Chapter 6 #2
Johnny rolled his eyes when Gavin laughed. The gate slowly ticked open, and Johnny pulled the car forward.
“J-man? Can I call you that?”
“Hell, no.” Johnny narrowed his eyes. He hated it when Pilot called him the stupid nickname. He sure as hell didn’t want to hear it from Gavin. He parked amid several other vehicles. “Looks like it’s a real party.”
When he stepped out of the car, the light drizzle they’d experienced on the drive opened up into a heavy downpour.
Johnny cursed and ran for the front porch.
He shouldn’t have bothered drying his hair.
He’d wanted to look good. Had wanted to show Pilot what he was missing.
Johnny looking hot in his tight, skinny jeans, dress shirt, styled hair, with Gavin looking even better on his arm. The freezing cold rain had ruined that.
The door opened, and Davey handed him a towel. “Hey, Johnny. Here. Dry off.”
“Thanks, uh, you remember Gavin Peri?”
Gavin took an offered towel and rubbed it over his reddish hair. “Davey.”
“Yeah, hello.” Obviously, he wasn’t thrilled about Gavin’s presence. He would never be rude, though. He reached out to shake hands.
Johnny glanced over to see Gavin smirk as if causing Davey discomfort didn’t bother him a bit.
Part of Johnny liked his demeanor. Johnny wanted to carry that same bold attitude most of the time around the racers.
Seeing them off their game made him inexplicably happy.
At the same time, Davey was a good guy. A trickle of guilt washed over him, but before he could think much more about it, Tyler bounced into the foyer.
“Johnny!” He jumped forward and pulled him into a bear hug.
“Ugh! Tyler, good to see you, man. This is—”
“Gavin Peri. I remember. How are you? Come in.” His bright outlook was infectious, and he pulled both Johnny and Gavin into the main living area of the home.
The McAllister estate was extraordinary on any given day, but they’d decorated for the party, kicking it up a notch.
Party lights and streamers hung across the massive room.
The motocross bike set up next to the fireplace had been wrapped with Christmas lights that outshined the tree.
Johnny bumped Gavin’s shoulder and pointed out the monstrosity.
Gavin laughed and grabbed Johnny’s hand, leading him through the small crowd.
They’d designated a counter separating the living area from the kitchen as the makeshift bar.
Pilot was pouring drinks in the kitchen and laughing with Tate. “I’m not drinking but having fun mixin’. What’s your poison, Gavin?”
Davey grabbed Johnny’s arm, pulling him back while Gavin ordered drinks from Pilot. “Hey, Johnny. Got a minute?”
“Sure, man. What’s up?” He figured Davey would kick him out then, but he’d been wrong.
“I don’t know what’s up with you and Gavin and I don’t care, but he’s your guest. That’s cool, but keeping him in line is up to you.”
“In line? Davey?”
“You know what I mean. He’s your responsibility while you’re here. So, like, make sure he’s cool. Got it?”
“He’s here with me. We’re, I don’t know. Dating. There’s not going to be a problem.”
Davey nodded and stuck his fist out for one of those manly bumps. Johnny obliged by knocking his knuckles into Davey’s but shook his head as he watched him walk away.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s still jealous over that Christmas present bullshit.” Tyler put his arm around Johnny’s shoulders. “I don’t think it was personal. At all. You know?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Granted, it had been an outlandish ploy on Gavin’s part.
Who sends their competitor’s boyfriend Christmas gifts?
Apparently, Gavin Peri. But Johnny didn’t take it personally either.
They hadn’t actually been dating at the time anyway.
They’d had a one-night stand. That was all.
Even though it had evolved into more than that, Johnny wasn’t sure how much more it had become.
Three one-night stands? A one-night stand and two booty calls? Some combination of the above?
Gavin stepped in front of him and handed him a cup. “Vodka and cranberry. Pilot said you like it.”
Johnny took the cup. “Yeah.” It bothered him that Pilot suggested drinks for him instead of Gavin knowing what to order, but what did Gavin know about what Johnny liked? They’d barely talked about shit like that. You don’t expect a booty call to know your favorite drink.
“Have fun, guys,” Tyler said and made his way back into the main room.
“What?” Gavin asked. “Davey give you shit about bringing me.”
“Surprisingly, not like you’d think.” He sipped his drink. “This is good.” Pilot could tend the bar, for sure. He mixed an excellent drink.
“Good to know. Come on.”
The rest of the night turned out to be fun.
There were mostly couples around, but a few single guys hung out with a few of their friends as well.
He’d heard they were related to Davey, or at least one of them was.
Johnny wasn’t sure. He said hello to those he knew like Angel and Stewart.
Mickey Hun was also there. Gavin struck up a conversation with the mechanic while Johnny talked to Bryce and Tate.
They weren’t drinking since they were technically in training, though Tate complained that they’d hardly been on a bike since it’d been so cold.
Bryce rolled his eyes. “At least it’s not snowing. We’ll be riding tomorrow.”
Someone put some techno music on, and Bryce practically squealed.
He didn’t need alcohol to have fun. He yanked Tate to the center of the room to dance.
It surprised Johnny at first. They didn’t dance like he would in a club.
The youngster had probably never been to a club or many parties.
He shook his ass, though, and Tate joined him.
Pilot stood to the side, laughing at their antics.
Johnny had discovered that was a normal part of their relationship, the riders acting out while the bodyguard watched.
He briefly wondered if that carried over to the bedroom, and then inwardly groaned, not wanting to know about that at all.
“Want to dance?” Gavin whispered in his ear, pushing up against him.
“Not like that.” Johnny nodded to Bryce and Tate, who danced around like fools with their hands thrown up over their head. “How about we wait for something a little more adult.”
Gavin chuckled, and Johnny could feel it vibrate in his chest against his back.
He liked the feel of it. He turned to face Gavin and put his arms around his neck.
They swayed back and forth as if a slow song had been playing rather than the techno stuff.
Someone else must have picked up on it because the music shifted to something slower, an Alicia Keys melody about love being strong.
He wasn’t a huge fan but recognized her voice.
Pilot grabbed Tate and danced while Bryce went to get water. Davey and Tyler joined them as did Angel and Stewart and a few other couples. A girl sat in Davey’s cousin’s lap while he spun his wheelchair in a slow circle. There could have been worse ways to spend the night.
He liked Gavin’s strong arms around him.
He like being pushed against his warm body.
He enjoyed their sex. Thinking about how Gavin had come all over his face earlier had him getting hard all over again.
He pushed his erection against Gavin’s hip, wanting him to know how his body reacted to being so close.
“You are simply delicious.” Gavin nuzzled under Johnny’s ear as he spoke. Chills raced up Johnny’s spine in reaction.
The night seemed perfect. Eventually, the countdown to midnight began.
Everyone cheered, but Johnny looked into Gavin’s soft eyes, wondering how their relationship would develop in the new year.
A new year—a new something. He didn’t even want to call it a relationship.
It was too soon, but something in Gavin’s eyes, besides the little gold flecks, captivated him.
Affection, maybe? Johnny didn’t know, but he wanted to find out.