Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Eric

One game turned into two games, and because I’m a man of my word, I bought the new guys a round of drinks.

I had to admit, Aaron, Grayson, Henry, and Riley were all pretty good opponents, and it was nice to have a challenge for once.

Riley shifted his weight as he turned to me for a moment.

“So...” he started, and a part of me felt bad for the guy.

I could tell he wanted to talk, probably even flirt a little, but his Sunday School get up of a green polo and khakis and messy bronze hair was surprisingly not as much of a turnoff as it should have been.

Maybe I’m just all messed up because of earlier. Maybe I just need to fuck myself right again.

“If you ask me about the weather or sports, I will throw this beer in your face,” I taunted him.

Riley blinked, his mouth agape. “Well, what would you advise I ask you about, Eric?” he said, crossing his arms, the pool stick held between his toned arms, making me think of other things. “Got any pointers on losing?” he taunted.

What are you like, five, dude?

I scoffed at his juvenile insult, though I couldn’t deny it stirred a need to show this man exactly how to take a loss.

On his knees with my cock stuffed down his throat.

I shifted, if only to try and dispel the rowdy serpent in my pants.

“How about you ask what you really want, Riley?” I said, batting my lashes at him, my tongue sarcastic as hell.

Where did that come from?

Riley scoffed, shaking his head. “Forget it,” he said.

It was Jordan’s turn in our second game, when the girls arrived.

“Hey you...” I said when I realized Julie came with the group.

Julie’s mouth fell open in surprise, as she glanced between Riley and I, our backs against the wall, separated by none other than an old-timey love machine game.

Seriously, who played those things anymore?

I thought they wiped them all off the face of the earth.

“Well, fancy meeting you here, Eric,” Julie said, pulling my attention away from the tall, blushing man beside me.

I leaned in to hug her, catching a whiff of her perfume and nearly choking on it.

She pulled away with a grin. “I thought you’d be home nursing your wounds,” she teased.

“You two know each other?” Riley asked, fidgeting with his stick again, running his hands up and down the length in repeated motion.

Instinctively, my body and brain jumped to sexy thoughts about what his stick actually looked like, and what a show it would be to watch him.

Sprawled out all over my bed, hand wrapped around his cock.

Riley was tall. I’d probably peg him at six two, but he carried himself with stature. My mama always said God let things grow until they were perfect, and at a nice old five foot nine, I supposed Sky Daddy knew to quit while he was ahead.

I might have been on the shorter side compared to most, but my cock made up what I lacked in height easily.

Still, I knew big dudes came with big sticks, and I was a size queen.

Plus, I was still peeved after I’d been stood up by my blind date.

“Eric, you’re up,” Jordan said, drowning his beer as he flashed his gaze at Julie.

“Why, hello...”

“Leave her alone, Jordy. She’s taken,” I said, flashing a wink.

Julie laughed as I lined up my shot, retorting some burn at Jordan that made the rest of the guys holler and Jordan curse.

Setting my gaze on my prize, I couldn’t help but notice Riley in my field of vision. Or more accurately, Riley holding his stick in front of him, front and center to his dick, distracting me for the moment.

My own cock twitched as I licked my lips, trying to focus on the balls in front of me instead of the ones out of reach.

I’d been swiping right on matches for the last two years. On top of the fact I regularly shared my most intimate moments with half a million subscribers, I had a keen sense of gaydar.

In a nutshell, I knew when someone wanted to fuck me. At this point, it was like a sixth sense or something.

And the way Riley kept staring at me, it was more than obvious. Not to mention his conversation skills.

I would have bet the farm that he hadn’t had a good lay in while.

Something about that realization made me feel both guilty and intrigued.

My phone buzzed in my pants pocket, no doubt my comments going off still. They’d be going off all night.

Until I posted my next video, to appease my thirsty masses.

I took my shot, watching as the balls dispersed, clacking against each other as they came together. The eight ball slowly rolled, knocking another ball into the corner pocket, causing me to curse.

“Damn it!” I said, pressing my lips together. I’d been too distracted by khaki-covered groins and the ever present buzzing of my phone against my ass to make a proper shot.

I totally missed.

“Nice try,” Riley said tauntingly as he pushed off the wall, smirking at me. “Maybe you should aim for the ball you want to hit.”

The sight of his lips turning up in the corner, the way he cockily squared his shoulders as he sauntered to where I stood was a damn rush. Heat enveloped me as he nudged me aside with his hip.

How fucking dare he!

“Now, let me school you in how it’s really done,” he teased, positioning himself to take his shot.

I ran a hand through my sweaty hair. If he made this shot, that would be twice we’d lost. And I certainly didn’t want to lose. Anger flooded me as well as a fresh current of desire, because his words only made me want to put him in his place.

Bent over the fucking pool table.

I hate losing.

I took a pull of my beer as Julie settled beside me, crossing her arms. Sticky settled on the other side of me, and we watched long-limbed Riley angle himself, bending over the table. His arms were long, toned and trim and drew attention to his fingers. I watched as he curled his hand around the base of his stick, which was not helping the current erection in my pants or my competitive fantasy about teaching him how to fucking aim for the bullseye.

I shifted my weight as I focused on my drink.

“See something you like?” Julie teased.

“I’m not sure yet,” I said honestly.

Sticky nudged me. “What’s there to consider? The guy’s been staring at you all night.”

“Yeah, well, staring is creepy,” I nipped at Sticky. I wasn’t sure why I felt so on the spot, so vulnerable. Maybe it had to do with the beers I was pounding back. I’d lost track after the third...

Sticky and Jordan were the closest things I had to brothers. I’d met them at an adult entertainers expo a while back, shocked to hell and back that they were both Jasper Springs natives like me.

In this town of bake sales and cookie-cutter families, it was nice to have people who weren’t judgmental of what I did for living.

Because they were doing the same thing. Having friends who understood the ins and outs of the business, the work that actually went into being the object of so many people’s desires, made my job feel a lot less lonely.

Except Sticky and Jordan were more than just friends. They were a package deal. They both were on the platform too, producing similar content to mine, except they did it together.

More like they did each other.

For the fans, of course, despite the fact neither of them were gay.

Sticky was... well, Sticky. I didn’t think he had a preference for anyone as long as they had a hole and were willing to put up with his stupidity. We’d fucked around a few times over the years, but I always felt like shit afterward, which is why we’d stopped.

Jordan was as straight as Riley’s pool stick. Or at least, he insisted he was. My guess was he was probably bi and he just hadn’t come to terms with it yet.

They were both also eternal bachelors, like me.

Who happened to live together, and who happened to fuck once in a while...

Christ, even Sticky has someone to share shit with, even if he’s just a fucking coworker who’s not as straight as he thinks.

“Hey, Riley,” Julie called.

Riley turned to look at us briefly. “Yeah?”

“Wanna sweeten the deal?” she asked.

Aaron, Grayson, and Henry turned to face us, Jordan looking up from his beer.

Oh no, this can’t be good. I know that look...”

“ How so?” Jordan asked skeptically.

Julie shrugged as she set her gaze on Riley.

“Uh...” Riley raised an eyebrow.

Julie smirked, turning to Jordan. “Well, you see Aaron over there is getting married... and Riley here needs a plus one...”

Aaron laughed, fist bumping the air. “Yes! I’m so in!”

“What?” Riley’s face paled. “Jules... No...”

“If Riley scores this shot, Eric will have to accompany him,” she said, practically grinning from ear to ear.

Well, isn’t that interesting.

Julie cast me a wicked gin.

“And if we win...” Jordan grinned in return. “Loser has to pose for the Jasper Springs Hotties Calendar.” Jordan grinned. “Which I happen to, uh... do some work for.”.

He was the calendar’s number one model, next to that local firefighter who thought he was the next Brad Pitt. Dawson something or other...

“ We’ll do it!” Aaron and Sticky called out in unison.

Fuck.

I wasn’t opposed to being someone’s plus one, and I’d be lying if I said I’d never been auctioned off before—that was for a charity event Jordan had gotten roped into—but the idea of accompanying Cinderella to the ball made my insides heat like an inferno.

Yeah, it’s probably the beer.

Riley shook his head, dispelling he whoops and barks, leaning closer, sliding his pool stick in between his fingers. Back and forth, back and...

“Fuck!” I said as I was literally smacked in the groin by the end of Riley’s stick, my hardness now ebbing with pain as my balls stung.

Immediately, I covered my aching junk, knocking over the remainder of my beer and spilling it all over Julie.

“Oh my God!” Julie cried as Aaron and Co. screamed, “We won!” over and over.

“Fucking ay!” I howled, sucking in a breath as Riley turned, his eyes wide in terror.

“I’m so sorry, Eric. I?—”

“Fuck you,” I snarled as I attempted to breathe.

Julie laughed as she shook off the spill.

“I think that’s enough for one night,” Aaron said with a grin. “It’s been fun guys, but I think our work here is done,” he said.

“Aw, fuck...” Jordan said, grabbing his coat.

“What?” Sticky asked.

“We’ve got an hour left until?—”

Neither of them had to say anything, since I knew what time they usually posted. While I was a once a day guy, my friends posted multiple times in a day.

Sticky pulled the keys from his pocket, sliding his hand around Jordan’s waist, nodding to me.

“You good, bro?” he asked.

Finally able to breathe, I nodded. “Peachy,” I bit out as the crowd started to disperse.

“Do you, uh... need a ride?” Riley asked cautiously.

“That depends, Riley Rabbit,” I huffed. “As long as you don’t have any stray sticks laying around to whack me with?—”

“I’m so sorry, the stick just... slipped.”

I flashed my gaze up at him, conflicted by both the steamy thoughts and the reality at hand.

Yeah, I bet it slipped.

Cheater.

“Looks like you have a date for the wedding, after all,” Julie said with a wink.

Riley blushed, like a damn Sunday School teacher as he ran his hand through his hair.

Fuck, she was right.

Now I had to honor my word.

I grumbled as I flipped her off, and she just laughed, leaving Riley and I in her dust.

“I’m so sorry, Eric, I— Let me make it up to you,” he said as I grabbed my purple blazer from the back of my chair.

“Fine,” I said, tossing it over my shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”