Well, the real reason for that was Felicia. When he and Chad had first walked in, Felicia had become the bar crier, showing everyone, from the locals to the tourists alike, the ad campaign with his almost nude before and after pictures. He’d gone from nobody to bar favorite in under a minute, having to meet and talk to more people than he had for the entirety of the trip. Maybe that was why he’d started hanging out on the dance floor, drinking more than he should.
He found acceptance in this crowd, something he’d never experienced before. He wasn’t the odd man out, the misunderstood one, sitting on the outskirts of life. He’d always wondered what it felt like to be on the inside, a normal one. These kinds of people weren’t as superficial as he’d once thought. Only interested in how they looked, never going deeper with their thoughts on anything. He’d gotten it wrong in his assessments. Many were really good people.
He bounced his body to the beat, no real idea how to dance and had no partner. The best part was that he didn’t have to ask anyone to dance. They were asking him. What a mind fuck. He couldn’t remember a time in his life that anyone had ever asked him to dance.
“Here,” Felicia said in his ear, coming from behind Ducky, moving slower than the song dictated. She lifted a cocktail glass for him.
“What is it?” Ducky called out, still dancing around in front of her.
“Ice water,” she yelled back, pushing it into his hands. “Like you asked for. You’re the hit of the club. Everybody’s got you out dancing.”
He chuckled, slowing down until he stood in the middle of the floor next to her. He took the drink, lifting the glass to down the contents in a couple of hearty gulps. Like he’d done over and again for most of the night, he cast a quickish, sly glance toward Chad who sat at their high-top table, keeping anyone from trying to take their seats. A group of club goers—mostly the friends they had met and partied with every night—sat around him.
Charm exuded from Chad. His easy grin tripped Ducky’s heart even if it wasn’t aimed at him. He averted his gaze. His amped up desire was becoming a real fucking problem. The intensity of all this longing kept getting worse with every day the vacation wore on.
How could no one else on this packed island interest him?
Ducky looked down at Felicia who moved seductively close, encouraging him to dance alongside her. He did only because he saw no other choice that didn’t make him come off as a giant jerk.
She was relentless in her flirting. Apparently, now making her intentions crystal clear by pushing her curvy body against his. She gave off all the right signals of being interested in whatever Ducky had in mind. He just didn’t want anything from her.
“You know, if you moved to New York, you’d have a really good shot at making a modeling career for yourself,” she said loudly as if the idea would tantalize him. She swayed as she turned her back to him. Her next attempt at luring him in came when she bumped her ass against Ducky.
He gave an internal eye roll that probably showed on his face.
He mimicked her move and turned his back on her, dismissing her completely. The couple behind him—now in front of him—absorbed Ducky into their circle. The song ended, and another slower beat with lots of bass began. The change in tempo slowed Ducky down too.
Like he’d done seconds ago, and like every few seconds since he’d been inside this club, his gaze landed on Chad. This time Ducky stared unabashedly. The haze in his head allowed his thoughts to wander as he mapped every inch of the guy…again.
Even in clothes that looked tailored to fit Chad’s body, Ducky could see the outline of pure muscle. Of course, Chad was hot as fuck shirtless, but the clothes hinted to the allure of what was underneath and that somehow made Ducky’s mouth water, his palms itching for a touch. Chad’s thick bicep bulged as he lifted his glass for a drink.
Ducky looked around the table, wondering who was lucky enough to have Chad’s undivided attention. Chad had a way of leaning into a person, truly listening as they spoke. Ducky had fallen into the hypnotic trap of having such a handsome face, with piercing eyes, focused only on him. Chad had a remarkable way of making a person feel special. What a unique trait for someone who only had to breathe to draw people to him.
A bump from behind brought Ducky back into his immediate surroundings. He had stopped dancing, not moving a single inch. Chad did that to him, made him lose himself in the moment. Ducky started bobbing around again as a server came by, effortlessly plucking the glass from his hand. He was forced to look away. At least for the next minute or so.
Felicia defeatedly plopped down on the empty barstool next to Chad, drawing a bark of laughter from Ava, who sat on the other side. Eric, another vacationer on the island, sat directly across from him. They had all watched when Felicia set out with purpose to finally gain Ducky’s attention. As expected, she crashed and burned for the hundredth time.
Eric won the betting pool as to whether Ducky would finally take the bait. This time, Ducky had ducked out from underneath her clutches faster than any time before.
“Twenty bucks, come on.” Eric stuck out his palm, wiggling his fingers, demanding his payment.
The force and outrage Felicia used when slapping Eric’s outstretched hand caused a new round of laughter, all directed at her. “Shut up, Eric. You’re making it worse.”
Chad barely paid attention to the antics of his tablemates as he tilted the cocktail glass back, letting the ice fall into his mouth. The only person he was interested in was out on the dance floor. He crushed the small cubes between his teeth, the coldness clung to the tip of his tongue as he watched his friend on the dance floor. Ducky was a damn enigma. The guy could have anyone in this bar he wanted. Why didn’t he act on any of the interest? What the fuck was going on inside Ducky’s gorgeous head?
Someone’s elbow hit his arm and knocked the glass away from his lips, spilling ice down the front of his shirt. He hopped off the stool to stop any potential cold wet cubes from tumbling into his lap. Which might not be such a bad thing in his current state. His traitorous dick had been giving him hell all night.
When he looked back at the table, the expectant stares halted him from lashing out. He’d clearly missed something, and no matter how quickly he’d done a rewind in his head, he couldn’t figure it out. “What?”
“What,” Felicia mimicked as if he were the dumbest person on the planet. Her shoulders slumped a little further forward, her back bowing as if he’d slung an insult her way. That drew a hilarious amount of laughter from Ava and Eric.
“No really, what?” Chad asked. That time he spoke to only Felicia. She seemed the only one willing to engage.
“Every girl here’s been hitting on Ducky all night and all he does is stare at you.” Felicia deflated again right before his eyes. If she wilted any further, she might slip underneath the table. “I’ve given him all my best moves. I’m everyone’s type.” Her hand slapped down on top of the table, driving her point home. “I’m the one who turns guys down, not the other way around.”
Chad knew what a catch Ducky was, but Felicia’s words confused him. As much time as he spent discreetly stalking Ducky, he’d never caught him looking back. Not once. He lifted a hand, stopping her full-on pity party before it became a full-blown narcissistic laden rant.
“What’re you saying about Ducky looking at me?” Chad asked, which caused the three of them to give some sort of incredulous eye roll in unison.
