Chapter 28
Joey
I smooth the hem of my suit jacket as I eye myself in the mirror, making sure I haven’t forgotten any part of my outfit. I can’t say I’ve ever been auctioned off in front of a room full of people before, but at least I don’t look half bad.
The knock at my front door is expected, as is Brad barging in, followed by his voice ringing out loud and clear. “Coming up, whether or not you’re dressed!”
His feet stomp up the stairs, and then there he is, hanging in my doorway, his smile shifting into a frown.
“Damn. You’re not naked.”
I snort, something knocking around in my chest as Brad steps fully into the room, donned in his own suit and looking rather dapper. “You look great, bub.”
“So do you,” he says, eyeing me up and down. “Can I see the other side?”
I spin, and Brad steps closer, his hands smoothing over my ass.
“Very nice,” he murmurs, giving me a squeeze.
“Hey, now,” I say teasingly. “Hands off unless you plan on bidding tonight.”
He makes an affronted sound. “I can’t sample the goods?”
“Nope.”
“Not even a little sample?” he mutters, lips drifting along my neck. He kisses beneath my jaw and inhales. “Fuck, you smell good.”
“Do I?” I ask, my pulse stuttering.
“Mm. Like freshly cut wood and man. You smell like you.”
I pull in a shaky breath, spinning to face him. His eyes, such a clear green, smile back at me. “You’re trouble,” I tell him.
He pouts. “I thought you said I was a good boy.”
I bite my lip. “Do you wanna be?”
“This feels like a trick question,” he says slowly.
I huff a laugh, holding out my hand. “C’mon, bub. Time to offer ourselves up for charity.”
The charity auction is being held in a hotel ballroom downtown, just north of The Strip. Neon lights brighten the facade of the building, as well as nearly every business to either side. People pass on the sidewalk as I hand my keys off to the valet, gambling and other entertainment to be had just down the street.
The inside of the lobby is nearly as packed, guests checking in or going out for the night, those dressed in cocktail attire heading in the direction of the ballroom, same as us.
We’re almost to the open double doors when someone calls out an excited, “Brad?”
“Oh shit,” Brad says with a smile. “Here we go.”
“It is you,” the short blonde guy says, breaking away from the two men with him to launch himself at Brad. It’s hard to say who hugs who tighter. “It’s so good to see you, sweets. It’s been ages .” Stepping back, the newcomer eyes me. “And who, pray tell, is this gorgeous specimen you brought with you?”
Brad gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Alex, this is Joey Delgado, my kangaroo. But don’t call him that. I’d hate to have to fight you. Joey, this is Alex Monroe and his boyfriends. Hey, Finn. Rowan.”
The two men with Alex return Brad’s greeting, having reached us, and I give my own hello as Alex assesses me. “My, my. And is Joey your… friend ?” he asks Brad, eyes sparkling in a way that feels strangely familiar, although I’m fairly certain I’ve never met the guy before.
Brad huffs a laugh. “You could say that.”
Alex cocks his head, but another couple approaches, one man with curly brown hair tied up in a bun and the other scowling, his broad frame hugged by his suit jacket.
“Small fry,” the scowler says, addressing Alex but raising an eyebrow Brad’s way. “Please tell me you’re not corrupting the straight boy again?”
“’Scuse you, Grumpy Bear,” Alex says, hands on his hips. “When have I ever ?”
The so-called Grumpy Bear holds up one finger and then two. “Cas’s going-away party. Countless times at the club.”
“Teddy and Kipp’s engagement party,” the curly-haired one adds. The grump pops up another finger.
“Rude,” Alex says. “For your information, I never forced Brad to dance with any of those men. And Dixon, Niko, this is Joey, Brad’s friend.”
“Funny story,” Brad starts. “Turns out, I’m not actually st—”
“Nice to meet you,” Niko, the curly-haired man says, not having heard Brad’s mumble. “You’ll have to excuse…well, all of us, really.”
“Do I…know you from somewhere?” I ask, that feeling of déjà vu returning with Niko, same as Alex.
Niko smirks.
“There you guys are,” Cas says, coming around the corner. “Come on in. We’re getting the bachelors set up in a dressing room.”
“ Ooh , fun,” Alex says, winding his arms through each of his boyfriends’. “How much do you think we’ll go for?”
“Considering you’re priceless,” Finn, the redhead says, “I haven’t a clue.”
“You are so getting laid later, Ginger Bear,” Alex says around a sigh. “Grizzly, you wanna be in the middle this time or should I?”
Rowan blushes furiously, the men walking out of sight as Brad gives me a grin, hopping a little on the balls of his feet. “Ready?” he asks me.
“As I’ll ever be.”
We follow Brad’s friends down a hall, settling inside a large dressing room with couches and chairs. An attendant gives us a quick rundown of what to expect from tonight’s auction. They’ll introduce each of us, one at a time, before calling us to the stage. We’ll stand there as bidding occurs. And then, before we go, we’ll be given contact information for the winner of our service.
Easy enough.
We’re left with bottles of water as we wait, Brad sitting close enough that we’re connected from hip to knee. His leg bounces some.
“So, Joey,” Alex says, giving me a curious look. “How is it you know our Brad?”
“We met at the gym,” I tell him, leaving it at that since it seems Brad isn’t out with these people yet. I’m not even entirely sure who these people are. “How did you meet?”
“They worked with Cas before he went back to school for his physical therapy degree,” Brad answers distractedly, looking toward the doorway. “Oh, there’s Jason. C’mon, I need to introduce you.”
Brad tugs me off the couch, and Alex’s eyebrows pop up. Jason, as it turns out, is a slender man, his blonde hair shaggy, his suit looking a touch too big for his frame. Brad lets my hand go to hold out his fist toward his friend. Jason begrudgingly gives him a bump.
“Right on,” Brad says before pushing me forward, as if presenting me. “Birdie, this is my…Joey. Joey Kangaroo, my OG bestie. Don’t take it personally. He just got there first.”
Jason sighs, but he holds out his hand, eyes almost sharp as he takes me in. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” I tell him, shaking his hand.
“Look at you guys,” Brad says, sounding choked up as he tugs the two of us into an awkward hug. “Best buds already.”
“Squished,” Jason garbles.
“Gentlemen?” a woman calls, standing just inside the doorway in an incredibly low-cut, sparkling green dress. “If you’ll please follow me, we’re ready to begin.”
Brad lets us go, and everyone starts filtering toward the door. I can’t help but notice Brad’s gaze on the woman’s chest. Jealousy hits, sharper than I’m expecting, as I wonder if she’s the type of person Brad would normally go for.
“She’s pretty,” I murmur, regretting the words the moment they leave my mouth. What am I even doing? Testing him?
As if I have that right. We may be…exclusive. But that doesn’t make Brad mine. Not yet.
I swallow harshly at the reminder of the ticking clock over my head. Our month is nearly up, which means I need to figure out how to tell Brad I want to extend our benefits…preferably indefinitely.
Brad only shrugs at my comment, looking nonplussed. “Sure, she’s pretty,” he agrees, shooting me a tiny smile. “But I was just thinking that I like your pecs better.”
Alex’s head whips our way as that pressure inside my chest eases like a quickly deflating balloon.
“Really?” I ask.
Brad gives my chest a loving fondle. “Yeah, man. Not that it’s the outside that counts. I like you for… you . You know?”
Fuck .
“Bub…”
“Sorry we’re late!” a new face says, careening to a halt just outside the door. Another man stops at a much more subdued pace. “We got caught up in…traffic.”
“They were totally boning,” Alex says with a snicker before raising his voice. “Kipperoo! Over here. I’ll catch you and Teddy up to speed.”
The guy who looks like a hyperactive GQ model grins, his hand clasped by the man named Teddy, a gold band glinting on each of their left ring fingers.
I frown, eyeing the one who does in fact resemble a teddy bear. “Do I know him?” I mutter aloud.
Brad snorts.
When we get to the ballroom, our hostess in green guides us over to a few rows of chairs set beside the stage. The room is buzzing with conversation, round tables set up throughout the space, the decor glinting in golds and red. We take our seats, Brad on one side of me, Alex ending up on the other. Jason is directly behind us, Cas busy helping with the event.
“This is so exciting,” Alex says, rubbing his hands together.
“No Emil?” Teddy asks, his voice low and gentle.
“No, he and Christian couldn’t make it,” Alex says, craning his neck. He makes an ah sound before pointing at a long-haired blonde man in the crowd who waves back. “But look, Mal is here with Henrik.”
Mal says something to the man sitting beside him, who’s loosely holding a cane. He lifts a hand in greeting, even as his eyes don’t quite settle on us.
“So these are Cas’s old coworkers?” I ask Brad.
He opens his mouth to respond when a buzz cuts through the air. There’s a soft tap, and then a voice rings out, enhanced through the speaker system.
“Good evening,” the man onstage says, standing behind the microphone in a pristine black tux. “Thank you all so much for attending tonight’s charity auction. As you know from the packets you received upon entry, we have a wide array of volunteer services being offered today.”
The master of ceremonies continues his welcoming spiel, and I take a second to look at Alex again, trying to work out why he seems familiar. He catches me glancing his way and gives me a wink that niggles at my memory. But before I can figure it out, the first bachelor is being called to stage.
The MC introduces Dixon with an extensive and inventive list of his most positive and charming attributes. His offer of a full house cleaning creates quite the bidding war as the blonde-haired Mal repeatedly outbids everyone else in attendance. Dixon pinches the bridge of his nose as he goes for an even eight grand to his…coworker? Friend?
“I’m not wearing a maid’s outfit,” he grumbles to Niko as he retakes his seat beside the stage.
Niko laughs for a solid thirty seconds.
The trend continues, Alex’s boyfriend Finn going up onstage with his offer of website design, Jason with a week of pet sitting, and Alex himself, who pulls over ten grand for…a car wash?
“These people have a lot of money to spend,” I whisper to Brad, who nods with wide eyes.
But then he perks. “Oh, here we go.”
“Next up,” the MC says, “we have Joey Delgado with a special introduction by…Brad Bradley. Is Mr. Bradley here?”
Brad pops up as Alex’s head swivels in our direction at an alarming speed. “His last name is Bradley ?” the blonde squeaks.
Brad jogs up the steps to the stage and exchanges a soft word with the MC. Clearing his throat, he approaches the mic.
“What is he doing?” I mumble to myself, my heart racing.
“Hey, everyone,” Brad says, smiling widely and waving at the room. “So, I know this is a little different, but I asked if I could have the honor of introducing Joey tonight. So, uh, here we go.”
Brad produces a piece of paper from his pocket, brandishing it to soft chuckles from around the room. He opens the paper, gives the attendees another smile, and starts to read.
“Joey Delgado is twenty-nine years old, six foot one and a half inches tall, the perfect width to fit your arms around for a hug, and he has hair the color of rich chocolate icing.”
There’s another round of chuckles.
“Oh my God,” Alex whispers, leaning forward.
Brad beams. “He’s hardworking and passionate, a carpenter since the age of seven, when he carved his first-ever mallard duck out of a hunk of cherrywood.”
Holy shit . How did he find that out?
“He’s dedicated to his career, his family, and his friends. His likes include the smell of sawdust and the ocean, plus watersports of the nautical variety. Not the…other thing.”
Jason makes a choked sound from behind me.
“In his spare time, Joey enjoys flexing at the gym and playing video games with me on his couch. Oh, and he’s also allergic to almonds. So if you have the honor of winning his time, make sure to lock up your nuts.” Brad winks at that.
“This is amazing,” Alex hisses as the crowd chuckles again.
Brad looks down at his paper, pausing briefly before his eyes lift. They meet mine for only a second before he goes on, his voice softer than before.
“There’s a lot I could tell you about Joey. That he has a nice smile and a kind word for everyone he meets. That he truly is a great carpenter, and you’d be lucky to have him work on your house. I could even tell you he looks banging in a tool belt, which is the absolute truth.”
Alex stills.
“But the thing is…none of that adequately describes Joey Delgado. Because his smile isn’t just nice. It’s that feeling you get when the sun comes out and your skin warms and all you can do is turn your face toward the source of that heat because nothing has ever felt that good. He is kind, but he’s also generous and patient and willing to rearrange his entire world just to make the people he cares about happy. And all I want—” His voice chokes off, and my heart stutters, my own lungs seizing tight as I struggle to understand what this is. Brad takes a deep breath, his fingers running along the edge of the paper in his grip. “All I want is to make him happy, too. Because he’s one of the best people I know.”
“Oh my God,” Alex whispers, looking over at me with wide eyes. “Is he… Are you two…”
It’s then two entirely unrelated things happen at once.
It dawns on me who Alex is, beyond Brad’s friend. He’s Tink, a porn star at Elite 8 Studios. Several of these men work there, in fact. Dixon, Niko, Teddy. Cas did, too, as Himbo. And it didn’t occur to me until just now.
But that realization doesn’t hold my attention for long. Because Brad makes a soft sound of surprise and looks down at his finger.
“Oh,” he says into the mic. “That’s blood.”
“Oh shit,” Jason utters at my back.
Brad chuckles nervously, his color draining quickly away as our conversation from the 5k returns to me like a smack in the face.
“This woman next to me fell and skinned her knee. And that was it, man. I had to bow out.”
“Wait, why?”
“Blood,” he said. “Can’t do blood.”
“That’s, uh… Shoot,” Brad says in real time. “Um, Joey?”
I’m already out of my seat, the crowd letting out a collective gasp as Brad’s knee goes out from under him. My heart is in my throat for the second it takes for me to reach the stage. And as I lunge forward, Brad crumples.