Page 31 of All Tied Up

“Ever thinking about moving?”

“Um… I mean… maybe?” At least the man was right to the point. “I’m a partner at my law firm, though, and I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, I hadn’t really expected to meet anyone. My friends signed me up.” God, why was he telling his whole life story?

Moses gave a rueful smile. “I don’t think I thought this whole thing through very well. I’m from Atlanta, and I had it in my mind that I’d meet someone here, hang out with him while I was in Portland for this conference and then… I don’t know, have my new boy come back and live with me? That sounds ridiculous, right? I’m only going to be here for a week.” He shook his head.

“That sounds complicated,” Neil offered.

Just then Jamie swooped in. He seemed to be chatting easily with guests while he cleaned up a bit. “You should talk to Tristan over there. He’s frustrated with his job and he wouldn’t mind moving.”

“Really?” Moses asked, interested.

“Yep. Get in there fast, though, ’cause you’ve got some competition.”

Ah, Tristan was the sex kitten with the baby oil. The two superficial Daddies still hovered over him, and from his flirty expression, he probably wouldn’t at all mind three.

“Would it be rude if I left you to go over and say hello?” Moses asked Neil.

“Not at all. You’re nicer than those guys anyway, so I hope he chooses you.” Or maybe not, if Tristan was as superficial as the Daddies. He seemed to think a lot of himself. But Moses still seemed pleased with the possibility. “Good luck!” Neil waved him off.

He wasn’t going to move to Atlanta, even if Moses’s deep voice and Georgia accent made him shiver. Mostly, it had been nice to know that a Daddy thought he was attractive. In fact, that had gone much better than he’d expected.

“Sorry if I was cockblocking,” Jamie apologized.

“No, no worries. He wants someone to move to Atlanta.”

“You could do that, though,” Jamie mentioned. “You don’t like your job, and you could probably get a similar one or just do something else if you moved.”

“That seems like a lot of commitment. And I moved to Portland for the mountains, even though I rarely make time to see them.”

“Well, you’re welcome to come visit us anytime. We’d love that.” Jamie placed a seductive hand on Neil’s arm, the gentle touch burning through him.

“Um… thank you. I’d like that.” Did that sound like flirting? He wasn’t trying to flirt. But he really liked Sebastian and Jamie’s energy, and he truly would love to come back here a lot.

Jamie winked, like what he’d said was some sort of secret between them. But then he wandered off. It looked like he had his eyes on one of the boys who was standing against a wall. He probably had a match all set up for that boy, too.

Would Jamie find a match for Neil? Was that how it worked?

Neil finally made it to the table and piled a few cubes of cheese and some grapes on his plate.

He got a cup, but the sparkling cider appeared to be gone. With the dark green bottles, it was hard to tell until he picked each one up. He could see Sebastian on the side of the room getting more out of a mini-fridge. Maybe he could offer to help him.

Mario appeared at Neil’s elbow. “He looks out for you, doesn’t he?” He inclined his head toward Sebastian.

“Yeah, apparently they both do.” Neil glanced over at Jamie, who was describing something to the sub he’d been heading for with large gestures.

“Are you with them?” Mario asked.

“Huh?” It took him a moment to make sense of the question. “I mean… no? No. Of course not.” Was that even a possibility?

“Ah. I couldn’t tell.”

“They’re, um, just a little hands-on in, uh, helping me find a Daddy.”

“And what are you looking for? There wasn’t much on your profile.”

Wow. Everyone was really, really direct here.

“Um… sorry. I don’t even know what’s on my profile because my friend made it. But… I guess I’m looking for something long-term. And, uh… what are the choices?” Maybe he should have paid more attention to the profile.