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Sven had the feeling Geoffrey’s loneliness ran deeper than his own, and he’d felt the ache of it for some time now. He didn’t enjoy bars or nightclubs and although he’d downloaded a hookup app onto his phone, he’d never seen anyone on it worth contacting. But he wasn’t one for anonymous sex, so he mostly went without. Hoping he’d eventually meet someone worth the effort it would take to build a real relationship.
His fierce attraction to Geoffrey made little sense. They couldn’t have been more opposite in personality, size, income bracket…pretty much everything.
Except for the loneliness.
Geoffrey had tons of people around him, yet none of them were true friends. Not any that he’d met today anyway. And every time his gaze had locked with Geoffrey’s, he’d seen something that had ripped the world right from under his feet.
Geoffrey knew. He was completely aware that they used him. For money, for notoriety, for another selfie on their social media accounts.
The absolute…fakeness of it all tightened his chest to the point of pain. Because he could see, in those blue eyes, that Geoffrey Ralse needed so much more.
So why did he want to be around them so often?
Geoffrey headed down the wide stairs that would take them to Smale Park that ran along the river bank from the Suspension Bridge down to the Serpentine Wall. Sven held back a sigh. If they were going to tromp through the park in this heat, in full work clothes for him, he could only hope they’d stop at the man-made cool zone hidden within the shelter of trees to hold in the low mist that covered the area.
When Geoffrey abruptly stopped in the shade and leaned against the outside wall of a parking garage, Sven halted a couple of steps down, his gaze on the pedestrians passing them. Nobody looked suspicious, but then he’d learned the hard way that looks could be deceiving.
“I’m sorry, Sven.”
The quiet words dragged his attention from their surroundings. Geoffrey leaned against a brick wall, hands still in his pockets, looking up at Sven between long, black lashes. His eyebrows, several shades darker than his hair, met in a scrunch on his forehead.
“They didn’t bother me, Geoffrey. Not for the reason you’re thinking. But they did for others. Those people are assholes.” Sven kept his voice low so only Geoffrey could hear.
A hank of blond hair fell over his eye as Geoffrey nodded and blew it off.
“Why do you want to surround yourself with people like that? You said you stopped having them to your home because they didn’t care about your things. Do you think they care about you?” He cleared his throat. “You are so much more important than your things.”
Geoffrey’s chin came up, blue eyes flaring wide. He opened his mouth twice before a soft, rueful smile pulled up the corner of his lips. “They kind of are assholes.”
“Brendon was the boyfriend you mentioned?”
Shrugging, Geoffrey moved away from the wall and pushed the crosswalk button. He didn’t speak again until they were several yards into the park. The hot afternoon air was peppered with the sounds of children’s laughter, the slap of water on concrete in the fountains, bird calls, and the surrounding busy city traffic. The green of the trees, grass and bushes was a welcome change. And so was the breeze that suddenly swept through the area. He closed his eyes briefly in appreciation, listening to the rustle of leaves, feeling the wind cooling the sweat on his body. When he opened his eyes, they focused on the Roebling Suspension Bridge looming large overhead. Its pale blue cables swept up and down in gentle waves, stretching across the river.
“I wouldn’t call him a boyfriend,” Geoffrey said, breaking into his thoughts. They walked slowly past the bridge, pausing to watch some kids struggling to move life-sized chess pieces on a checkered board before starting to walk again. “We weren’t together long enough for that.”
“You broke it off?” Sven had hated him on sight and he didn’t really have to dig to understand the reasons. The man had put his hands and more on Geoffrey and the image nauseated him.
“Nah, he broke up with me. But I was ready to pull the plug myself.” Geoffrey stopped walking to watch a group of kids playing tag around a metal flying pig sculpture.
“I’m surprised. It was obvious he still wants you. Do you think he was the one at the bar that night?”
“No…I don’t know.” He shrugged and that damn T-shirt slid off his shoulder again. “I don’t think so. Or at least, I’d like to think I wouldn’t have been so comfortable leaving with him. We didn’t end things on the best of terms, and I doubt he wants me back. I sure don’t want him.” His expression tightened like a wave of unpleasant memories assailed him. He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up. “We…we weren’t compatible. The sex was never really that good, so I’m not sure why we made a go of it. No, I am. It was fun at first and I liked having someone, you know?” He peered up at Sven, blinked, then looked away. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but we never had any real downtime. And he blamed that on me. Said I wore him out.”
