“I’m not having this conversation.”
Mav kicked his foot under the table. “Oh, come on, man. I let you idiots meet Finn, and he survived. You’ve been hanging out with Lucas for weeks and weeks. Are you saying it’s not serious? I mean… it seems pretty serious the way you mention him all the time.”
The warmth, which wasn’t from the beer, blazed hotter. “It’s serious,” he said and tried to hide his smile in his glass.
The teasing faded into easy conversation again. Ryder leaned back in the booth, savoring the last sips of beer. His ribs ached more from laughter than the lingering effects of the pile-up rescue. The comfort of being there with people he knew and trusted made any problems drift away. He tuned back in to hear Mav suggesting that Jax and Nash would have their turn at romance soon.
“I swear,” he said, “I’ve started a trend.. First me and Finn, now Ryder and Lucas. It’s just a matter of time.”
Zane offered a small smile and shook his head. “I doubt it.”
Jax scoffed. “Hell no. I’m immune.”
“Famous last words,” Mav said.
Ryder kept quiet. These guys all had hearts big enough to fit someone inside, even if they didn’t want to admit it. He’d never expected to find someone who earned the title of boyfriend, someone he wanted to spend all his time with and who had the power to hurt him if he disappeared.
Lucas was something unexpected but special. Somehow, with their crazy schedules and other challenges, they’d found their way to each other. No way Ryder was giving that up. Ever.
Chapter 17
Lucas
Lucas arrived a few minutes before class started, hurried into the room, and hooked his laptop up to the projector. They were covering ambient and artificial lighting control, and he had spent a couple hours taking example shots the day before.
Most of his mind stayed on the lesson plan, but a tiny bit melted into the memory of the flirty texts Ryder had sent after he finally got off work. They were a regular and very welcome distraction, but didn’t make up for the solid comfort of his boyfriend’s body nearby.
He set his cocoa mug on the desk just as one of the students, a woman who always smelled heavily of lavender hand lotion, stepped up. “I saw you on the news,” she said, practicallyvibrating with excitement. “Well, your name, and that amazing photo of the rescuer saving the life of that sweet baby girl.” Her enthusiastic words attracted the attention of a few other students near the front of the class.
Lucas glanced around, his stomach fluttering at the now-familiar rush of disbelief that people actually recognized his name from the news. “Yeah,” he said, smoothing a few stray hairs behind his ears. “I was nearby and got a few shots of that pile-up. I got lucky with that one.”
The little crowd around his desk grew larger as more students arrived. She pulled out her phone and tapped open the news story to show off the picture. “It’s incredible! You can just feel the emotion pouring out.” She tilted her screen toward the others, who oohed and ahhed a bit. Some had seen it themselves, although not all caught his name in connection with it.
“You took that? Who knew we had a professional news photographer as a teacher?”
Shaking his head, Lucas waved a hand toward the seats. “I’m not a news reporter. Media outlets sometimes buy the rights to use a photo from freelancers or even amateurs. You never know when you’ll be in the right place at the right time.” He fielded the attention with as much grace as he could manage.
One of the younger women opened her own phone to zoom in on the picture. “It probably helps that this guy is totally hot. And cuddling a baby like that? My ovaries!”
Then, without thought, he said something that derailed his careful plans for a whole class about lighting options. “That’s actually my boyfriend.” A spark of pride exploded out of his chest, and he couldn’t help but smile.
Eventually, he got everyone calmed down enough to look at his photos and discuss things like soft boxes, umbrellas, and natural vs. artificial light ratios. He wasn’t used to being the center of anything, but it was a lot easier when it focused onphotography than on his personal life. He finished out the class with steady hands and a calm tone, shifting into work mode when someone asked about focal depth and bokeh.
On his walk to his car after class, his mind tumbled over thoughts of teaching, opportunities, and the future. There were only two months left of the class, and if the original teacher Brandy came back, he wouldn’t have that source of income to look forward to. The extra cash for the accident photos helped pad his emergency fund but wouldn’t lead to anything ongoing. The shelter fundraiser didn’t pay, of course, although he could use the work in his portfolio. It was one time ‘paid in exposure’ didn’t suck, when it was for a cause you cared about.
Piles of snow still lined the streets, but the roads and paths were clear back to his apartment. Not three minutes after he got inside and kicked off his boots, his phone buzzed.
Finn:Hi! We met briefly at the shelter. I’m the red-haired guy with Maverick, if you don’t remember. I work at the garage with him, and I kinda had a question for you.
Lucas smiled and headed for the kitchen to put the kettle on for his nightly cocoa. He remembered Finn, of course, the bouncy little guy who clung to the built mechanic like Velcro. They hadn’t talked much. Ryder had introduced them as Lucas rushed past to help Greta. They were all part of the local tangle of LGBTQ+ guys Ryder knew. He hoped he’d have the chance to spend more time with them, too. He missed having friends.
Lucas:Of course I remember you. What’s up?
Finn:Two things. First, you should totally come and hang out with everyone at the bar. Mav, Ryder, and their friends Jaxand Zane grab beers sometimes, and we could go, too! It’d be fun. Also, I’m looking for a photographer for an event in March.
Lucas:I’d love to hang out. What event?
Finn:Yay! Okay, there’s this classic car and truck show that’s partially just people showing off their vehicles and partially a fundraiser for this vocational center for teens. After seeing the calendar, I had this idea to do a joint thing with adoptable dogs posing with cool cars. Like for social media or printed products or something.
