of The Mechanics of Lust

I was tempted to blurt that there probably wasn’t a wrong way that Luke could rub me... just saying, but thankfully the words stayed buried where they belonged.

Gil looked about to say something else, then shook his head. “That’s it. I won’t raise the subject again.”

And I knew he wouldn’t. That was Gil. He was nothing if not sincere and kind. And just like that, I realised he’d somehow miraculously become a friend, maybe even family. I crossed the distance between us and pulled him into a hug, something we rarely did. He tensed and then relaxed, chuckling, and gently slapped my back.

After a few seconds, I let him go. “Thank you. And I promise to try and do better with Luke.” Which, I reminded myself, absolutely didn’t include fucking the man senseless.

“That’s all I ask.” Gil regarded me with too-shiny eyes before adding, “I do have one more question though.”

“Yes?” I waited.

“You and I are okay now, right? After everything that happened last year?” He didn’t explain further. Didn’t need to.

I found a smile that came from my heart. “Yeah, we’re all good.”

CHAPTEREIGHT

Luke

Doug Carstairs was a nice guy.He’d make a good friend. And that’s exactly where I was going to keep him—firmly and plainly in the friendzone.

One thing that had crystallised in my brain in the short month I’d been living in Oakwood was that everything said about small towns and their lightning-fast gossip tree was abso-fucking-lutely true. One trip to the supermarket or the local hardware store, and I knew way more than I ever wanted to about the private lives of people I’d never even met. Add to that the somewhat limited opportunities if you were LGBTQ+ and looking for a hookup, and that rumour mill presented a very real dilemma.

The fact of Doug and I sharing a simple meal together in The Fleece had drawn more than a few curious looks from the other patrons. Doug wasn’t exactly subtle about his sexuality, and most locals knew of my relationship with Gil. Hell, the first time Gil had ever taken me into Oakwood, half the people we met already knew my name.

Still, for a small rural community, the place seemed accepting enough of a bit of diversity in its ranks. Other than an occasional scowl, I’d had little pushback, people appearing more curious than anything else. Having said that, it was no wonder most of the non-straight population went out of the district to slake any thirst for a hookup. I was seriously considering it myself. I hadn’t moved to Oakwood for its social life, true, but there was only so long a man could stroke his cock raw to images of a certain Zacharia Lane on his knees before said man needed to get a fucking life and find a real-life warm human being to get down and dirty with.

Trouble was, I didn’t want to.

“Earth to Luke.” Doug snapped his fingers in front of my face, startling me out of my musings and sending a wave of heat to my cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” I flustered, meeting his amused grin. “That was rude. I have a flight tomorrow to a station I haven’t visited before and I guess I was distracted.”

Doug saw straight through me. “Yeah, I’m calling bullshit. But you can keep your secrets.”

I offered him a warm apologetic smile but he simply snorted and wagged a finger at me. “Don’t try and be cute. I know when I don’t have a man’s attention. How about another drink? You can tell me about it when I get back from the bar.”

Never gonna happen.I glanced at the empty bottle sitting next to my plate, which held a few leftover fries and the juices of a surprisingly good venison cheeseburger and realised I had no memory of even drinking it. I was clearly rapturously good company.

“Thanks.” I turned the label for him to see. “Another of these light beers. I’ve been cutting back.” I rolled my eyes. “Believe me, I needed to.”

Doug never even blinked. “Glad one of us is trying to be healthy.”

It was another thing I liked about Doug. He was... uncomplicated. No judgement. No games. I watched him thread his way through the small crowd toward the bar and wondered why, despite his good looks and warm personality, I felt zero physical desire for the man. Doug was flirty and funny, but under all that swagger he was surprisingly open and honest. Our conversation had been easy and enjoyable. But the simple truth was, Doug wasn’t Zach.

And there it was. It appeared my little crush wasn’t giving up anytime soon.

I turned back to the window and watched three guys hanging a large sign above the door of the old stone bank. Two of the men were up ladders, affixing bolts or whatever was securing the sign in place while the third stood on a stool, taking most of the weight and clearly wilting in the sizzling heat. I recognised the third as Roz, the new owner of the place. The other two were strangers, or at least not local, I didn’t think.

The fact Roz had been renovating the premises for almost a year made no difference to him being considered new to the area. He would likely stay that way for decades to come. That was simply how it was in the Mackenzie. According to local gossip, most had written him off as another townie wanting to start a business with zero idea of what made the region tick. I’d only met Roz once, but I suspected underestimating him was a big mistake.

Judging by the grimace on his face, I was pretty sure he had only a minute or two left in his tank supporting that sign when a shout went up and he was able to lurch free. The two laddermen immediately leapt down and all three grabbed each other in a group hug amid loads of laughter. Not your typical high-country red-neck behaviour and it made me smile.

“Here you go.” Doug slid a fresh beer between my hands and retook his seat.

I nodded toward the old bank. “That looks promising.”

Doug followed my gaze, and his face took on a pleased expression. “Well, well, well. The Barbecue Pit. So that’s what he’s been keeping under wraps. If it tastes as good as it sounds, Roz might be onto something. I can’t think of a single restaurant between Christchurch and Queenstown remotely similar, and if it’s good enough, he might even get those tourist buses stopping after all.”

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