Chapter 22
“WHY WON’T YOU ERASE, damn it?”
Josh was trying to draw a shrimp in his sketchbook, but one of his guide lines wasn’t erasing completely. It probably would have been easier if he did it on the computer, but he found it relaxing to sketch with pencil and paper. It was more real and tangible to him.
Until the damn lines wouldn’t erase, then it was a pain in the ass.
It wasn’t helping that he was waiting for Riley to come home from his lunch with Sophie. He had been nervous about it all morning, and Josh wondered if he would tell his sister about the new developments in their relationship.
They should probably talk about them too.
Was Riley his boyfriend? It felt weird to say they were dating.
It’s not like they’d been on an official “date.” However, plenty of their nights together could have been considered dates.
Maybe they’d been dating this whole time and he didn’t even know it. No, that didn’t make sense.
He’d be sure to clear it with Riley as soon as he was home. In the meantime, he could keep working on his secret project for his friends.
When he heard Riley’s footsteps outside their door, he hurriedly closed his sketchbook and put it in his drawer in their coffee table. It was a surprise for Riley as much as it was for everyone else.
His heart rate escalated when he heard a key in the lock and the turn of the knob, and he was graced with Riley’s presence in his doorway. He was carrying a to-go bag and wore a content smile.
“Hey, how’s Sophie?”
“Erratic and energized as usual, but good,” Riley said as he dropped his wallet and keys on the high table by their front door and showed off the bag. “I brought you wings from Hero’s with extra blue cheese.”
Josh groaned in delight. “Oh my God, I love you. That’s exactly what I was craving.”
Riley’s eyes widened and he headed toward the kitchen to plate Josh's meal for him, stumbling around the couch on his way there like he was nervous all of a sudden.
“It was no problem,” he rasped, washing his hands and pulling a plate from their cupboard.
Josh followed him to the kitchen.
“Is everything okay?”
Riley had been focused on the takeout container he was pulling out of the bag. His gaze snapped to Josh’s.
“Of course, yeah. I, um…” he trailed off as he continued plating Josh’s meal. Josh was perfectly capable of doing it himself, but Riley had always enjoyed taking care of him, and Josh did it in return every chance he got. “Well, Sophie found out about us. I hope that’s okay.”
His nerves suddenly made sense, and Josh nodded quickly.
“Why wouldn’t that be okay? She’s your sister. She’s practically my sister. Well, step-sister? Adopted sister? You know what I mean.”
Riley let out a breath as he finished plating Josh’s meal and slid it over to him. He went to the fridge to grab a beer for each of them, opening it with the magnet they got from their trip to the Poconos that month.
“What do you mean she found out? You didn’t tell her?” Josh asked.
Riley’s head dipped. A nervous smile joined the blush covering his cheeks.
“I guess it was kind of obvious thanks to this,” he said, pointing to a spot on his collar bone Josh hadn’t noticed.
“Oh, shit. Did I do that?”
“Uh, yeah. I didn’t notice before I left.”
Why was he so nervous about it?
“Are you mad?” Josh asked quietly.
Riley’s head snapped to Josh. “No, no, I could never be mad at you. It’s not like I didn’t like it.”
Josh took a step toward Riley, ignoring the tempting plate of wings in front of him. At that moment, Riley was way more tempting than the aroma of buffalo sauce.
He lifted a hand to Riley’s shoulder and grazed the red spot with his thumb.
“I liked giving it to you,” he said, meeting Riley’s eyes with intent.
Riley’s eyes darkened as he cleared his throat, then took a swig of his beer.
“Eat your lunch before it gets cold,” he said, planting a quick kiss on Josh’s cheek and heading to the couch, where he pulled out his laptop.
Josh brought his wings to the couch and sat next to Riley, placing the plate on the coffee table. He moaned as the first taste of chicken dipped in blue cheese hit his taste buds. When he turned to Riley he was already staring at his lips, his tongue poking out to moisten his own.
Part of Josh couldn’t believe how much that movement turned him on. It wasn't like he’d never seen Riley lick his lips before, but everything was different now. It was like he was seeing the world through a different filter, a filter where he was devastatingly attracted to his best friend.
Josh cleared his throat and continued to eat. “How did Sophie take the news?”
Riley burst out laughing. “She was ecstatic about it. Distracted the whole bar with her celebration and ordered us shots and a slice of cake."
“Chocolate cake?” Josh asked seriously.
“Yeah, of course.”
Josh put down his wing and leaned over to Riley, pulling him toward him with his clean hand and planting a kiss on him, plundering Riley’s mouth with his tongue, the taste of the cake still in his mouth.
When he pulled away, Josh’s eyes remained closed as he savored the taste of chocolate, beer and something that was all Riley.
“Mmm, I love their cake,” he said, his eyes fluttering open to see Riley frozen, stunned by Josh’s move. He returned to his plate of wings with a smug smirk. “I knew she’d be happy for us. Who wouldn’t be?”
It was another minute before Riley regained the ability to speak. Josh did his best not to cheer at the way he affected his man.
His man?
Well, he sure as fuck doesn’t belong to anyone else.
Riley let out a shuddering breath and said, “Uh, yeah, she was really happy for us.”
“What did you tell her?” Josh asked, remembering that he wasn’t entirely sure where they stood.
Riley took another deep breath, trying to focus on his laptop but failing miserably. Josh recognized that look. He was looking at his computer screen but wasn’t seeing any of it.
When he brought his eyes to Josh’s, it was apparent he was harnessing as much confidence as he could.
“I told her it felt right with you.”
Josh couldn’t help smiling. He was sure he looked like a complete doof as his smile stretched from ear to ear.
“I think it feels right with you too, Ri.”
Riley gave him a sheepish smile and returned his focus to his screen.
After a few minutes, Josh had licked his plate clean.
Not literally, though. He had gotten in trouble for that too many times when he was a kid.
Apparently, it wasn’t appropriate behavior.
Now, he was thinking of licking Riley clean, and the idea had him excited for more.
But first, unfortunately, work.
Josh pulled out his own laptop and got to work while a random animal show played on the television. They both liked working with noise, but nothing too distracting, so a show was better than music.
They’d tried to work with music playing in college and it had always turned into a private concert as they belted the lyrics to each song together. Way too distracting.
Both of them were focused on their screens, Josh working on a logo for a new client with the business email opened on a split screen so he could see the description of what they wanted more easily.
It was for a produce stand, and they were clear that the logo could not accidentally look like a dick and balls.
They’d had a bad experience with a previous graphic designer who liked to hide subliminal pictures in their art.
Neither Riley nor Josh could believe that the company hadn’t noticed how the apples and banana were arranged in a way that made it look like their grape-shaped mascot was engaged in sexual activity with a cornucopia.
Not a great look, and Josh would make sure their version was family-friendly.
He was about to get to work on the seeds of the strawberry when Riley cleared his throat next to him.
“I was wondering,” he started, his nerves returning. “Are we, um… Are we exclusive?”
Josh turned to Riley and thought hard for a moment.
“Well, yeah, when our clients sign our contracts they promise not to take our designs to someone else, right?”
Riley chuckled. “Yeah, but, uh, I was talking about you and me. This romantic thing we’re trying. Is it just us or do you want to keep seeing other people too?”
Oh.
“Well, yeah. I never liked seeing more than one person at a time anyway. Way too complicated. But why would I want anything else when I’m with you?”
The tension eased from Riley’s shoulders, and he looked like he suddenly dropped fifty pounds of weight. He had no reason to worry. Or was he asking because he wanted to see other people?
“Do you want to be exclusive?” Josh asked slowly.
“Yeah!” Riley shouted, then cleared his throat. “Sorry. Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Good.” Josh smiled at him. “Because I’d really—”
A ding rang out from both of their computers, and Josh turned to his screen.
They’d gotten an email from someone named Maritza Shaw with the subject line: Cover Design Request.
“Oh shit, a new client!” Josh said excitedly as he opened the email. He heard Riley clicking and figured he was opening the same email. He didn’t expect to hear Riley whisper, “What the fuck?”
Riley was a much faster reader than him, so Josh remained focused on the email.
I’m an author looking for a new cover designer and artist, and CJ Rollins recommended your work. The designs you’ve done for him are amazing and I’m looking for similar styles. Please let me know if you have availability to fit me in as a new client. I would be happy to go over my needs with you.
Thank you,
Maritza Shaw
“Huh,” Josh said as he finished the email. He turned to Riley to see him still staring at his screen. “Should we ask her if she knows her friend CJ is a stalker? Do you think she’s like him?”
“I’m trying to figure out the most professional way to ask that question.”
Josh scooted over on the couch until he was next to Riley and could see his screen.
“What if you asked her how she knows CJ?”
“Yeah, something like that could work,” Riley said as he drafted a response.
Riley usually handled talking with the clients since he was way more qualified to discuss the business parts of Jollywood Graphics.
Josh hated the one business class he took and barely passed.
Luckily, Josh did the bulk of the artwork so it was still an equal split of tasks.
Thank you for considering Jollywood Graphics for your design needs.
We do have availability and would love to take you on as a client.
However, we’ve had some concerns recently working with CJ Rollins.
Would you be able to give us more information about how you know him and the kind of business relationship you’re seeking?
“How does that sound?” Riley asked.
“Better than anything I’d write. I’m not sure how you’d professionally ask, ‘Hey, did you know your friend is a psycho stalker?’ I say, send it. Worst-case scenario, we don’t get her as a client, but I don’t want another stalker.”
“True, nothing to lose,” Riley said as he hit send.
They didn’t have to wait long for Maritza’s response.
For the love of God, what did he do now? I’ll talk to him if you need me to.
“Hm, well she sounds cool about it at least, right?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, might as well be straight with her,” Riley said as he began typing.
CJ Rollins has been harassing us by sending pictures of us taken without our consent or knowledge, as well as making it clear he knows personal information about us.
We think he may be stalking us, and we are in discussions with the authorities about his actions.
We are close to voiding our contract with him and would prefer to maintain professional relationships with our clients.
Josh looked at Riley in awe. “Damn, that was hot. Send it! Send it!”
Riley chuckled and sent the email. They had to wait a little longer to see her reply.
Jesus, he’s a moron. I’ll talk to him and make sure he stops messing with you. I swear he’s completely harmless, but he’s a fucking idiot and I’m going to kill him for scaring you guys like that.
I didn’t tell him I was emailing you today, so if you want to get a little revenge and make him sweat, tell him you spoke with his girlfriend and know he’s full of shit and he better stop leaving his dirty socks all over my house or I will strangle him in his sleep.
Also, here’s a picture of him from behind wearing a tutu and his underwear because he wanted to prove he’s more graceful than me. Spoiler alert: he’s not.
Please do not hold any of his actions against me. I will make sure it stops and I sincerely wish to work with you.
Riley clicked to open the photo, and they both broke out in laughter.
The photo showed a guy wearing a rainbow tutu with black briefs underneath trying to do some kind of ballet move. Since it was from behind, they couldn’t see CJ’s face, but he looked young and muscular with dark hair. He appeared to be in a bedroom.
“Damn, Maritza is savage,” Riley said between laughs. “I think she’s my new favorite client.”
Josh continued laughing as he shouted, “Send CJ the email! Maybe this will get him to stop being a dick.”
Riley’s breathing settled after he sent a new email to CJ, attaching the photo and including Maritza’s words.
While they waited for a response, he clicked over to Maritza’s email and sent the usual information they sent to new clients, including a questionnaire about their needs and a breakdown of their pricing, adding that they looked forward to working with her.
By the time he finished, a few minutes had passed, and Riley turned his attention to Josh.
“Do you think it will get him to stop?”
Josh hummed as he thought. “I hope so. Maritza sounds scary, and I wouldn’t want to make her angry. She kind of reminds me of Elena.”
“Ha! Yeah, she’s a lot like her,” Riley agreed. “Maybe she can get a handle on CJ for us.”
“Here’s hoping.”
They both returned to their work, but Josh didn’t put any space between them, not quite ready to stop touching Riley.
He was picking out a font when their email dinged again.
Josh turned to Riley’s screen, and they opened the response from CJ.
You told on me??? I swear I left my socks on the ground twice. TWICE. And I look fucking majestic in a tutu. But fine, I’ll stop “harassing” you. Sorry to annoy you with my friendship. Love always, CJ
P.S. Thanks for telling on me ::wink emoji::
Josh and Riley looked at each other and dissolved into laughter. It looked like they could count on Maritza to keep CJ in line, although he had a feeling they hadn’t heard the last of him.