Page 51 of Pick Me
Oh, indeed it did. As in, he wasseriouslysexy, which made meseriouslyhorny,seriouslydistracted, andseriouslyjealous.
I had alsoseriouslynot considered the consequences of taking Goodman and his dick print to a party where a bunch of sex-starved, forty-something jackals would salivate over him like he was filet mignon… until it was too late.
They’d attacked in a pack the moment we arrived, thrusting a drink in my hand and pulling Gage onto the makeshift dance floor until he’d finally begged off to catch his breath. We still hadn’t made it out onto the balcony where Jason was, though I’d sent him a text to come and find us.
“So, Gage, you’re from Florida? That’sadorable,” my gym friend Rodney purred. “I was in Miami Beach for Pride last month. Maybe next time you could show me around.”
“Oh, cool.” Gage smiled tentatively. “But Miami’s kinda far from—”
“You mean you and yoursugar daddywere in Miami Beach, Rod,” Curt corrected snidely. “How is Gandalf these days? Still suffering from arthritis of the dick? Now, Gage, sweetheart, I was telling you about Madonna’s early years—”
“Curtis, you’re embarrassing yourself.” Dustin shook his head sadly. “Gage doesn’t give a shit about Madonna, and at least Rod cangeta sugar daddy. You might as well get the Louis Vuitton logo stamped under your eyes because that’s the only way to makethatbaggage attractive.”
Forget Goodman finding a guy to leave the party with. I was afraid he’d get caught in the jackals’ mating display and be torn limb from limb.
“He’s actually here to seeJason,” I muttered. “Aboutbusiness.”
I watched Jason stroll across the floor, eager for him to arrive… except then he did arrive and immediately greeted Gage with a warm smile and a hand on his upper back and a “Hey, Gage, let’s chat about Rubicon outside, where we can hear ourselves think,” and I was not a fan ofthatat all.
When they left, the others made outraged squawks and trailed after them, and I debated going, too… But Gage looked back at me and shrugged happily enough, and I refused to be one of the pack of assholes clamoring for his attention anyway, so I forced myself to look away and focus on my drink.
“Evening, handsome,” Myles said archly, coming to stand by my side. “I thought you’d never get here.”
“We’ve been here half an hour. You’ve been busy doing host-y things.”
“Remind me to have someone else host next time.” He shook his head. “Anyway, what have I missed? Where’s this kid you’re unofficially headhunting for? And what’s your cosmopolitan done to deserve the scowl you’re giving it?”
My gaze strayed from my drink to the balcony.
“Oh ho! I see I’ve been upstaged at my own party. Who’s the sweet young thing with the fine ass? Wonder what his face looks li—”
I made a noise of disagreement that possibly sounded like the growl of a feral animal.
“No, wait! Never say that’s your infant job applicant? How is it fair for someone to be a technological wunderkindandhave a rear view like that?” Myles made atsking noise and turned his too-knowing gaze back to me. “But I thought you’d decided he was far too young. Since when do we make calf’s eyes at hot boys we’re not planning on dicking down, Knox?”
“Hey! He’s not just a piece of ass, okay? He’s smart, too. Sweet.” I had no right to sound so defensive, but I couldn’t help it. “And a hard worker.”
God, I sounded like a lovesick idiot.
“I see.” Myles laughed softly. “And haveyoubeen working him hard? Or just wishing you had?”
I bristled. “Neither. He’s too young to know what he wants.”
“Dear God. Did you see the look he just sent you?” Myles’s laughter was a little harsher than I remembered. “Didn’t seem indecisive to me.”
“Not the point.”
“Yes it is. Don’t be that asshole, Knox. When we were young, we knew exactly what we wanted. If you like him,like him. Because if you don’t take that invitation, someone else will, and you’ll regret it.”
Like I didn’t already know that. Like I hadn’t been torturing myself with that knowledge for over a week. My reasons for resisting him were fading before my very eyes.
“I came here tonight to help him find a job,” I reminded him. “And also to… to hang out with you.”
I tried to make it sound flirty, like I’d been eager to see him.
It came out sounding like an item I wanted to check off a list.
Myles lifted a hand to pat my chest. “Thank you, but no.” His eyes danced. “I’m not yet so desperate as to fuck a man while he’s thinking about someone else, Knox Sunday.”
