Euphoria (The Kink Club #3)

Hugh

Prologue

H ugh wasn’t sure why he couldn’t get Luke on the phone. He had called him at least twenty times in the last fifteen minutes, and not reaching him wasn’t an option. Luke liked for him to check in every few hours, to let him know where he was, but he really didn’t mind. knew that was Luke’s way of caring about him. It was nice to have someone worrying about him the way that Luke did.

They had only been together for a little over six months now, and he wondered if moving in with Luke was a good idea, but it had turned out to be a great decision. It gave them more time to hang out together outside of work. worried that working and living together might prove detrimental to their relationship, but Luke assured him that was ridiculous.

He ran into their townhome and found the place empty. looked out the front window to see if Luke’s car was in the parking spot, and it was. “Where the hell is he?” whispered to himself. If he had to guess, Luke went out for a run or had a friend pick him up, but it wasn’t like him not to answer the phone.

pulled out his cell phone and called Luke, hoping that he’d finally answer. Instead, he heard Luke’s phone ringing upstairs. “Shit, he must have gone out without his phone.” ran up the stairs and followed the sound of the phone. It was the ringtone that Luke had programed into his phone for when called. He thought it was hilarious that Baby Got Back played every time called him. Maybe he was just being overly sensitive like Luke said, but he was hoping that after six months together, Luke might change the ringtone to something a bit more romantic.

The ringing was coming from the master bedroom and opened the door and stopped dead when he found Luke in bed with another man. “What the fuck?” Luke shouted at him.

“Yeah, I was about to ask you the same question. Who the hell is he?” Luke shouted pointing to the blond who was currently taking up his side of the bed.

“This is Jace,” Luke said, He was introducing the guy as though they had all just met up at a restaurant. wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew from seeing the two of them together that whatever it was had been happening for some time now.

“How long have you been cheating on me, Luke?” shouted.

“Technically, Luke is cheating on me with you,” Jace insisted. “You know, since he met me first.”

“You’ve known this asshole since before we met?” asked. How had he missed Luke having a guy on the side? Wait, if Jace was correct, wouldn’t that make him the guy on the side? He felt sick, and was sure that he wasn’t going to get a strait answer from Luke or his boyfriend.

“I need to get out of here,” said more to himself than them. He walked into the closet and grabbed a suitcase that had sat empty since he moved into Luke’s place. Luckily, all his stuff was in storage because Luke already had everything that they needed. How did miss all the red flags that Luke was waving? He controlled every aspect of ’s life, and he allowed it.

He quickly packed his clothing and shoes into the suitcase and nearly lost his shit when he heard Luke and Jace laughing in the bed that they shared. How could Luke do this to him? He knew that this couldn’t have been the first time Jace had been in his bed, and the though of sharing the same space with the guy made him ill. The thought of sharing the same man with the guy made him want to beat the shit out of them both, but that wouldn’t solve anything. All he wanted to do was get the rest of his crap and get out of there. He’d process the rest later.

walked out into the bedroom and cleared his clothes out of the dresser that he and Luke shared. “I’m going to be leaving shortly if you want to stick around. You can have your turn with Luke, babe,” Jace teased.

“No, thank you,” spat. “I don’t want any more turns with Luke. In fact, you can have all the turns with him from now on, asshole.”

“Don’t be a sore loser, babe,” Luke said, pouting out his lip at him.

“I’m not being a sore loser,” insisted tossing his socks into the suitcase. “In fact, I don’t feel as though I’ve lost anything at all.” It felt as though his entire world was crumbling around him, but there was no way that he’d let Luke, or his new boy toy know that. He’d find a way to pick up the pieces later—when he had time to digest everything. For now, he was going to get out of there and find a place to stay for a bit until he could get an apartment. Finding a new job might have to wait, but working with Luke felt like a punishment.

“Ouch,” Luke said, grabbing his bare chest and being dramatic in true fashion. He was always a bit, “Much,” but thought it was charming—well, he used to. Now, he just found Luke to be annoying, and playing along with him wasn’t going to happen. Luke wanted a rouse out of him, and refused to give him one.

He turned to leave, not bothering with the formality of saying goodbye to either of them. “Oh, babe,” Luke called after him. stopped in the doorway, not bothering to turn around. “Leave your key on the counter downstairs. I never want to see you again.”

“The feeling is mutual, but I’m afraid that you’re going to have to put up with seeing me on Monday. I’ll be at work at nine, as usual.” He knew that he was taunting Luke—reminding him that he wasn’t going to be rid of him so easily. He hated the idea more than he’d ever let on, but for now, he was going to find a way forward without Luke. He’d have to deal with Luke until something better came up, and then, he’d make a fresh start.