Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GREG
I checked my apartment for the fifth time, making sure everything was clean and tidy. My logical brain knew Tony had already been here. He’d seen my messy living room. Hell, he’d sucked my cock right there in my kitchen.
I took a breath to calm myself. We were starting over.
We were taking a shot at being something more than friends with benefits.
It was only right that everything was squeaky clean.
There was still a part of me whispering that I was making a mistake.
Randy had started out nice, and look what happened.
I shook my head to free myself of those dismal thoughts. Tony was nothing like Randy. Everyone who knew Tony loved him. Jeremy trusted him with his safety. “Shut up, brain,” I muttered. I had already decided to go back to therapy to work through my trust issues.
My spiraling thoughts were cut off by the buzz of the intercom. I hurried over to the panel and pressed the button to answer. “Hello?”
“Hey, Greg, it’s Tony.”
“Come on up.” I pressed the button to open the inner door. I swept my gaze around my apartment one last time, then stood by my door and waited for Tony to arrive.
A million years later, there was a knock on my door. I hurriedly unlocked it and swung it open. Tony was wearing dark blue jeans and a short-sleeved black Henley that showed off his muscular chest and arms. He had a black leather jacket slung over one shoulder.
“Hi,” I breathed out. “You look hot.” My eyes went wide when I realized what I’d said, and I clapped my hand over my mouth.
Tony chuckled. His gaze raked the length of my body. “Thanks. You’re pretty hot yourself.”
I shook my head, smiling at our silliness. “Come in.”
Once the door was closed and locked, Tony took me in his arms and kissed me long and slow. When he finally pulled back, I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle of goo.
“Hey, baby,” he said, his voice raspy.
I pressed myself against his hard body, in part so I wouldn’t fall down. “Wow. You’re a really good kisser.” I took his hand and led him into the living room. “I bought a bottle of wine. I thought we could have a pre-dinner drink.”
“Sounds good,” he replied.
I went into the kitchen to get the bottle of red wine I’d opened before he arrived. I poured us both a glass and brought them out to the living room. I handed Tony his glass and then sat beside him on the sofa with mine, close enough that our thighs were touching.
I raised my glass to his. “To starting anew.”
He touched his glass to mine. “Hear, hear.” He took a sip, and his brows rose. “This is good.”
“It’s from Tuscany,” I said. “I don’t know much about wine, but the guy at the liquor store said this was a good one.”
“He was right,” Tony said.
Tony took another sip of his wine and smiled. “This reminds me of being in Italy. When we go visit our family, we always take a tour of the Tuscan Valley.”
Warmth filled my chest at his words. “Really? I’m so glad I got it then.
” This time when I drank the wine, I let it rest in my mouth, savoring the flavors.
I imagined going to Italy with Tony and having him introduce me to a host of new experiences.
I brought myself up short. Slow down there. We just started dating for real.
We drank our wine in comfortable silence for a little while. It was nice. I didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with chatter. When I took my last swallow of wine, I sighed. “That’s really good wine. I wouldn’t mind touring the Tuscan Valley someday.”
When I looked over at Tony, he was smiling at me. He set his wine glass on the coffee table and reached for mine. Once both my hands were free, he took them in his. “Thank you for giving this a chance.”
I felt my face heat. “You made it easy to decide. I know I can trust you.”
To my surprise, Tony’s eyes got glassy. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”
I felt bad for all the time I’d spent not trusting him.
I squeezed his hands. “It was never about you or anything you did. It was my way of coping with the abuse and being controlled. I lost so much because I trusted my ex. I was afraid to believe that another man wouldn’t do the same thing.
” I raised one of his hands to my lips. “And then you came along with all your respect for my boundaries.” I smiled as I shook my head.
“I didn’t know what to do with you.” My throat constricted.
“I only knew I had to stop hurting you.”
His expression softened. “Oh, baby.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me tenderly. “I know you were protecting yourself. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”
I rested my forehead against his. “We could go ’round and ’round about this forever. I want us to have a fresh start. Let’s let go of what went before—except the spectacular sex—and give this a real try.”
Tony chuckled. “You got it.”
My stomach chose that moment to rumble its discontent. I sighed. “We should get some dinner.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you forget to eat lunch again?”
I looked at him with faux innocence. “Who, me?”
He rose from the couch, chuckling. Holding out his hand, he said, “Come on. Let’s get you something to eat.”
The sun had just dipped below the horizon by the time we got outside my apartment building, leaving the city bathed in streaks of orange and purple light.
Tony took my hand when we started walking down the block, and something warm wrapped around my heart.
Randy had hated any form of PDA. I hadn’t held hands with anyone since high school.
The restaurant wasn’t far from my place, and the evening was crisp but not too chilly.
Spring was finally making itself known. The restaurant was close to full when we got there, no doubt because of the gorgeous weather we’d had all day.
I didn’t even mind waiting to be seated because Tony stood behind me with his arms wrapped around me the whole time.
We were seated at a table for two against the wall. Our server brought us water and took our drink order. While we were waiting, Tony leaned forward and asked, “Did you get any feedback about your performance last night?”
I nodded. “David called today to say I did an excellent job. He’s going to put me on the rotation as a regular substitute.”
His proud grin lit up his whole face. “That’s fantastic! Congratulations.”
I felt a blush heat my cheeks. “Thanks.”
The server brought our drinks and took our dinner order. I glanced around the small restaurant, noticing the paintings by local artists on the wall. That jogged a memory. “Tony, do you remember Brendan, the barista at Café Roma?”
“Of course,” he replied.
“There’s going to be an exhibition of his work this Saturday. Do you want to go with me?”
“I’d love to go,” he said with a smile. “I’ll take all the time I can get with you. You just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
I texted him the information for the school and the time of the exhibition. “I figured we could grab some lunch while we’re up there.”
“Sounds good to me,” he replied. Just then, his phone vibrated with a text. As he read it, his eyes widened, and a huge grin spread across his lips. He typed a quick reply and then looked at me. “Have you heard of Trevor Lawrence, the actor from London?”
“Of course I have,” I answered. “He was the lead in the new musical about Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas that opened on the West End. He’s amazing. He won an Olivier Award for his performance.”
“Yeah, that’s him,” Tony acknowledged. “He’s opening the Broadway version of the show next week.”
“That’s right. I remember reading about that. I’ve been so busy I forgot when that was happening.” I tilted my head. “Why do you ask?”
He grinned widely. “I have two tickets for the opening night, next Thursday. Want to go?”
I blinked. I was speechless for a moment. “Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Yep. Front row orchestra.”
I was stunned silent again. Finally, I got the words out. “How? How did you get those tickets?”
This time, his smile was mischievous. “We’re doing personal security for Mr. Lawrence.”
“I’d love to go,” I said enthusiastically. “Wait,” I added as a thought occurred to me. “Does that mean you’ve met him?”
“Yeah. I had him come to the office to meet his detail. I had to make sure they would get along.”
“I assume they did,” I observed.
Tony smirked. “They did. I think Trevor has the hots for Khalil.” He shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him. Khalil’s a good-looking guy.” I glared at him with a raised brow. He chuckled. “Not my type though.”
“Is that so?”
He reached over and took my hand. “I’m more into a certain blond with bright-blue eyes.”
My insides went all gooey. “Oh yeah?”
He squeezed my hand. “Yeah.”
He had to let go when the server arrived with our food, so he slid his foot next to mine under the table. Our conversation turned to everyday topics, and I drew comfort from its easy flow. I finally felt like I’d made the right choice.