Chapter 01 DEVON
“Hey, Devon, when’s that thing you’re doing again…Devon?“
My eyes snapped over to my friend Matt, sitting on the bench beside me while we finished our coffee from the hotel lobby. He’d caught me staring again. It wasn’t the first time that weekend, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Huh?“
was all I managed to say. He grinned knowingly as his eyes slid over to where I’d been looking. The hot guy I’d been ogling was walking away. He wasn’t the only one I’d checked out that weekend, but he was definitely the one I’d looked at the most. The jawline beneath his trimmed beard was perfectly sculpted, his smile would light up the dark, and his muscles rippled under the casual shirts he wore without even a flex. And his ass…
“Yeah, you’ve definitely got to get back out there, Dev,“
Matt said with a laugh. “You better not back out on this. You look thirsty as hell.”
I looked away from Matt but refused to look back at the guy, feeling a blush heat my cheeks.
The hotel we were in was nice, and not somewhere either of us would have been staying if we weren’t contracted to do the electrical on the new wing.
The lobby was open to the top of the building, with balconies circling it up the entire fifteen floors.
There were boutique shops, a couple of restaurants, and a bar on the first floor, with an elaborate staircase leading to the second, where even more amenities and the start of the guest rooms were. It seemed a little excessive, but it was nice to stay there.
I liked travelling for work. The jobs always paid well and I got to see new places. I hadn’t travelled a lot growing up, so it was all new to me.
The hotel we were in was only about two hours away from home, but being there at the same time as a firefighter convention?
Well, that might not have meant anything to Matt, but it certainly wasn’t harming me. Besides maybe getting distracted too often.
I finally looked back at Matt. He was holding his phone up with a grin, the ad he’d talked me into replying to when we were both drunk was pulled up and taunting me.
Wanted: Queer individuals interested in stranger sessions. Underneath the picture of a camera and a little info was the name Sadie’s Strangers.
“You know, I don’t know if-“
I started.
“Oh, hell, no!“
he cut me off, “You already signed up. This poor…Sadie has everything all set up by now. Isn’t it this weekend? You can’t just back out, Devon.”
He had a point. But it was a choice made when I was not at my decision-making peak. “We were drunk, Matt. You know how awkward and clumsy I get. I’m going to make a fool of myself.”
The asshole seriously started laughing. “Well you aren’t awkward and clumsy all the time because in our career, you’d be dead if you were, or at least blown out of a few rooms. Maybe the other person won’t even be attractive. Then you’ll be fine. The only time you get like that is when you get nervous, which is when you’re around anyone you think is hot.“
He clapped me on the back, then paused. “Hey, wait a minute. Why did you never get like that around me when we first started working together?”
“Sorry, bud,“
I snickered, smacking him back, “But anyway, I don’t know if I can do this. I mean, it seemed like a good idea for a second when we were trashed. But now, thinking about actually meeting someone, could you imagine the disappointment? I walk in, I’m an awkward idiot, with this?“
I motioned at my face.
I hated that the idea still sounded a little intriguing, because the risks were just too high. I chewed on my lip trying to find a way out of it. It had seemed like a good way to kill a weekend evening back then, when drunk me was in charge. Maybe I could pretend to be sick.
Matt wrinkled his brow. “Are you serious? Please tell me that man isn’t still messing with your head. He was a damn fool. You’re hot as hell, dude. If I was gay, I’d totally go for you. Have you seen your bone structure? Besides, everyone digs scars, right?”
Catching a glimpse of my reflection in a boutique window across from us, I sighed. “Not when they go across your entire face.”
“They’re part of you and who you are,“
Matt pressed on, “Don’t you dare let assholes ruin your self-esteem. You’re going to do great at this thing. I can’t wait to see these pictures. And maybe you’ll even like the guy. If not, you still had fun and you’re starting to get back out there. You’re at least meeting new people.”
I stood up, tossing my coffee cup into the trash can. “Fine, fine. I’ll do it. It would probably suck for the photographer if I cancelled the day before, anyway.“
I cast another glance at the man I’d been staring at, who was heading toward one of the conference rooms. I already knew he was there for the convention; I’d been watching him since it started. He was older than me, but I preferred older guys. It was even hotter to picture him in his firefighting gear.
"I can just give him your number instead, if you’d rather,“
Matt said with a chuckle as he followed my eyes. “Either way, I’ll be happy. I just want you back out there and smiling again.“
I shoved him with my shoulder as he stood up beside me. “I mean, he’s a firefighter, they must love scars, right?”
I rolled my eyes but then looked at my phone, finding the email with the time and meet-up location of the photo session. “I don’t know. But most of them are straight.”
“There is no way you could statistically prove that to me, Devon.“
But he was looking at my phone, too, trying to get the details so he made sure I didn’t back out when it was time. “Did you say on the form that you prefer hot older firefighters with muscles?“
He said it way too loud, and there wasn’t even a question like that on the form.
“Matt!“
I hissed, but glanced back up. That hot guy was looking at us. He heard Matt. I caught his eye without meaning to and it felt like my face was on fire. I was sure it was obvious even with the distance between us. I turned quickly and knocked Matt’s empty cup out of his hand and then tripped over my own feet.
The guy gave a little half smile and I was pretty sure a chuckle right before someone said, “Hey, Sam!“
and he turned to duck into the conference room.
I turned to my best friend and smacked him on the arm. “Thanks, bro. Now he’s laughing at me.”
Matt smirked. “I don’t think that’s what that was, Devon. I think he just found that silly little dance charming.”
“Fuck you, I’m not doing the thing now.“
I grabbed my tool belt and fastened it around my waist as he picked up his cup to throw it away. I snatched my hard hat from the bench and stalked away. I heard him scrambling to grab his stuff and catch up to me.
“Devon, come on! I’m sorry I said it that loud. I really didn’t mean for him to hear it. You have to do this. It’ll be fun. You may get some guy who’s funny and nice but you aren’t even interested in. Then you could just relax because you aren’t nervous and hang out while you make a new friend. Don’t back out on Sadie because you’re mad at me.”
He said it like he knew Sadie, but it didn’t matter that neither of us did. He knew I wouldn’t be able to back out. I didn’t let people down when I made a commitment, it just wasn’t in me.
I stopped and turned back, letting him catch up before we headed to the wing we were wiring.
I would go because I said I would, not because my asshole friend was badgering me.
The whole thing was just pretend, anyway. They’d be pretending and I’d be pretending, but maybe it would be nice to pretend that someone cared again. Even if it was just for a few hours.
My last relationship had ended when I kicked out the douchebag I’d been seeing for months, right after he told me he wished he could put a bag over my head when I wanted to fuck face to face.
Maybe the person Sadie paired me with would be a better actor. Maybe it would be fun, at least after I got over my initial nerves, and at the very least I could get some cool photos out of it.
Photos I could post so that asshole who still stalked my socials would think I’d found someone who liked how I looked despite my scars.
“I’ll go if you can manage not to embarrass me before the time comes.”
Matt gave a little “Pssh.“
I whirled to face him. “First off,“
he said, “You embarrass way too easily.“
One more warning look had him going on, “I won’t. I promise.”
I gave a little huff and we headed down the empty hallway to work.