“Well,
fuck a duck.” Nicolas Callon glanced down to see what had tripped him.
Nothing.
Nada.
Not a
damn thing.
Rolling his eyes, Nicky turned and continued walking around the outdoor tables
of the seaside café. This wouldn’t be the first time he had tripped, and it
most certainly wouldn’t be the last. If there was something for Nicky to trip
over, or nothing at all, he tripped. He was a certified klutz.
He was
just glad the bottled waters he carried hadn't been opened. More times than he
cared to remember, he had ended up tossing his drinks all over whoever was
around him when he stumbled.
Nicky's gaze darted to where his best friend sat as the jazz music played
softly in the background. They were sitting outdoors of the café, but Nicky
had had to go inside for the water. It wasn't quiet summer yet and a gentle
breeze blew off the mountains to stir strands of his hair. He tucked them
behind his ear as he stopped at their table.
“Here
you go, Coop.” He held one of the bottles out to his best friend—and the man
he secretly dreamed of every second of every day. Cooper smiled up at him as
he took the bottle, the deep dimples on either side of his face surfacing.
And
that right there would be why Nicky lived and breathed for Cooper Walsh.
He was
the most gorgeous creature ever created. Taller than the average man by more
than a few inches, Cooper was the epitome of masculinity. From his wide
shoulders and broad chest to his thick thighs and long legs, Cooper was every
gay man’s wet dream in one big bear of a package.
His
raven black hair curled around his face as if trying to caress his golden
skin. His copper eyes twinkled when he laughed. And his lips…oh, Nicky had
fantasies about those plush lips, and all of them involved the two of them
being buck ass naked.
Unfortunately they would never be more than fantasies.
Nicky
sighed as he took a seat next to his friend and he unscrewed the cap on his
water. He took a long sip, never taking his eyes off of Coop as the guy talked
to a few of their friends.
Cooper
Walsh was the greatest friend anyone could ever ask for. He had taken Nicky
under his wing after defending him in the sandbox when they were five years
old, and had been defending Nicky ever since. Cooper was also a compassionate
friend who never batted an eye when Nicky cascaded through his turbulent and
sometimes erratic emotions.
But
friendship only went so far and the buxom blond on the other side of Cooper
was proof enough that the man was most decidedly not gay. One fateful kiss
when they’d both had way too much to drink—a kiss that Cooper quickly put an
end to—did not make the man gay. And that meant that Nicky could dream until
his balls turned blue and shriveled up but it wouldn’t get him any closer to
living out a single one of his fantasies.
Cooper
waved a hand in front of Nicky's face. “So, what do you think?”
“Huh?”
Nicky blinked rapidly, his eyes darting around to find all eyes on him. Heat
suffused his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. “What?”
Cooper
chuckled as he playfully bumped their shoulders together. “We thought we’d
head on down to the lake and go swimming. You game?”
Nicky
glanced at the blond bimbo hanging onto Cooper as if he’d escape if she let
go. The calculating gleam he could see in the woman’s blue eyes unnerved him.
She might seem bubbly and clueless but there was something about her that set
Nicky on edge.
He
didn’t like her.
“No,
you go on ahead. I’ve got some painting to do.” Sort of. It was true he had
painting to do but he always had painting to do. That was what he did. But he
could have taken the afternoon off if he really wanted to. He really did, but
not with an entourage of other people.
“Ah,
come on, Nicky,” Coop wheedled as his smile spread wider, “get out and smell
the fresh air. I’ll bet it gives you some inspiration.”
“Oh,
let him go, honey,” little miss Barbie boobs said as she pressed said boobs
into Cooper’s arm until they threatened to pop right out of the top of her
pink-and-white striped string bikini. How she stuffed those voluptuous breasts
into a top that small was beyond Nicky, and probably most of the scientific
community.
Nicky’s eyes narrowed when she trailed a finger up Cooper’s neck to the bottom
of his ear before leaning in to whisper—rather loudly—“We could have a good
time, just the two of us.”
The
smile slid from Cooper’s face faster than Nicky could blink. “I told you when
you showed up that it was Nicky’s birthday and I'd be spending the day with
him. You said you understood.”
Judie
took a step back, obviously feeling the heat of Cooper’s anger. It was never
good when the big man became heated. “Well, I…” Judie smiled sweetly, her
voice lowering to what she probably thought was a sultry tone. It wasn’t. For
Nicky, it was more like fingernails down a chalkboard. “I just thought since
he wanted to go paint that we could…”
Nicky
tuned her out and stood, heading toward the street when Judie began trailing
her hot pink nails over the edges of Cooper’s gray tank top. There were some
things a love-struck man shouldn’t have to deal with. Watching Barbie boobs
fawn all over Cooper wasn’t one of the things he could stomach.
He’d
rather have his balls snipped with rusty sheers.
After
walking two blocks, a black truck pulled up beside him and slowed. Nicky’s
lips twitched when the truck kept pace with him, which was a slow stroll.
Cooper didn’t say a word as he pushed the passenger door open.
Nicky
kept walking.
Cooper
kept driving.
Nicky
sighed as he stopped and turned, his hands landing on his hips. He waved one
back behind Cooper’s truck. “You’re holding up traffic, you know.”
“No.”
Copper eyes twinkled with amusement. “You are holding up traffic.”
Nicky
crossed his arms. He shot a quick glance to the two cars idling behind Cooper
before looking back at the gorgeous man. He eyed the empty seat then lifted an
eyebrow in query. “Where’s Barbie boobs?”
Cooper's shoulders lifted and then fell. “Having cotton stuffed in her ears to
stop the rapid loss of air.”
Nicky
sucked in his bottom lip and bit down on it to keep from laughing. It took him
a moment to regain his composure enough to talk. “Are you supposed to say
something like that about your girlfriend?”
Cooper’s expression turned to a suspicious grimace as he rested both hands on
the steering wheel and looked out the front window. “Judie is not my
girlfriend.”
“Does
she know that?”
Cooper
looked Nicky right in the eyes. “She does now.”
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