Chapter 19
Leon
Whoever brought up the concept of playing hard to get clearly forgot to fill Auggie in. All weekend I’m plagued with alternate images of his water-slicked bubble butt or his pale, smooth thighs poking out from under my shirt.
I refuse to think about his wet eyelashes clumped together, or his curls slicked to his head, or his big eyes, or sweet smile, or that one big elephant in the room that had tented the shirt he was wearing all throughout dinner.
Shoving him out the front door was up there with one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. The image of that … anaconda, all hard and needy, has been burned into my brain.
The number of times I’ve jerked off over Auggie is borderline ridiculous. I’m either going to chaff the skin on my dick, or I’m going to give in to him. I can’t see any other options, here.
I slide into a booth at the Ugly Mug, trying to redirect my thoughts yet again. But what the hell? It’s like the universe is trying to torture me. Here I am, doing what’s apparently the right thing, and Auggie shoves a cock as big as his forearm in my face.
Well, okay, not in my face. If he’d done that, I would have blown him. Definitely. As it was, I was barely holding myself together.
Because one thing people don’t realize about me … I’m a total size whore.
And I’m embarrassed to say I’d made assumptions about Auggie’s size based on the rest of him.
Ignorance really is bliss, because now every time I look at him, all I’m going to be able to think of is his cock until I get a taste.
If that’s not creepy, I don’t know what is.
“You’re early.” Circus taps his drink against mine before sliding into the seat opposite.
I tip my beer toward him. “Needed this.”
“Right.” He eyes me, and I shift, hating the attention and the questioning I know is coming. “You feeling okay?”
“I would be if people would stop asking me that.”
“We’d stop asking if you stopped looking like you were about to drop.”
“We can’t all be camera ready at every minute of the day.”
He shakes his head and lets it go. I’ve gotten good with the deflection tactics.
After close to two weeks of near insomnia, the last thing I need on top of work pressure is people nagging me.
I know what I need. Sleep will come later, once my work is done.
Once my house is finished. When the pressure finally lets up, everything will be good again.
“Where’s Rowan?” I ask.
“He wasn’t feeling great.”
“Everything okay?”
“Of course.” Circus winks. “I’ve been taking very good care of him.”
“And that’s all we need to know,” Royce says as he joins us.
He elbows Circus over farther, and he and Tanner slide into the booth.
As usual, there’s no space at all between them, and I swear I’ve never seen the two of them together and not touching.
Even before they started dating. If I didn’t know how completely happy they were in their relationship, I’d worry about some sort of codependency shit happening.
Those two have no issues with PDA. Circus and Rowan are way more reserved. And I’m … single. It’s not something that worries me. Usually. I love hooking up. I’m busy. I’m not sure I’m the commitment type.
But thinking of heading to Strokers after this, sets a deep exhaustion into my bones. I think of Circus going home to Rowan, and Royce and Tanner climbing into bed together—to sleep, nothing dirty—and I wonder what that’s like.
To have a person who’s all mine.
Someone I can rely on to be there. No games.
I rub the heel of my palm into my chest and try to shake the feeling.
Once I get my schedule under control, maybe once this fucking shopping center is built, then I can think about what’s next.
I barely have time for myself, let alone someone else.
“Hey, gentlemen …” Dahlia sings as she arrives, someone tucked under her arm. I do a double take when I realize it’s Auggie. “Look who I found outside.”
Auggie’s bright red, which lights me up inside. Seems like the confidence he’s gained around me is only around me. I like that.
An awkward laugh comes from Auggie as he avoids all of our eyes.
“It’s not like I was lurking or anything.
I live a few doors down, so I was going to grab some dinner and head home, and then I ran into Dahlia, who I almost didn’t recognize, and she told me I had to come in for a drink, but I can totally go if—”
“Sit down.”
There’s a moment of complete silence, and then Auggie drops onto the seat beside me.
Dahlia nudges him over and takes the final spot, and with Auggie’s thigh flush against mine, I can kind of understand why Tanner and Royce are always joined at the hip.
If I was allowed to touch Auggie, why would I want to stop?
I prop my cheek on my fist and turn to him. “Lurking, hmm?”
“No, I-I wasn’t—”
“Kinda creepy, killer.”
I swear his cheeks get redder, which I never would have believed could happen. “You’re messing with me.”
“You make it so easy.”
He ducks his head in an attempt to hide his smile, but I catch it anyway. “Why are you always mean to me?”
“I’m never mean to you.”
Auggie looks around, and a pout crosses his pretty lips. He drops his voice to a murmur. “You were mean to me the other night.”
“Auggie …”
“Leon …” How does he manage to make my name sound so innocent when I know what he’s alluding to?
“You’re the kid who asked about Strokers that day, aren’t you?” Royce asks, cutting through this bubble we’ve created around us.
“Not a kid,” Auggie and I reply in unison. Then grin at each other.
Circus chuckles, and I shoot him a look that he meets with a challenging one of his own. I’m suddenly glad I didn’t tell him anything that’s going on because his suspicions are bad enough.
“Okay, not a kid,” Royce bites back. “That was you though, right?”
“Umm … yes. It was. And I went, but it’s not like I hooked up or anything, because I got too nervous and then drank a bit more than I probably should have and—”
“He’s lucky I was there to get him home safely.”
“Home, huh?” Royce pumps his eyebrows.
I’m about to respond when Auggie sighs. “In the most G-rated way possible. Unfortunately.”
I nudge his leg, and he nudges me right back. I try to give him a look of shutupshutupshutup when he shrugs.
“What? You’re hot.”
Circus and Dahlia start laughing. Tanner looks from Auggie to me and back again.
“Anyway,” I say loudly. “How is the house coming, Tan?”
“We’ve got people booked in for the roof next week, but otherwise, everything is moving along steadily. We’re not in a big hurry.”
No, they haven’t overestimated and overcommitted.
Unlike me. Tanner and Royce are going through the place room by room.
As a firefighter, Tanner works long shifts, and Royce is in the process of setting up everything he needs in order to contract out his services as an electrical engineer.
After working with him on this shopping center, I have to admit he knows his stuff.
“How’s your place going?” Royce asks. “Still looking like the set of a horror movie?”
“I’ll have you know we’ve made some real progress on it since Auggie started working with me.” Sexual tension aside, when it comes to work, we’ve both been completely committed.
“I can’t believe Auggie’s been here almost a month already,” Circus says. “And I’ve barely seen him.”
“We’ve been busy.”
“Rowan and I have been busy too.” He winks.
I flip him off.
Circus gets this playful look on his face that tells me I’m not going to like what comes next. “What are your plans for Fourth of July weekend, Auggie?”
“Oh, umm.” His eyes dart to me and away again. “I haven’t thought that far ahead, but if my parents don’t have plans, I might go back to Portland, or just spend the weekend relaxing, or—”
“I’m having a party. Come.”
“A-are you sure?”
“Very. It’ll be a few of us, but it’s mine and Rowan’s first time having people over. Leon will be there.”
I give him a dry look. “First I’m hearing of this party.”
“And yet you’ll be there anyway.”
“Umm, I …” Auggie shifts beside me, and I can tell he wants to ask what I think. To make sure he’s not intruding. It’s fun that I can read him so well.
“We’ll be there.” I turn to Auggie. “Circus literally won’t let you say no, so there’s no point.” And also, I sort of like the idea of spending the weekend with him again. You’d think after being glued to each other’s side all week, I’d want the space, but so far that hasn’t happened yet.
Before anyone else can start on Auggie, I bring up something we’ve all avoided talking about.
“What about Rafe?”
Circus’s dark eyebrows shoot up under his shaggy hair. “What about him? He made it clear he’s done with us.”
“I saw him the other day.”
“What? Why?” The growl in Royce’s voice is completely expected.
“Because he’s our friend, and I missed him. He misses everyone too.”
“Then maybe he shouldn’t have flipped out at Tanner, then acted like it was all our fault.”
“He’s embarrassed.”
Royce scoffs. “He should be. Asshole.”
Tanner pulls Royce in and presses a kiss to his hair. “I miss Rafe too.”
Those are all the words needed to make Royce deflate. If Tanner’s not angry, Royce isn’t angry. It’s how those two work.
“I think this Fourth of July party might be a good chance to work things out.”
Circus screws up his face. “Maybe. I guess. Let me talk to Rowan first, because even when Rafe isn’t starting shit with the rest of us, he and Laura are drama central. And sorry, but I’m not interested in dealing with that.”
“Fair enough.” I’ll respect whichever choice they make, but I hope Rafe works things out soon. I’m not a conflict kind of guy, unless I see the need. If someone makes me angry, I’m over it by the time I see them again. People are human. People make mistakes.
Including me.
And as Auggie picks up his drink and takes a sip, drawing my attention back to the man next to me, I’m sure I’m going to make another one.
While Dahlia and Circus bicker about what food Circus needs to have at his party, I make a split-second decision.
I slide one hand over Auggie’s thigh and duck down so no one can hear me.
“It’d be really convenient if you happened to spill your drink right about now.”
“You want me to leave?” His big eyes are panicked and adorable. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“I want us to leave.” I squeeze his thigh, and the warmth radiating through to my palm is enough of a reminder that I want this.
There’s no end to us working together in sight, and at this rate, hooking up again is inevitable.
My gaze drops to his pink lips as my dick starts to plump at the thought of pulling him close and kissing him.
“You want to leave … together?”
“Just give us a reason that doesn’t fill the others in.”
His smile is mischievous as he picks up his glass and pours the whole thing over the front of himself.
Dahlia jumps up to avoid the spray, but some of it hits me in the process, which couldn’t have worked out any more perfectly if I’d planned it.
“Oops,” Auggie says, glass still suspended upside down.
I quickly grab it and place it on the table before anyone can realize how completely unsubtle Auggie is.
“I’m so clumsy.”
“You really are.” I manage to keep the affection off my face, but I feel like laughing. Grabbing a wad of napkins, I mop up the mess on the table as I elbow Auggie to move along.
He slides out of the booth, and I quickly follow.
“I guess I better go home and change …” Auggie sounds so unsure. I have no idea how I thought we’d pull this off without the others picking up on it. Too late now.
“Yeah, I’m going to do the same before I head out.”
“You guys are going already?” Circus asks. His eyes are narrowed, way more perceptive than I’d like.
“Thanks to Auggie, I’m drenched. If I want to get to Strokers and back in decent time, I’d better head out now.”
“Uh-huh.”
Auggie clears his throat. “Umm, so I guess I’ll see you guys at the party? If that’s still okay? And I promise not to wear my drink—ha ha. I usually know how to behave in public, but—”
I cover his mouth before he can start rambling, and I don’t know what it is about his awkwardness that I find so fucking adorable, but I can’t stop myself from teasing him. “We’ll believe that when we see it, killer.”
“Yeah, killer.” Circus leans back in his seat. “You two have fun.”
I ignore him. There’s no point standing around and claiming innocence when I think we’re all well aware of what Auggie and I are heading off to do.
The best course of action is to ignore what’s happening. Which I can do.
For around a minute until we step out the front of Ugly’s.
Auggie starts to walk ahead, but as soon as we reach the alley that passes between Ugly’s and the pharmacy, I grab his wrist, pull him into the shadows, and push him against the wall.
Then I seal his mouth with mine.
Finally.
And try not to get too lost in the taste of his lips.