Chapter 12
Jack
I'm actually having fun. Real, genuine fun. Bailey, Duke, and Stellan are great guys, but of course, the main reason why I'm so happy is Zak and Harvey.
It's hard to believe we've only been here for six weeks.
I feel like a completely new person. The man who arrived in Cumcircle—best name for a small town ever, by the way—was tired, overworked, and had long lost his sense of wonder.
My life was a maze of spreadsheets and meetings, deadlines and budgets.
I still squeeze in an hour or so of work every day, mainly just checking emails to make sure everything is running smoothly, but it doesn't have the same hold over me like it used to.
I finish up at the urinal and turn to head to the sink to wash my hands.
There's a tall figure standing by the door. He’s a few inches taller than me and has at least fifty pounds on me.
Something about the way he's staring makes my gut twist. Acting as normally as I can, I brush the funny feeling off. I’m washing my hands when I see the man—large and grimacing—stalk up behind me in the mirror.
The next thing I know, his hands are in my hair, and he’s pulling so hard it snaps my head back. "Get down on your hands and knees, faggot. I'm going to teach you a lesson."
I wince, trying to get out of his grip. "Let go of me, man. That was a scene in a movie."
One of the first scenes I ever starred in.
The only scene I've ever bought back the rights to, because it was too extreme, even by my standards.
Me getting used, abused, and degraded by twelve guys in a men's toilet.
That's what this guy is riffing off, repeating the opening line the way he did.
He must've either seen it when it came out all those years ago or seen snippets of it, which still somehow make it onto porn sites once in a while.
I manage to tear myself out of his hold, but it's only momentary, and he shoves me against the wall, pain shooting from my shoulder blades down.
"Leave me alone, man. I'm serious."
"Oh, yeah? What are you going to do? You're just a fucking whore here to please real alphas like me."
Fucking hell. Does he seriously not understand the difference between porn and reality?
"Get out of my way," I grit out.
He shoves his weight into my chest, pinning me against the cold tiles, and smirks. His breath is rank. "Make me. Fag."
Before I can react, heavy footsteps close in fast, and then two arms toss the guy to the side like he’s a rag doll.
Harvey.
Eyes blazing, chest heaving, he steps in to me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine," I rasp, beyond grateful he showed up when he did. That asshole had me cornered and out of options.
"Want me to break his face?" Harvey turns and glares at him. He looks positively murderous. But I don't want a fight or any trouble.
"I just want to get out of here."
"Okay, baby. Okay." Harvey takes a step toward the motherfucker who's bracing a hand on the wall, still reeling from the impact. "If I ever see you near my man again, I'll do more than just break your face. You understand?"
He grunts, his ugly head jerking in a short nod.
Harvey whisks me out of the men's room. It's not until we're back at the house that I finally begin to relax.
"I feel bad for ruining everyone's night," I mutter despondently as Zak hands me a cup of warm tea. "Thank you."
"You have nothing to apologize for. Stellan, Bailey, and Duke completely understood. Bailey's already texted to make sure we got home safely, and he asked me to remind you that if you need ANYTHING at all, to let them know. He capitalized anything."
I take a sip of chamomile and let the warmth seep into me. "Think we've made some good new friends with them."
"Yeah, they're awesome," Zak agrees.
My eyes flick over to Harvey who's been silently brooding, stomping back and forth in the living room ever since we got back.
"And how are you?" I ask him.
He stops walking and runs a hand through his messy hair that falls down to his shoulders. "Horrible. I feel like I let you down."
"What are you talking about? You saved me."
"You told me people have had bad reactions in the past, and what do I do? I insist we go out. This is all on me."
"It absolutely isn't," Zak jumps in before I can. "We all agreed to go out, and we can't let the possibility of someone saying or doing something wildly inappropriate stop us from living our lives. If we do that, the bad guys win."
Harvey doesn't say anything, his jaw clenched so tight it's pulsing.
"I agree. Please don't blame yourself. I owe you big-time."
"You don't owe me anything." He crosses the room in three giant strides.
"I can't explain what I felt when I walked in and saw him pinning you against the wall.
" His warm breath fans across my face, his eyes searing into me.
"I-I've realized something. This isn't some summer fling for me. You…you both mean so much to me."
"You mean a lot to us, too. Right, Zak?"
"Right." Zak joins us.
"I…we…we're falling for you, Harvey," I say, cradling his bearded jaw in my hand. "Big time."
The sixty-four-million-dollar question I'm sure we're all thinking is…where do we go from here?