Chapter 19 #3
On the way back from the beach, we stopped in at Bottoms Up, the gay bar Beau and I passed on our first walk down to the ocean. He’d been eyeing it from down the street, so when I asked if he wanted to stop for a drink, sure he would say no, he’d surprised me with a big smile and an eager nod.
His sweetness was almost terrifying in its attractiveness. People like Beau—honest, authentic, pure—were so few and far between that it was sometimes hard to believe he was real.
“So did you make a decision? About the tutoring thing?” I asked Beau.
I’d told him about the coding gig before we went down to the beach.
Showed him the flyer. His warm eyes had lit with interest, but I could see how the hesitancy outweighed it by a mile.
It might take some convincing, some cajoling, but I really hoped he did it.
I truly thought it would be good for him and that, after overcoming his initial insecurities and doubts, he’d enjoy it immensely.
Beau looked away from a couple across the bar that were dancing slowly and turned his gaze to mine. “Not yet,” he said, looking down at where he was picking at the label on his beer. “I don’t think I’d be—I don’t think I’m the right fit,” he admitted quietly.
I placed my hand over his on the table, stroking my thumb along the softness of his knuckles. “Of course you are,” I told him. “And I know what I’m talking about because I’m an expert at making things fit.” I winked at him, and just as expected, a gorgeous, rosy blush painted his cheeks.
He laughed softly, smiling, and triumph swelled in my chest.
“I’ll go with you, if you want,” I offered, desperately hoping he would say yes. I wanted to be there to support him, to watch him interact with others when the subject matter was one he was comfortable with. Loved, even.
“No, you don’t have to—to—” Beau exhaled, then nodded, capitulating in the next breath. “Okay. Thank you. I think I need that.”
Me too, Beau. Me fucking too. I was so proud of him for accepting my offer; for taking what he wanted and not fighting himself on it.
“When does it start again?” he asked.
“Mm...I think the first session is this Saturday? We can check when we get home.”
“Okay.”
I threw back the rest of my beer, wanting another.
“I’m gonna grab another one, do you want one?
” He’d finished his first beer a while ago and had just been picking at the label, while I was about to be on my third.
I was pretty sure he was trying to not get too buzzed after what had happened at my bar, and I didn’t blame him.
“Maybe just one more, and then we can go home? I’ll get them,” he said, sliding from his chair before I could say no.
When he unexpectedly pressed a kiss to the side of my head as he walked by, my heart flipped in my chest. And of course, I turned around to watch that delectable ass in my swim trunks.
I wanted to bite and lick that thing for hours. Days.
My lips curled in a smile as I watched Beau squeeze between a few men at the bar, and I propped my elbow on the table, resting my head on my hand as I stared at him like a lovesick puppy.
The man at Beau’s left seemed to notice him then, and he did a double take.
I know, honey, those freckles are everything.
Beau was utterly oblivious as the man’s rude, rude eyes slid up and down his figure. He sat up straighter, running a hand through his greasy-looking black hair.
Fine, his hair looked perfect and clean and shiny, but I didn’t like that he was eyeing up my Beau. He looked like someone I would’ve loved to go after any night of the week before Beau had come along, but I wasn’t interested in him right now.
There was only one person I had my sights set on, and this guy was about to creep on him. I could just tell.
I narrowed my eyes as the man’s lips moved. He said something to Beau, who finally turned his head, his eyes widening at whatever the guy had just said. His face turned pink, and fuck no, Beau’s blushes were mine, not anyone else’s.
I stood up, my chair scraping a harsh chord against the aged wooden floor, and strode up to them with purpose, just in time to catch the man saying, “—a jacuzzi there, too, if you’re into that.”
Beau jumped when I wrapped my arms around him from behind, sagging against me when he realized it was me.
His hands came up to clutch at my wrists, and a primal satisfaction purred through my entire body.
I pressed him against the bar with my hips, nipping his earlobe and murmured, “You were taking too long, babe.”
Beau shuddered in my arms, and I knew I was having the desired effect on him. I wanted to lower my hand and firmly stroke his cock, but even I wasn’t that much of a heathen.
I turned my head and narrowed my eyes at the man. “What were you saying? About a jacuzzi?” I didn’t hide the vitriol in my voice, and the man’s Adam’s apple bobbed with his discomfort.
“Um. Nothing. Sorry, I didn’t realize—” he cut himself off, his gaze slowly trailing up and down my body.
“Wait a second.” There was a glint in his eyes I didn’t like, and when he pointed his finger at me, I wanted to bite it right off.
“I know you.” He waggled his finger and grinned.
“Yeah, you’re that guy that fucked my buddy a few months back. ”
My stomach fell at his words. “Can you please stop talking?”
He completely ignored me. “You’re that slut that wouldn’t kiss him. I’ve heard about you.” His laugh was edged with malice. “So fucking weird. You’ll let anyone stick it up your ass, won’t you? But you won’t—”
Beau suddenly pulled me behind him, stepping between me and the judgmental asshole. “He asked you to stop, so stop. You don’t get to talk to him like that. Don’t ever talk to anyone like that. It’s gross and disrespectful. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
I’d never heard that hardness in his voice. I wasn’t sure anyone had ever stood up for me like this, and I was so achingly captivated by this version of Beau that I didn’t even think.
I turned him around, grabbed his face, and kissed him.
He made a startled sound in the back of his throat, then tentatively let his hands rest on my hips as he returned the kiss.
I pulled back an inch, breathing hard, and kissed his forehead. His nose. His cheek. I knew he was blushing because his cheek was burning hot.
“Lea,” he murmured.
“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, love. Thanks for sticking up for me. That was so hot, love. Always my knight in a white t-shirt.”
He glanced at the guy who was still sitting next to us. Still watching us.
I threw a glare his way because he was ruining this moment. He’d done enough damage for one evening.
Slut-shaming asshole.
“You two are fucking crazy,” he muttered, picking up his drink and sliding off the stool. He walked toward the pool tables in the back of the bar.
“Thanks,” Beau said quietly, fingers coasting lightly along my forearms.
I nuzzled my cheek against his hair. So soft. “You wanna get out of here? I don’t have a jacuzzi, but I do have something else you might like.”
Beau laughed, his breaths puffing against my arms. “Yeah. Show me what you’ve got, Lea.”
Challenge fucking accepted.