2. Riley

Chapter 2

Riley

I didn't know who Danny thought he was fooling, but it sure as shit wasn't me.

For some reason though, it was harder to call him on his bullshit than it was with the others. Maybe it was because he went to such lengths to pretend he wasn't helping me. He seemed to recognise how difficult it was for me to accept help, and instead present it in a way where it didn't feel like charity, but like I was doing him a favour.

Or maybe it was just because it was Danny.

I'd walked away from our hookup five years ago hoping I'd found a new friend. What I hadn't been expecting was that I'd find a best friend. Because there was no denying that that was what Danny had become. He might have done my fucking head in sometimes, but he was always there for me. I knew I could call him, day or night, and he'd answer. Hell, most evenings I'd find him exactly where I had today—on my sofa, making himself at home.

Don't get me wrong, I was still close to Matty, but his life was busier than ever. His custom craft business was taking off in a big way, and he was married now as well, with Sebastian taking up time once filled by me. Ethan too had drifted, moving to California with his boyfriend two years ago. Ollie was another friend, but he was on tour with his husband, Luca, more often than not.

Basically, I was being cock-blocked, but for friendship, not sex. Friendship cock-blocked, if you will.

With Leo also loved up, Danny and I had found ourselves in similar situations. Somewhere along the way, we'd become that person for each other. The one you could rely on to pick up the call no matter what. Who would stay up all night gaming with you while shooting the shit about everything and nothing. Who'd sit at your side while you binged arguably awful action movies and take you for rides down to the beach on the back of his motorbike on hot, sunny days. It was perfect really, as neither of us wanted a relationship, so there was no danger of the waters getting muddied.

Did I sometimes catch myself ogling Danny? Of course I did. I was a gay man with eyes in his head. But that didn't mean I wanted anything more with him. I'd meant it when I'd said one night, and boy, was I grateful I had. Now I had a friendship with him that meant more to me than any I shared with anyone else.

Not that I'd admit that to him. The fucker would hold it over my head and crow about it forever.

Grabbing the bag, I sauntered off to shower and change. I couldn't deny that I was excited to try Kuti's. I'd wanted to go ever since it'd opened, but I would have had to go without so much to afford it.

Little things like food and electricity.

I loved the work, but fuck, the pay was shit. As was the company, if I was being honest. It was fine if you were on the journalism side like Ollie, but the finance department was run by a bunch of incompetent muppets who liked to throw unpaid overtime at us every week.

Trust Danny to have realised I wanted to go to Kuti's. He could read me like a book, and the worst thing was, I couldn't even be mad at him about it. It made no sense, really. If any of the others had pulled a stunt like this, I would've shoved the bag of clothes into their hands before marching them out the front door.

But this was Danny. By acting like I was doing him a favour, my dickhead brain seemed to allow it.

Besides, he probably did need my help. The last three times I'd been on a double date with him, the other guy had not taken the hint. At all. Couldn't blame them really, Danny was the whole package.

For one night only though. That was the catch.

So many men thought they could change him, but they'd never succeeded. It had been entertaining to say the least, watching the various attempts over the past five years.

After a fast but thorough shower—Danny wasn't the only one hoping to get laid tonight—I tipped out the bag of clothes. My brow furrowed as I rummaged through the pile. "Daniel? Get your furry ass in here now. "

"My ass isn't furry, as you should well remember," Danny drawled, appearing in my doorway. "I get it waxed fortnightly."

I spun to face him, hands on my hips. "Why are there four outfits in here? And a new coat?"

To his credit, Danny didn't flinch. "You're a fussy bastard. Figured it was smart to give you options."

I might give Danny a lot of leeway, but even with him I had my limits. "You're telling me you didn't take Harlow out shopping for these?"

Harlow was part of our little group. One of the sons of Lucifer, he loved both fashion and shopping. All of these outfits reeked of his taste. Which, as Danny knew all too well, was the same as my taste.

If Harlow had picked it out, Danny was guaranteed a winner.

He blinked slowly—a totally innocent facial movement if I hadn't known all his tells. "No."

I smiled sweetly. "Okay, well then I'll select my favourite option and you can take the rest back."

He flashed his teeth at me as he backed up towards the door. "Would love to, but don't have the receipts. Guess you'll have to keep them."

The pillow I threw at his head bounced harmlessly off the door he'd closed behind him. Stupid supes and their stupid superhuman speed.

I looked through the clothes carefully, dismayed to realise I loved each and every piece. And really, I did need a new coat. I'd got caught in a rainstorm the other day and the one I had had practically disintegrated by the time I got home. Something Danny was well aware of given he'd been parked on my sofa that night too.

After choosing my outfit for the date, I carefully hung the others in my wardrobe. Deep down, I knew there was no point fighting Danny on this. The clothes would find their way back in there one way or another. And even deeper down, I didn't want to. I wanted to keep them.

I'd never been spoiled by anyone, always determined that I could do it on my own. Did I secretly love the idea of being spoiled and taken care of, even if I'd never admit it?

Maybe. And I mean, the tiniest maybe. The smallest sliver of the maybe cake. No, smaller. The wisp of icing that gets left behind after a slice has been removed.

It was fine. I'd repay Danny the best way I knew how—by being the best wingman possible and ensuring his date would never want anything with him in the long term.

" P lease tell me my date is cute."

We were in the back of the taxi when it finally occurred to me that I should probably show some interest in my own date for the night. To be honest, we'd been setting each other up for so long now that I trusted Danny. He'd never introduce me to a guy who wasn't good-looking.

And as for someone unsafe? Well, you didn't need to worry about that when your wingman was a wolf shifter and your other best friend was married to an assassin.

I mean, I worried a bit. Unlike everyone else in our circle, I was very much mortal. I tried not to think about it too hard, about the fact they'd all stay young and beautiful while I aged. The alternative was to tie myself to a supe for the rest of eternity.

Hard pass.

"Oh, he's hot. Was tempted to go for him myself, but he's a strict top."

My brow furrowed. "And you're vers, so what's the issue?"

"I'm vers, but you're not. My bloke is vers too, so there's a chance he might not want to bottom. I wanted to make sure we'd both have a good time, not just me."

I nudged him in the arm. "Better stop being so considerate before you meet your date, he will definitely get the wrong idea."

"Don't worry, you're the only one who gets to see this side of me."

That was true. The moment we stepped out of the taxi, Danny donned the mask he wore around everyone else. The cheeky, devil may care, more than a touch arrogant fuckboi.

Don't get me wrong, all of those things were a part of him, but deep down there was so much more. Danny was thoughtful. Generous. Kind. The kind of person who would do something stupid like eat five Scotch bonnet chilli peppers just to make you smile.

Seriously, I'm not joking—Danny did that. When I got passed over for promotion four months ago, for the third time, I'd been a funk unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. I'd shut myself away from everyone. It wasn't even that I liked my job that much, but the pay rise that would have come with the promotion was something I desperately needed. Living month to month got less glitzy with every year that passed.

It was fine to be a starving student, it was even normal to be a struggling graduate, but at twenty-six I'd aged out of both of those categories. I was more than ready to start living a life that didn't involve surviving on Super Noodles.

Danny had been the only one who'd been able to get through to me. Probably helped that he had zero boundaries and a pout so fucking ridiculous that I just couldn't say no to him. He'd chucked me over his shoulder, fireman style, and carried me right into the bathroom. He'd given me ten minutes to strip and shower, threatening to chuck me in fully clothed if I hadn't done it by the time he returned.

Knowing he'd follow through thanks to the one other time we'd been through a similar situation, I'd got naked and under the water.

Danny wasn't done though. Once I was decent, he'd proceeded to dress me up in new clothes like I was his personal Ken doll. Marching me downstairs and straight into a taxi, he hadn't even told me where we were going. Nor had he talked about my job or anything related to my mood. Instead, he'd chatted shit about the latest Baldur's Gate update and made plans about where we would be gaming during his off shifts.

My depression had lifted with every minute that ticked by. Just being in Danny's presence was enough to make me forget all the other shitty stuff. How could I focus on it with him there to take my mind off it?

The cherry on the top of his cake had been the chillies in the restaurant he'd taken me to. After I'd rolled my eyes, insisting no one would be so stupid as to eat them, Danny had proceeded to eat five.

Five.

Just to make me laugh.

And laugh I did, especially when his supe healing didn't work fast enough to stop the blistering heat. By the time he stumbled out of the restaurant so he could shift just to get some relief, I was full-on crying. My stomach hurt for an entire day afterwards from laughing so hard.

So yeah, Danny might have been a fuckboi, but in reality he was so much more…even if he only let those closest to him get a peek at the rest. I was lucky enough to count myself in that category.

As we approached the restaurant, I spotted two men lingering outside the doors. My interest in the evening picked up immediately. Both were tall, muscled, and handsome enough to have my exhaustion evaporating. I didn't even care which was mine for the night, they were both exactly my type.

Belatedly, I realised I'd forgotten to ask Danny one important question. Tugging on his arm to slow him, I hissed, "Human or supe?"

"Human," he replied, smiling at the slightly shorter of the two, who was staring at us with a frown. "Both of them are."

I relaxed slightly, smiling up at Danny before letting him go. "Cool."

It wasn't that I had anything against hooking up with supes, but I'd seen firsthand how dangerous they could be. Humans could be just as bad, but if things went south, I felt like I could hold my own against a human.

There'd been a situation once, years ago now, when a bloke I'd hooked up with just wouldn't take the fucking hint. Greg had shown up at my house, the club, and finally at my work. That was when I'd confessed everything to Danny.

I never heard from Greg again. Thank fuck for supe friends and their ability to compel people to leave you alone.

After that though, I'd taken up the lessons that I'd been offered as soon as I'd learned the truth about our circle of friends. I'd been drilled on self-defence by some of the most dangerous beings to walk the earth. Danny had taught me how to break out of any hold. Ferry, the former Grim Reaper, had shown me how to incapacitate someone in three moves. Even Sebastian had spent many days drilling me on how to wield different weapons to maximum effect. I'm sure he only did so because, as Matty's best friend, his husband would be upset if I died. Keeping Matty happy was the reason why Sebastian did anything these days.

So yeah, I generally felt comfortable with humans. Supes though? Whole different league. Even if I ignored that they would always be faster and stronger than me, there was the fact that they could literally compel me into doing whatever they desired.

To do so would be their final act though. All of the supes had made it clear that I fell under their protection and they would permanently kill anyone who messed with me.

Honestly, I didn't need it. Danny was more protective of me than the rest of them combined. It was one of the reasons we'd started taking our dates back to his place. After what had happened with Greg, he'd suggested it and I'd found myself agreeing. Danny could hear if anything went south and be there almost instantly, and I was able to relax fully knowing that.

Plus, there was an advantage to me being there for Danny. One that hopefully wouldn't be required after this date.

The shorter man stepped forwards, his frown long gone as he beamed up at Danny. Even with his height, Danny still towered over him. "Hi. I didn't think you were going to make it."

"Got stuck in traffic," Danny lied smoothly. Truthfully, I'd taken my sweet time getting ready. If I was going to be dragged out after a long workday, you could be damned sure I'd be looking my best. Danny knew better than to throw me under the bus though. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

I bit my lip as Danny's date fluttered his lashes at him and gave a surprisingly high-pitched giggle. "Sugar, I'd have waited all night for a shot with you."

He tugged Danny towards the door, not waiting for anyone else. Danny gave me a panicked look over his shoulder. He mouthed sugar and I had to bite my knuckles to keep from laughing.

Well, this was going to be an entertaining night.

The two of them disappeared into the restaurant, making me realise belatedly that I hadn't greeted my own date. Fuck, he was handsome. He gave me a lopsided grin that had something in my chest tugging.

"Riley?"

"The one and only." I stepped forwards to kiss him on the cheek. "Lovely to meet you."

"Ditto. My name's Will, by the way. Not sure if you knew that."

I chuckled. "No, Danny neglected that piece of the information."

Will continued grinning at me as his gaze swept over me. Given how obviously he was checking me out, I felt okay doing the same to him. Danny had done well. Will was tall and muscled, with an easy grin that held just the right hint of danger. His open jacket over a crisp blue shirt suggested he'd got the memo about the dress code. There was something vaguely familiar about him, like I'd seen him somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place it.

Once we'd both looked our fill, Will opened the door for me, gallantly gesturing for me to go first. "I have to say, it's a bit odd to match with a bloke and have him set you up on a date with his friend instead."

"Danny's a bit odd." I gave him a sideways look. "Why'd you say yes?"

Will gave a half shrug. "It was the first time it'd happened. Made me kind of curious, to be honest. Didn't have anything better planned, so I thought why not? Take a chance and maybe it'd work out to be worth it."

I gestured grandly at my body. "So? Am I worth it?"

His crooked grin widened. "Very fucking worth it."