“I’ve already seen you in a tuxedo, so I think I’ll live through my disappointment not getting you into a suit.” He’d rather get him out of it anyway. “Nobody to impress. No cameras, just discretion. I’ll even arrange a car.”
Drew cocked his head to one side, assessing. Heat rose in Steve’s face and burned his ears. Surely Drew had to see through him, had to know where this was going. As seduction ploys went, this one came straight from the book. But Steve’s father had always said the classics were classic for a reason.
“I’m already here,” Drew said. “I’m already impressed. You don’t have to…. I don’t need it. I know you’re not the glamor-and-glitter type. I like that about you.” He paused, then amended, “I likeyou.”
“I know.” The words came so easily it should have been a surprise. But it wasn’t at all. “You wouldn’t have come out here if you didn’t like it, me, if you didn’t want some quiet sometimes. But you live in that world too, the one with all the lights and sparkle. I want to prove I’m… not afraid of it.” To Drew, absolutely. But also to himself, and maybe a few others as well.
He wasn’t expecting any publicity, though. Baby steps.
After another second of studying Steve, Drew shrugged and smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “Okay. Just one condition.”
By now Steve knew not to expect anything too serious. “Name your price.”
Drew crooked a finger, then reached up to grab a handful of Steve’s shirt. He tugged him down into a short, sweet, coconut-scented kiss. “There,” he said. “Condition met. When do we leave?”
ALEX’S“private table” was actually a metal picnic table on the patio the staff usually used for their breaks. A nine-foot fence covered in California honeysuckle insulated them from the rest of the world, and a trellis and fans overhead kept them cool enough. And if the back of the stucco building and its thick metal door were less than scenic, Drew didn’t comment, and he barely tore his beautiful eyes from Steve all evening, so Steve didn’t think it mattered.
They ate seven courses, beginning with fish carpaccio and culminating in a chocolate mousse with strawberries. Alex brought them wine pairings with every new dish.
Steve reminded himself to thank Alex later for keeping the glasses small.
By the time they finished the champagne, Drew’s cheeks were rosy and his feet were trapped between Steve’s.
When the car Steve had hired dropped them off at home, they both had the giggles. It took Steve three tries to get the key in the door. They practically fell inside when it unlocked, stumbling over each other and their own feet.
Drew caught Steve before he could go too far, and they closed the door behind them, still giggling. “We gotta sober up,” Steve said, kicking off his shoes.
Drew followed suit and grabbed him by the arm. “Come on. I got an idea.”
Rita joined them as Drew slid open the patio door. With his free hand, Steve flicked on the pool lights.
Under the pool canopy, Drew let go of Steve and pulled off his own shirt. “Race you?”
“You’re on.”
Belt buckles clinked and fabric rustled and bare feet slapped the concrete as they pulled off their socks. Steve couldn’t have said which of them won. They hit the water together, fingers entwined.
Steve came up sputtering and clearheaded. “God, that’s colder than I thought.”
Drew splashed him. “Wuss. Didn’t you say you grew up in Washington? That’s, like, year-round polar bear dips compared to this.”
“I went native,” Steve said loftily. “Moved to LA, got into showbiz, seduced a movie star….”
“Seduced, huh?” Drew’s eyes glinted in the dark. He backed up toward the side of the pool, drawing Steve with him with that magnetic gaze. “I don’t know about that.”
“Maybe I can convince you,” Steve murmured, and cupped the back of his skull.
The kiss was cool and tasted like chlorine and chocolate and Drew’s smile, wet and knowing against his lips. Steve kissed him like he’d just come back from the goblin market covered in something otherworldly, addictive and forbidden.
Drew’s chest was slick against his, his sparse hair tickling Steve’s nipples. Even in the cool water, Steve could feel Drew hardening against his thigh. Drew put his hands on Steve’s back, then slid them down to his waist, making Steve’s skin tingle. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and goose bumps erupted on his arms and shoulders.
He shivered in Drew’s arms.
“Hey,” Drew said, his breath warm on Steve’s face. “I know we’re taking this slow and everything, but—”
“Come to bed with me.” Steve traced his thumb over Drew’s eyebrow down to the curve of his cheekbone. “Please.”
Drew nodded, his mouth swollen. “Yeah,” and he surged forward, crashing their mouths together again.
