CHAPTER 5
“This is Dane.” Gabe was pointing to the good-looking, dark-haired young man sitting at the bar next to Gabe’s now-empty stool. When the man stood up, he fully embodied the tall, dark, and handsome persona—completely swoon-worthy. “He’s a newbie here at the club, too.”
The man snorted with laughter. “You’re not exactly a club veteran.” He flashed a gorgeous smile at Cole—the kind that could literally stop the heart. He thrust out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Cole accepted the handshake, a bit awestruck; the man looked like he stepped off the cover of GQ magazine. “You, too.” Cole swallowed, unable to hide his awe.
“Gabe says you’re thinking of joining the club.”
“Uh…” Cole shifted, glancing at Gabe, who looked back with a grin. “Thinking about it,” he mumbled, suddenly caught again in Gabe’s baby blues. Cole wasn’t used to being surrounded by sexy gay men. Even without the club being in full swing, it was overwhelming.
“Have you talked to Max?” Dane asked Gabe.
“Not yet.” He smiled at Cole. “Figured I’d wait till he made up his mind.”
“Who’s Max?” Cole asked.
“Our boss,” Dane said. “He owns the club. Cool guy. Treats his boys like family.”
His boys. The dancers. Cole liked the idea of a “family” atmosphere.
“I mean, shit,” Dane chuffed. “He treats me better than my own family.”
Cole didn’t comment on family and shifted the topic back to the club owner. “I don’t have any experience dancing. Would Max even hire me? I mean,” he added quickly, “if I decide I want to…”
“Don’t worry about Max,” Gabe said, clapping him on the back.
“He’s flexible. If you’re willing to learn, he’ll give you a chance.
” Gabe’s hand lingered, drifting to Cole’s shoulder, where he gently squeezed the firm muscle.
His touch sent warm shivers cascading down Cole’s spine and sprinkling into his loins.
“Well, that’s... nice of him.” Cole hesitated, unsure of what to say. His nerves were sharp as he left his apartment, but now they were fraying, his gut a tight knot as his eyes flicked to the stage. A slender young stripper performed for a sparse crowd. Well, sparse compared to last night.
Gabe grinned. “Max is nice.” He gave Cole’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling his hand back. “And so is Dane here. He agreed to help with the lessons.”
“Oh.” Cole swallowed.
“Unless…” Dane tilted his head. “… you’d rather just practice with Gabe. It’s okay. You won’t offend me.” He smiled. “I swear. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“No, I…” He let out a shaky breath. “It’s not you. I’m just… I’m not sure I’m comfortable with any of it.”
“Everyone’s nervous the first time,” Gabe said. “But it’s fun and liberating once you get past the nerves. You’ll love it, I promise.”
He seemed genuinely convinced of Cole’s abilities, but Cole wasn’t. Still, the thought of dancing with Gabe again—and even Dane—made him willing to try.
Dane excused himself, and Gabe gestured toward a stool for Cole to sit. As he sat down, Cole quickly glanced at Dane’s retreating figure.
“Gorgeous, isn’t he?” Gabe chuckled, settling onto the stool beside Cole.
“I think my jaw hit the floor the first time I saw him.” He leaned toward Cole, dropping his voice even though no one was nearby.
“Wait till you see him in nothing but a G-string. Fair warning, your heart might explode. And…” He glanced quickly at Cole’s crotch and grinned. “… other parts, too.”
Cole might have thought he was exaggerating, but picturing Dane in a G-string nearly made his heart stop and caused his cock to twitch against his jeans' fly. Even though he was clothed, it was obvious that Dane was in top physical shape.
Then another thought hit him: if I take this job—I’ll have to wear a G-string.
Oh, fuck.
Cole was in shape, but stripped down to practically nothing, any flaws in his physique would be on stark display, with no clothes to hide them. Was he that confident about his body?
“You okay?” Gabe asked, raising an eyebrow seductively.
His baby blues sparkled, drawing Cole into their warm depths.
“Feeling flushed thinking of Dane in a G-string?” He chuckled; it was a soft, deep hum that tickled Cole’s eardrums. “Can’t blame you.
There are no words to describe the vision of him on stage. ”
Did Gabe have a thing for Dane? Cole pondered if he felt jealous.
Maybe a little. But if it was true, he understood; Dane was hot as hell and charming as fuck.
He seemed to be an all-around nice guy. Of course, Cole didn’t really know him, so maybe he wasn’t.
But his first impression of the man was that he was a nice guy.
Cole smiled and shrugged. “Kind of hard not to imagine it.” He looked at Gabe and laughed.
“Right?” Gabe grinned, then laughed.
“I’ve never seen a man that handsome, you know, up close…” As soon as the words were out, Cole wished he could suck them back.
“Thanks a lot,” Gabe snorted.
Shit.
“No, I didn’t… I mean, I wasn’t…” Cole stammered, stumbling over his words, and then Gabe started laughing.
“I’m just fucking with you,” he choked. “Dane is fucking gorgeous. I’m fine with my looks, but I’m nowhere near as handsome as that guy.”
Cole cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t say nowhere near.”
His laughter tapering off, Gabe gazed at him. “Really?”
Cole shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, you’re…”
“I’m what?” Gabe grinned when Cole’s words failed him.
“You know,” Cole ducked his head, chuckling softly.
“No, I don’t know,” Gabe teased. “Tell me.”
Cole groaned, but couldn’t suppress a smile. “You’re… very good-looking.”
Scooching closer, Gabe murmured close to Cole’s ear, “Good-looking enough to compete with Dane?”
Cole frowned, leaned away, and met Gabe’s stare. “Compete? What do you mean?”
Gabe chuckled. “You were totally awestruck by the guy—understandably so. It wouldn’t be the first time he stole a man’s attention away from me.”
He seemed to be teasing, but Cole sensed a slight seriousness in Gabe’s voice. Was he worried that Cole’s interest might shift to Dane? The man was remarkably handsome, but he wasn’t the one who demanded Cole’s attention.
“You seem pretty awestruck by him, too,” Cole countered. Fishing? Maybe.
“Oh, I am,” Gabe admitted with a grin. “Who wouldn’t be?”
“Have you and him…”
“Fucked?”
Cole laughed low, anxiously. “I was going to say, gone out, like, on a date… or something?”
“Or something?” Gabe smiled. “Like… fucked?” He shook his head. “No.”
Why did Cole feel so relieved?
“Nah.” Gabe cleared his throat. “Dane’s a good friend, but no benefits in that friendship. He came here packing some serious baggage.”
Cole looked at him but felt it wasn’t his place to ask about the baggage. If Dane had confided in Gabe, it was certainly in confidence.
“I don’t know what it is,” Gabe said as if reading his thoughts.
“All he told me was that, just before coming here, he stripped in some seedy little club not nearly as classy as the Phoenix. And that… he lost his virginity to some stripper he worked with. He said what he liked most about the Phoenix is that it doesn’t make him feel scuzzy to dance here.
” Gabe sighed. “Apparently, the other club was pretty sleazy.”
“Sounds that way,” Cole murmured.
“He’s only been here a couple of weeks, but he hasn’t shown interest or even attraction toward anyone. It’s like he goes into his own little world when he’s on stage. I’m not sure he’s even aware of the customers when he’s up there.”
“Does he do private dances?”
Gabe shook his head. “No. He seems uncomfortable getting that up close and personal with the customers. Max isn’t going to make him—or any of us—do anything he isn’t comfortable with.
” He smiled. “What he does on stage is enough to practically burn down the club. He’s doing his part to satisfy customers. ”
Cole wasn’t comfortable with the thought of private dances, either. If he took the job… maybe he could just do some stage dancing, too.
Cole didn't directly respond to Gabe’s suggestion that Dane was stealing his attention. However, he did seem curious about whether anything was going on between Gabe and Dane—and even looked relieved there wasn’t.
Gabe liked that.
“So, why did you come to New York?” Gabe asked. “Do you know anyone here? Any family in the city?”
Cole visibly recoiled slightly, which stumped Gabe. Had he said something wrong?
“No,” Cole mumbled. “No family… no one. I, uh… I wasn’t headed anywhere, really. I just ended up here.”
“Lucky me.” Gabe winked at him. “It would’ve been a crying shame if I’d never met you.”
Cole laughed short and twisted his drink glass in slow circles on the bar. “Why is that?”
“Because.” Gabe grinned, bumping his arm. “You’re cool, cute, sexy, fun, interesting. Despite being surrounded by hot guys every night, I don’t often meet someone with so many qualities.”
Cole didn’t seem to believe he was all those things, but it appeared to please him that Gabe thought he was. Still, he asked, “How do you know I’m all that?” He looked at Gabe and smiled. “I might be a real bore when you get to know me.”
“I’m willing to risk it.”
Cole rubbed his neck and laughed softly. “A risk-taker, huh?”
“You know it.” Gabe lifted his glass toward his lips, a smile forming. His blue eyes sparkled as he squinted slightly. “Some things in life are worth the risk.”
“Hm.”
“Hm, what?”
Cole chuckled. “Nothing.”
“You disagree?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“So, you’re a risk-taker, too?”
Cole smiled. “I didn’t say that, either.”
“What are you saying?”
Cole sipped his drink, then licked his lips, holding back a smile. “Nothing.”
Gabe grunted and nudged him. “Are you naturally frustrating, or do you work at it?”
Lips pursed, Cole shrugged. “A little of both.”
“Don’t be bustin’ my chops, baby.” Gabe grinned and finished his drink, not bothered at all that the man was teasing him. Gabe saw it as friendly foreplay, or at the very least, playful flirting.
This was the second time since meeting Gabe that he had called Cole ‘baby.’ Cole knew it was likely a common term Gabe used with everyone, but it felt good when he said it to him.
No one had ever called him “baby”—except maybe his mom before she died—but never another man.
To be fair, he hadn’t let anyone get close enough to give him a pet name.
Gabe wasn’t waiting for them to become closer; he just threw it out there on his own. And Cole liked it.
Then Gabe said something Cole didn’t like. “You said you don’t have family here in the city; do you have family anywhere?”
“No,” was all Cole offered. Some things he never wanted to talk about—he just wanted to forget.
He had spent the last seven years becoming someone new; he would never revisit who he once was…
or the nightmare that spawned him. It was bad enough that it haunted his dreams; he wouldn’t let it back out into the light of day.
He cast a sideways glance at Gabe, who seemed satisfied with his answer and didn't push for more. There was something different about Gabe compared to the other men Cole had met over the years. Maybe they could be friends, for real. Cole had only ever had one true friend, and he was long gone—swallowed by the nightmare. Cole hadn’t expected to ever feel that strong a bond of friendship with anyone again.
But he was beginning to feel it with Gabe.