Had any kiss in the history of mankind ever been this exciting? Grayson was kissingNolan Hamlin, the most beautiful man in the world, a man he’d lusted after from a distance for years, his hero, his idol. And Nolan was attracted to him! Oh, Grayson had heard all of the reasons why they shouldn’t be together, and he agreed. But he was not going to waste this moment.
He pulled away slightly and searched Nolan’s gaze.
“I take it you like me back, then,” said Nolan.
“I’ve been thinking about this moment since I got the callback for the show.”
“It’s really stupid for us to get involved.”
“I’ve felt really stupid all week. Might as well lean in.”
Nolan laughed. “I’m serious, though. I feel like an ass for even propositioning you.”
“I want to be propositioned. And you aren’t my boss. And the show has only been picked up for six episodes.”
“So what I hear you saying is that you’re into it.”
Grayson backed off. He needed to catch his breath. “I mean, I assume we’ve both given this situation some thought, what with the age gap and the working together thing and the fact that you’ve been, um, out of the game for a minute. But we’re both consenting adults, right?” Good gravy. Grayson was amazed that he managed to sound so calm, given how hard his heart was pounding. He still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d just kissed Nolan.
“You, ah, wanna get dinner or something? I know a guy who can get us a table at Morimoto on short notice.”
“Morimoto? Geez. My last boyfriend once hit me up for money to buy a slice of pizza.”
“Yeah, this will be a little different.” Nolan took his phone out of his pocket. “You like sushi? It’s my treat. If you want, we can talk about this.”
Grayson resisted the urge to pinch himself, because he was obviously dreaming. “Sure. I like sushi.”
Chapter Seven
NOLAN SUPPOSEDthe cat was out of the bag.
He was aware of the power imbalance. If they got involved and things went sideways, the network would want to keep Nolan. They’d probably ditch Grayson on Nolan’s say-so faster than he could snap his fingers.
“I want you to know,” he said as Grayson shoved the last of his sushi roll into his mouth, then mumbled something about not be able to eat another bite, “that I would never try to get you fired. The truth is, Helena and Garrett saw something in you that I didn’t, and I think you are probably a good foil for me. I mean, you can help me see when I’m being stubborn and wrong, and I can help mentor you on how to think critically as a designer. So in that way, we’re helping each other. But I’m aware of the fact that I’m the bankable star and I could have you replaced if I really wanted to.”
Grayson dropped one of his chopsticks. “Wait, do you want to replace me? I’m sorry for kissing you back at the studio, but I thought that you wanted—”
“I did. And no, what I’m saying is, Iwon’ttry to replace you. You earned your spot on the show. I’m just mentally playing out all the scenarios. I mean, I don’t live that far from here. What would happen if I paid the bill and took you home? Would we be able to look at each other tomorrow? Could we keep working together?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t know how you’ll feel. I could be bad in bed.”
“Are you?”
“I’ve never had any complaints.”
Grayson picked up the chopstick from where it had landed on his plate and took the last bite of tuna from Nolan’s plate. He made eye contact as he closed his lips around it. “I’m not worried about that. Are you?”
“No, I just… worst-case scenario. If something goes wrong….”
“It won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
Grayson shrugged. “I mean, I’m as sure about this as I am of anything. I’m sure they picked me for the show as much because I’m cute and have some chemistry with you as they did for my actual design skills. I say we should use that chemistry. Maybe even play it up for the cameras. Get the audience to go, ‘Hey, wait, are they…?’ I mean, what have we got to lose?”
The idea of them doing anything publicly made Nolan very anxious, although he could see why viewers would eat it up. Viewers were going to love Grayson. He was a little quirky, but he was very cute. Still, Nolan said, “I don’t know about that.”
