Chapter 1
Chapter One
Konnor Thomas Angstrom
The stage doesn’t look as arousing with all the lights on.
My cheeks heat as the thought comes. Thinking about how last night went, I force myself to shake off any impending arousal and pay attention to the orientation speech the boss is giving us.
“As I said in your interviews, this is a professional environment that requires high energy at all times on show nights. This means getting plenty of rest and hydrating beforehand. I don’t want anyone passing out. Do we all understand?”
The six of us chant, “Yes, sir!” in an odd, military-like way.
“You’re all dismissed for now. Be ready for your first shift later tonight. If you’re late, you’re fired.” With that proclamation, he jumps off the side of the stage and heads for a set of stairs to the side. I trail his path with my eyes, wondering just where all the behind-the-scenes spaces lead.
So far, I’ve only had the barest of tours. It’s going to take me a while to get everything figured out. Hopefully someone will take mercy on me if I screw up tonight.
“Can you believe we get to work here?” the guy beside me asks, his voice full of excitement.
I try to mimic him by injecting as much joy into my voice. “Heck yes! It’s going to be great.”
Clearly I don’t do that great of a job convincing him I’m cool because his lip curls a bit before he saunters off. It’s the same old same, even here. I thought working for It’s Raining Men, the premiere male dance show in Vegas, would put me in a more welcoming group.
Growing up, all I knew were the judgmental stares of those around me. Even my parents couldn’t understand why I wanted to paint my nails or keep my hair long. When they refused to let me continue to grow it out, I saved my chore money to buy wigs in various colors.
The habit stuck with me even as I got older. Now I have a massive collection of wigs and all the accessories a person with luscious long hair might need.
Nervously, I run my fingers through the ends of my burgundy wig as I turn to head toward the entrance. It’s best if I leave now rather than getting caught in another awkward half-exchange. The other new hires might be cool. Or they might be like the first guy who blew me off.
Weaving around the empty tables and chairs, I’m nearly to the entrance when I feel arms come around me. “Gotcha!”
I scream bloody murder as fear takes over. What the hell is going on? Is this some kind of initiation thing? Am I about to be tortured? I was just supposed to be a support staff guy. I don’t want any extra attention.
“Woah… hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry. Shit!”
The words are muddled, almost like I’m underwater. It takes everything I have to remain standing when the person lets me go.
Spinning around, I stare down the attacker. Unfortunately for me, he also happens to be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.
Mr. Grabby has a buzz cut, though I suspect his hair is really light when it grows out. The way the light hits it is too bright to be a brunette or darker. His jaw is chiseled, and his eyes are bright with an emotion I can’t name. What I can name is the color of his eyes: light brown.
The detail helps calm the raging storm inside me. It’s not a complete fix. Just enough to even out my breathing.
“There we go. Good to know you’re alive. I really am sorry about the confusion. I thought you were someone else.” He scratches the back of his neck. The move shows off his perfectly sculpted bicep.
Dammit.
Don’t drool, Konnor.
Do. Not. Drool.
I’m a sucker for muscular men. Especially the lean kind like this guy is. I’d bet anything he’s one of the dancers.
“How did you confuse me with someone else? Who were you trying to attack?”
His eyes go wide. “Attack? No, that’s not—oh, geesh. It wasn’t supposed to be an attack. I’m in a really elaborate game of tag. Part of the rules include when we’re here at the club, we have to bear-hug the person. It’s easy to tap someone when we’re all working, so this makes it harder.”
“That actually makes sense, though it’s really unbelievable.” I squint at him as the last of my panic fades away. “Are you good at lying? This could just be a really big lie to cover your attacker-like lifestyle.”
“My attacker-like lifestyle?” he asks with a smirk.
I point a finger at his chest. “Yes! Exactly.”
He takes a step closer, making it so my finger is pressed against him. When I go to move it, his hand comes up to grab my wrist. My skin burns where he touches me.
“I’m not an attacker. It really is just a game that got out of hand. I apologize for scaring you. You’re very beautiful, and I hate that I made you uncomfortable.”
A blush takes over my skin at his words. I dip my head, then tug on my arm again hoping to get loose. He doesn’t release me at first. Only when I tug a second time.
As soon as I’m free, I turn again to leave. I manage a few steps before his voice halts all my movement.
“Are you new here?”
I look over my shoulder. “Yeah, I am. First night. You?”
His smile sends my stomach into a fluttering mess. “Not new. What’s your name?”
“Konnor,” I reply automatically before wincing.
The guy laughs, then points to himself. “I’m Brett. Now we won’t be strangers. See you later, Konnor. It was a pleasure to meet you, despite how I might have fucked it up.”
With that, he spins away from me and climbs up a ladder on the wall. Mind you, I knew the ladder was there. I saw the performers use it in very creative ways last night. But seeing the hot-as-hell man I was just accosted by climbing it after an intensely arousing interaction is confusing.
Standing here isn’t going to solve the mystery of what just happened. The only solution is to be patient. I’ll get answers later. I’ll have to figure out this Brett person.
Was he telling the truth? And if so, does he really think I’m gorgeous?
The second I’m out of the club, I pull up the app to order a driver to take me home. After securing a car to pick me up in five minutes, the only thing left to do is dial my brother to give him the details of my day.
“It’s about time you called. I’ve been eagerly awaiting your call,” Jared, my younger brother, tells me with a whine.
“Patience isn’t your strong suit, J. I’m actually fifteen minutes earlier than I said I’d be.”
“Yeah, but we both know you lied so I wouldn’t bother you sooner. You’ve probably been done for more like thirty minutes.”
My jaw drops at the accuracy of his words. How dare he know me so well?
“No need to be upset I’m right. Most of my work is about paying attention to detail.”
“True,” I admit. “That makes me feel better. You had me thinking I was predictable.”
He snorts. “You definitely are.”
“Take that back!”
“Absolutely not. It’s okay to be a bit predictable. Besides, I’ve known you my whole life. It’s easier for me. New people won’t pick up on it. And speaking of new people, how did the meeting go? Are you still going to actually do this?”
“It was… good.” The car pulls up, and I climb in. A quick nod to the driver has us on our way. I go over the meeting with Jared on the drive. Since someone else is around, I don’t break down the whole ‘game of tag’ storyline. I may not tell him later either. It depends on how tonight goes.
Since my brother works for a major security firm, he can sometimes be a bit paranoid. It doesn’t help that we live so far from one another. Forget the fact that I’m the oldest. Apparently, I’m not capable of taking care of myself all that well.
If I tell him about the misunderstanding, he’ll probably send a team out here to investigate. At the very least, he’ll do a background check on the guy. I don’t need all of that on my conscience.
I stay on the phone with him even after being dropped off at my place. Jared is a yapper through and through. He could go for hours if I let him. I think it’s because so much of his job is done alone that when he gets the chance to interact with actual people, he goes a bit overboard.
“Holy shit! We’ve been on the phone for two hours. I need to let you get some sleep. Don’t want you to pass out tonight. Sorry, man.”
“No worries,” I tell him honestly. “I don’t know if I’ll even be able to sleep all that much. I’m pretty excited, to be honest.”
“I’m still going to go in case you manage a small nap. Be sure to send me some voice notes after the show is over about how things went. I’ll listen to them when I wake up.”
“Sure thing. I doubt it will be all that interesting.”
Famous last words.