6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

Felix

K ennett didn’t have much of a selection for tux rentals and purchases, but most of the shit in Philly was too rich for my blood. Boutique La Familia fit into Kennett with the higher Spanish-speaking population, and I was right at home there. I entered, and the scent of fabric cleaner and cinnamon wafted my way.

“ Buenos tardes ,” I called to the little old man behind the counter.

He stretched out of his hunch and offered a smile. “ Como estas ?”

“Oh, you made it.” Cor strode up to me.

I lost whatever words I prepared to say. Normally, Cor was either in sweaty tees or work coveralls, but today he wore a russet Henley that hugged his broad chest in all the right ways and jeans that showcased the man’s powerful thighs. His thick brown beard was groomed, his hair tamed, and when his gaze landed on me, those soft blue eyes crinkled.

My heart thumped a little harder. The guy was a looker, so it wouldn’t be a hardship to pretend to be dating.

Cor squeezed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure if they have anything that would fit me.”

“Guaranteed they do.” I looped my arm through his and all but dragged him to the counter.

“Do you have any suits in his size?” I asked the guy. “ Guapo , eh?”

The older man shook his head at me, though an amused grin lifted his lips. “ Por aqui. ”

I didn’t bother extricating my arm from Cor’s and followed what was probably the shop owner toward the back of the place. All up in Cor’s business, I caught the sharp scent of his cologne, some vetiver and sandalwood combination I liked a little too much. Sniffing him nonstop would get classified as weird, though.

The man gestured to a rack near the back with large suits meant for broad guys like Cor.

“ Te debo una ,” I said to him, and he nodded, then returned to the front. I nudged Cor in the side. “See? Options.”

“How did I not know you spoke Spanish? Are you fluent?” He riffled through the suits.

“Mama is from Puerto Rico and raised us speaking it.” I needed to find something for myself as well, since I didn’t often go to fancy soirees that required specific attire. Hopefully, this wouldn’t break the bank.

“What about this one?” Cor held up a charcoal suit. The color would look damn fine on him.

“Yeah, go try it on.”

He walked to the changing room on the other end of the store—but considering the store wasn’t that large to begin with, it wasn’t far. I scurried over to the smaller suits, ones in my size and scanned for a navy blue. Even though I didn’t wear fancy clothes often, I’d donned enough office attire in my early years of reporting for my IT jobs that I knew what colors worked for me and what didn’t.

A navy blue suit stood out, and I checked if it was in my size. Score.

“Felix.”

I whipped around, but no Cor.

“Felix,” he said again in a whisper-hiss.

The changing room curtain rattled and slid open, and Cor poked his head through. My brows drew together, but I clutched the suit I’d found and wandered toward him. What could be wrong? A slight panic filled his eyes, and a blush stained his cheeks.

“What’s going on?” I kept my voice low.

“Come in here,” he murmured.

Curiosity bubbled up inside me, and I cast a glance back to make sure the owner wasn’t watching. He was busy staring out the window up front, so I slipped into the dressing room.

Minimal space existed between us here, and all too quickly, at least part of the conundrum grew apparent.

“Where are your clothes?” I asked. Cor wore a suit jacket and black boxer briefs…and that was it.

I’d seen him shirtless, but usually with a little distance between us. Up close, I was far too aware of how big the guy was—all broad shoulders, furry chest, and thick muscles, not the glamour kind. His thighs were massive too, and I licked my lips. Heat pulsed through me, which had occurred occasionally before, but I’d figured it was an adrenaline rush from sword fighting class.

Couldn’t blame that now.

My cock perked up, and yeah, I couldn’t argue that reaction either. Because right now, it was just me and Cor in a confined space, and he stared at me with those pleading blue eyes.

And fuck, he was hot .

His gaze zeroed in on my lips, and the air intensified. I’d assumed he wasn’t into guys like me, so I’d blown off all the charged moments between us as friendly affection…but ever since he’d told me his type, it’d been brewing in my mind.

Because what he’d described was a little, no, a lot like me.

So maybe friends didn’t look at each other like they wanted to fuck. My bad.

“I’m stuck,” Cor said, the words barely audible. “The coat latched on to something, and when I try to move, it sounds like it’s going to tear.”

I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing because that wasn’t going to help, but I must not have done the best job. Cor shot me a firm look. My shoulders shook, and a snort escaped me.

The grin twitched on my lips, even as I tried to school my features into something serious. “Want me to try to extricate?”

“No, I want to be stuck here forever in a suit coat and my underwear,” Cor muttered.

I arched a brow. “Why did you strip down to try on a suit coat?”

He stared up at the ceiling. “Just get me free.”

Amusement bubbled through me as I slipped around his side. Even less space existed here, and I brushed up against him. My body was far too aware of how much skin showed on him and how close we were. My skin prickled, and I couldn’t ignore that my cock was far too happy with getting up into Cor’s space.

I braced a hand on his hip and peered around him. The suit coat had gotten stuck on a protruding nail in the wall. It was a delicate situation. If he leaned down, he’d rip the fabric.

“Well, you got yourself good and stuck.” I reached over to extricate the thread that kept him captive. “Luckily for you, I’ve got slender fingers.”

Even though my focus was on getting him unstuck, I couldn’t help but notice the way his boxer briefs clung to his ass. And it was an impeccable ass. Like ten out of ten, probably brought all the gay boys flocking to the yard. Apparently, the questionably straight boys too because I couldn’t stop looking at it.

“This is mortifying.” Cor’s cheeks were a stubborn red, which was cute as hell.

“Mortifying or adding some life spice?” I said, keeping things light. “Also, you’re almost free.”

“If this is life spice, I want the bland version.”

I finally got the thread unstuck, and the suit coat was no longer in danger of ripping. “You’re free. Use this power wisely, like maybe putting on the suit pants and a shirt before showing off how your suit fits.”

Cor flipped me the middle finger. I cackled and stepped out of the changing room. The sound must’ve attracted attention, because the older man was giving me a look from the front counter.

“Wardrobe malfunction,” I called. He made a tsking noise but altogether didn’t seem pissed, just mildly amused.

Rustling sounded behind the curtain, and Cor slipped out in his suit, his Henley underneath it.

Well, damn. That wasn’t fair at all.

Cor in a suit was a sight . The color brought out his eyes, like I’d thought, and the cut showcased his strong body—one I was now well aware of. Pretending to be his boyfriend wouldn’t be a hardship in the slightest. And if it meant I could drape myself all over him like the other night at the bar? My cock was far too interested in that outcome. Cor was warm and cozy and too comfortable. I slipped my hand into my pocket and drank in the sight of him, not hiding my perusal.

After all, fake boyfriends.

And after all, I was starting to realize maybe the way I couldn’t keep myself from touching him wasn’t just friendly affection. From the moment we’d met, we gravitated to each other like magnets, and the pull was a lot stronger than anything I’d ever felt. Even my last relationship.

“Does it look bad?” Cor asked, glancing down his sleeve as if something was wrong with it.

I swallowed, my mouth dry from hanging open. “No, that’s a win. Buy that suit right now.”

Cor licked his lips, a pretty flush on his cheeks that struck an understanding to light within me. He’d blushed around me before, but I’d figured he reddened easily. However, if it wasn’t that…

“So, it’ll be okay for the gala? What about you?” he asked.

“You were hogging the changing room.” I winked. “Let me go try this on.”

Honestly, I needed to escape just to collect myself. My heart thumped fast, my body vibrating with awareness. And the longer I looked at Cor in a suit, the more my semi threatened to turn into full wood, which would be a problem for future me at the gala. I slipped behind the curtain and made quick work of changing. With how much smaller I was compared to Cor, I didn’t run the risk of snagging my suit on a stray nail.

The full-length mirror gave me a solid view of the navy blue suit, which fit incredibly well. I’d already checked the price, so if we’d both found our suits, it was game on.

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to smooth my curls a little. Fucking hopeless task, but it gave me a few more seconds before stepping back out into realization central. Where I had to face Cor in his suit while my body sent all sorts of confusing signals. Pretty bisexual signals, if I were being honest.

How I’d never uncovered this years ago was beyond me, considering Marco had been out and proud for as long as I could remember.

Though these feelings could be a fluke. My body reacting to my newly single status or whatever. I was clearly convincing myself.

I pulled open the curtain. Cor stood in the aisle waiting for me, and the second I stepped forward, his eyes widened. The heat in his gaze was palpable, and a shiver rolled down my spine. Warmth stirred inside me, and lust pumped through my veins. He still wore that suit that hugged him in all the right places, and my traitorous libido was not immune.

“So, what do you think?” I turned around to flaunt my ass. I glanced back to see his gaze zeroed in there, and my body lit up. Ngh, okay. This would be a problem. All the flirty comments I’d made with him, the constant teasing, had probably been hellish for him. I tossed that thought into the pile of “to be dealt with later.”

“Uh, yeah. Definitely that one.” The slight rasp to his voice was telltale that this could affect him the same way it was me.

“You sure it’s not too tight?” I spun around again. One thing was getting tight, and it was my suit pants because of my stiffening cock. But I was having fun flashing my best assets in this suit.

Cor coughed into his hand. “I’m going to change out of this. Looks like we found what we need.” With that, he disappeared into the changing room again.

Out of clear view, I adjusted my cock and then gave too much effort into examining my cuffs. Easier than grappling with what felt like a monumental shift.

Help, I discovered my sexuality in a random boutique changing room.

A moment later, Cor stepped out, back in his Henley and jeans. He had the suit draped over his arm. “I’m going to pay. Meet you up front?”

“Yep,” I said, all but diving in to quickly change. My mind whirred a hundred miles a second, and I couldn’t keep up with the thoughts emerging. In no time flat, I had the suit in hand and stepped out of the changing room. Cor was at the counter, his phone to his ear, a serious expression on his face.

Concern filled me, setting me on edge. I put the suit on the counter. “This one, gracias .”

“ Buena eleccion ,” the man said as he rang me up.

I handed over my credit card, only half paying attention. Cor paced back and forth near the door, keeping his voice low, but the worried bite to his tone was unmistakable.

“I’ll see you around,” I said to the old man behind the register, grabbing the bag with my suit before my feet carried me in Cor’s direction. When I stopped in front of him, I mouthed, “What’s going on?”

He tilted his head toward the door. We both stepped out into the brisk autumn weather, breezes arriving with a bite.

“I’ll meet you there,” Cor said into the phone, then slipped it into his pocket. “Dad’s in the hospital. That was Ollie. He said something happened on the job, but he wasn’t sure what, just that Mom picked Dad up and took him over.” The sheer panic in Cor’s tone struck me square in the chest, especially with how he fought to mask it. “Sorry to cut this short. I’ve got to head there now.”

“Want me to drive you?” I asked, the words leaping to my lips before I thought about them. “I don’t have anything else scheduled for today.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Cor murmured, even though that wasn’t a no.

I slid my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to. If you feel the need to do anything, you can buy me dinner after.”

“Absolutely.”

I tugged him toward my car, our hands still intertwined. His was massive compared to mine, like everything about him, but he allowed me to lead. Having this big guy let me take the reins empowered me in a way I’d rarely faced. The trust he gave me was something else. I reluctantly let go of his hand and unlocked my car, and we piled in. Cormac had to hunch in my little Toyota.

I placed my hand on his thigh. “Let’s go check on your dad.”