Ducky lifted his cell, waving it back and forth. The giant grin and ease of Ducky’s facial features were still in place. “I saw all of your apologies.” Ducky’s tone said Chad had been silly for thinking what he had. He started walking again, passing Chad.
Chad’s gaze ran the length of Ducky’s body, taking it all in. Strong shoulders, a small firm waist, muscular carved legs, and a mouthwatering ass. His knees almost buckled as he took a step. His cock hardened so quickly it hurt. He gathered his lapels, buttoning his jacket in place to hide the damning evidence of his arousal.
“Why would I be mad? Come to my office. Everyone’s gone. We’ll be alone there which is hard to find around here these days.”
Chad followed Ducky, something he hoped to do a lot of in the future.
“It’s good. He’s a friend,” Ducky said, probably to the security guard. He didn’t know for sure because he couldn’t take his eyes off Ducky’s ass.
Ducky had a strut.Interesting. Chad was mesmerized, watching Ducky’s tempting ass sway with each step he took. He had to look away again to concentrate on Ducky’s words.
“Dallas, Skye, and I share this office. We’re getting new space.” Ducky looked over his shoulder at Chad as he entered the office, grinning as he spread his arms out to encompass the packed space as if to show he wasn’t exaggerating. He let Chad walk in and shut the door behind them.
The funk he had been living under for days now disappeared. Left behind was an energy buzzing between him and Ducky. An unseen connection drew him to Ducky. It was physical and binding and totally confusing. “You’ve changed.”
“I did. I put on almost twenty pounds of muscle since I started. Lost the fat and made Greer dress me,” Ducky said, chuckling. If he read all the signs correctly, his friend was as unaffected by Chad’s presence as Chad was affected. He stifled a groan of frustration worried that the earth moving emotions coursing through him were only happening for him. Life was just that cruel. “I told you I liked his clothes, but I didn’t like them quite as much once they were on me.”
“You wore Greer’s clothes,” Chad asked, barely following the conversation trail as his mind stayed stuck in processing his own emotions. Ducky passed by him, going for one of the three desks in the small room. Of course, Chad could tell which desk was Ducky’s. The multiple monitors and enormous computer gave the secret away.
Ducky’s scent mixed with a cologne he couldn’t quite name and the hints of musk from sweat. Chad bit his lower lip, digging the smell as he turned to follow Ducky, taking the seat Ducky pushed out for him.
“No. He did my clothing makeover. I wore the suit Greer picked out to The Game Awards.” Ducky plopped down in his seat then sent his chair rolling to a small refrigerator under his desk. “Want a cold water?”
“I’m good, but can you leave?” Chad asked on nothing but instinct. “Want to have dinner? I feel like there’s a lot to catch up on.”
Ducky took a water, twisting the top as he nodded toward his desk and smiled. There were piles of paperwork there. Ducky stood as he gulped the water. “Yeah, I’m starving, but I’ll do you one better than dinner. You busy for the next couple of weeks?”
Chad had no idea what leap Ducky just took inside his head, but he went with it. “I don’t know…” Literally, his to-do list ran pages long. Number one being to deal with his golfing career. “Why are you asking?”
“Let me go change before we bounce,” Ducky said, handing over an envelope from his desk as he passed by. “Take a look. I’ll be out in a sec.”
The contents spilled into his hands. The location and itinerary had him lifting his brows. “Hawaii, are you kidding?”
“They just gave it to me as a gift. If you can’t go, it’s fine. I didn’t commit to going yet,” Ducky called out.
He had two prepaid, first-class airline tickets in his hand and a reservation for a private villa on the beach for fourteen days.
Their exchange was given so casually. Chad had to rewind the conversation in his mind to make sense of what he was holding. Had Ducky invited him to an all-expenses paid vacation in Hawaii? Like them together in Hawaii by themselves?
.
CHAPTER 9
Ducky sidled up to a vintage bar, scuffed from years of loyal customers doing the very same thing. Bruno’s Bar and Grill. A hometown favorite and the last place he had worked before quitting to focus solely on StreamTrainer. Since Ducky had fallen headfirst into a world that changed by the second, this spot at the end of the bar felt like home.
Having Chad take the seat next to him was a different story. Sometimes when Ducky met his strictly online friends face-to-face, the connection they shared didn’t hold true in their real life. The relationship changed afterward. He’d feared those consequences if he’d ever met Chad in person. What did a poor kid from Grand Prairie, Texas, have in common with the obscene wealth of someone from Highland Park? But after the last thirty minutes, maybe those fears didn’t hold weight. Chad was as comfortable to be around in person as he was behind the screen or over the phone.
“This is the famous Bruno’s,” Chad said, rolling up his dress shirt’s long sleeves.
Ducky watched, fascinated with the sophistication that poured from Chad Reeves. Even with the way he took each sleeve and carefully folded the material over and over, Chad did it with style. He cared for the pressed fabric in much the same way as Greer did.
He better understood owning the clothes, not letting the clothes own him. Chad respected the material without shoving the rich fabric in everyone’s face. It went deeper though. Chad was comfortable in his own skin. Something Ducky didn’t fully grasp.
Ducky focused on Chad’s hands as they worked. They were strong, adept, and moved fluidly without Chad even paying attention to what he was doing. Chad lifted a hand, waving it in front of Ducky’s face. “You there?”
See? Life wasn’t fluid for Ducky in that way. He shrugged it off by admitting the truth. It seemed the best answer. “Yeah. I’m fried.”
“We don’t have to do this,” Chad immediately responded, concern wrinkling his brow. He had the perfect coloring. His skin tone complimented his dark eyebrows. Ducky’s gaze followed his friend’s perfectly arched brows as they dipped lower, and those full lips melted into a frown.
