Page 1

Chapter 1

Aaron

One thing you should know about me is that I think I’m the smartest guy in the room and everyone should want me. I simultaneously feel inferior to everyone else because I know they can’t see my worth, and I lack the confidence to talk to my crush because I’m convinced he wouldn’t give me the time of day.

Is that contradictory? Yes, but such is life. Sometimes I’m too snarky for my own good, other times I’m too shy to join a conversation.

Geniuses throughout history have often suffered, so that might just be my lot in life. Misunderstood genius. Hot in a very specific way that no one comprehends. Talented in the underappreciated genre of erotic writing.

My magnum opus sits on my computer, unfinished and demanding attention, but everyone has to go against their nature sometimes, so I try to ignore the itch at the back of my brain and attempt to focus on the mind map Declan put on paper earlier. He and Jessica met me at the cafe to discuss a group project for a class we share, and the sooner we finish talking about the presentation we need to make, the sooner I can go back to the insanely hot scene I’ve been writing since this morning.

“So how about you do the part about the history of advertising? You know, from the forties? You like all that old-timey stuff.” Jessica says, applying a tinted lip balm, which makes her lips look so luscious I half-want to get one myself.

The presentation is for an elective class I took because I figured my parents might approve of it, but which I despise with a passion. Among other reasons, because I’m now stuck with these two.

Declan and his girlfriend aren’t the worst of people, but they are so painfully bland every minute with them is like eating oatmeal without even a pinch of salt—through your eyeballs. But they are the top of the class, a pre-law power couple, and, as my parents always nag, connections will be everything in my future.

“Sure, I know lots about that, so it won’t be a problem,” I say, though in truth I know a lot about it because I’m a big fan of the homoerotic undertones in the art of J.C. Leyendecker. That man knew how to advertise a sock garter. I got a set for myself last year, a hundred years after he made the ad. My little homage to the stylish men of the past.

While I like to include elements of heritage styles in my outfits, I don’t want to look like I’m wearing a costume, so I still fit in with Declan who is wearing a polo shirt and Jessica in her Ralph Lauren top.

My style is understated, but it’s not like the hot September weather is giving me much choice. I’m wearing a linen shirt with rolled up sleeves and leather suspenders I got at a vintage market. I paired khaki slacks with white socks and a simple pair of white sneakers. I’m looking forward to fall when I can drown in woollen sweaters and dramatic trench coats. For now, the goal is making sure I don’t get sweaty.

Still, as they go into discussing other elements of the presentation, my thoughts drift back to my main character getting railed while bent over his own desk. He’s an art critic, and an academic who often gets overlooked by hot dudes, but after several thousand words of push and pull, the unruly artist who disagrees with my main character’s assessment of his work, is about to get through to him. With his dick.

I shiver as I remember masturbating to the very start of that scene this morning. Too bad life is never as exciting as fiction.

Jessica snorts and pushes back her perfect blonde waves while checking her phone. Declan frowns in a way that makes his round face reminiscent of a bulldog’s.

“Jess? Do you mind? Let’s just get this over with and go enjoy the weather.”

My feelings exactly, but then she turns her screen toward us, and I’m faced with the half-naked body of a man so insanely attractive it should be illegal. His muscles flex as he rolls his hips in the video, shiny with the water he’s pouring on himself from a cup.

The video description claims it’s some new social media challenge, but as it plays on loop, I couldn’t care less what the reason for the view is.

“Have you seen this new vid of Vex? This is so embarrassing. He’s a grown man.” Jessica sniggers to Declan who rolls his eyes.

“I guess it’s the best he could do. It’s not like he can go to college,” Declan says.

I’m more than happy to add my two cents. “The guy’s an asshole. Do you know he—”

Jessica cuts in. “Yes, we know. He spilled coffee on your computer and didn’t even offer to pay for repairs. Wasn’t that your freshman year? Get over it, Aaron, please.”

I purse my lips in frustration, and my usually cutting tongue lacks the wit to say anything, because my mind keeps drifting back to the water sliding over Vex’s rippling tattooed abs, his closed eyes, that lush mouth curved into a half smile… Why is it always the dumb, annoying assholes who are the hottest? I know my taste should be more refined, yet here I am, thirsting over a primitive, gym-obsessed bad boy who I don’t even like. That is the tragedy of human nature.

Though I have to admit that I appreciate that instead of cliched things like roses and thorns, or portraits of famous people, there’s a unique theme to most of the ink covering his body.

Vex is semi-famous. Not just in town, but online as well, and since I follow his social media, I know of all the influencers and, yes, stars who come all the way to Springton to get a tattoo from him. His signature style is reminiscent of medieval woodcut prints, and he shows it off on his own skin too. I particularly love the dance of death scene covering his back, featuring members of all medieval classes frolicking to the tune of the Grim Reaper's pipe.

But good looks and artistic flair don’t make Vex any less of an asshole.

“How do you always stumble upon his videos?” Declan asks, finishing his coffee. “Do you follow him?”

Jessica stills, caught in the act, but is quick to come up with a decent answer. “Me and my sorority sisters all watch him for laughs.”

I play with my pen, smirking to myself. “Of course you do. It has nothing to do with his bulging biceps or piercing blue eyes,” I tease, but let’s be honest, it’s not good-natured. I want her to sizzle in the same fire she’s put me in before. I know she’ll rebuff it any second, but it’s obvious that when it comes to Vex, she’s as shallow as me.

“Oh, so you noticed his eyes?” she asks and takes a sip from her frozen coffee, but we both know the one person at this table who seriously hates Vex is Declan. As a straight dude, he not only doesn’t get why he’s so impressive, but he likely also feels insanely jealous. I haven’t seen Declan naked, but there’s a bit of a pot belly going on under his polo shirt, so he can’t rival Vex in the muscle department.