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“I don’t always dress like an insurance salesman.” His blue eyes twinkled, stealing my focus.
The Riverside Mall in Cooper’s Cove was a sprawling two-story structure made of gray stucco and glass. I dreaded shopping malls. The crowds, the inflated prices, overeager sales people vying for my money—retail therapy was an illusion and an oxymoron. But considering how Ryan’s baby blues widened more with each step closer to the mall’s entrance, I began to feel excited. This was a chance for me to study Ryan in his natural habitat. Many clues about the man would be revealed today. Ryan was sort of an enigma to me, a puzzle whose pieces didn’t all fit together smoothly. While he had money, he didn’t seem like a rich snob. Ryan was very down to earth. He was generous and kind and, from what I’d seen so far, selfless.
He was subdued until you lit his match. Then another side of Ryan was revealed, my favorite side. He was passionate and sexy, even though he wore buttoned-up polos and starched dress shirts. And Ryan was fun and witty, even though he sold insurance for a living. Every side to his personality contradicted itself and drew me in deeper.
I held the door open for him. “Where should we start?”
“Let’s try the large department stores first. Then we can circle back around to the smaller stores and hopefully something pretty will catch your eye.”
Too late. You already have.“Sounds good. Lead the way.”
Trailing after Ryan through the mall was more educational than I could have guessed. Men and women looked twice at him, but Ryan was completely oblivious. He really had no idea how pretty he was. He popped into Powder Your Nose, a store that sold cosmetics and accessories, and Ryan’s eyes lit up like he had entered an amusement park. Ryan lingered over the lipgloss, browsing but not touching. I knew he had the money to buy anything he wanted, but he held back.
I leaned over his shoulder, making him jump. “Which one is your favorite color?”
Ryan turned his hesitant eyes on me. A pretty blush tinted his cheeks. “I’m just looking.”
I fingered a rosy red-tinted gloss, but Ryan shook his head. He knew what he wanted. He was just afraid to say it, for some reason. “Will you try one on for me?”
His eyes rounded. “Seriously?” I nodded. “Maybe this dusky pink?”
He reached for it and twisted the cap off. Ryan smoothed the gloss over his plump lips and smacked them together, studying himself in the mirror. His worried expression smoothed out, and I knew he liked what he saw.
When he turned to me, seeking my opinion, I didn’t hesitate to put him at ease. “Your lips look lickable.” What I didn’t say was that I wanted to bend his head down and slide my dick between his shiny lips. “Why are you doubting yourself? You look hot.”
“Guys like me, guys I grew up with, they don’t flaunt their sexuality with makeup and slutty clothes. Nobody at my prep school cared who you slept with, as long as you presented a dignified front.” He shrugged, brushing off his words. “It’s just easier, I guess, to go along with their expectations. I can’t exactly sell insurance while wearing lipstick and crop tops.”
I covered his hand, securing the lip gloss in his grasp. “Buy the gloss, Ryan. Wear it just for me. You can always be yourself with me. It’s the version of you I like best.”
Ryan panted, his pretty lips so close to mine. I wanted to reach out and swipe my tongue across them, to claim them as mine. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his slender throat, and nodded, deciding to buy it. Fuck! I was more than half-hard standing in a cosmetics store. Not ideal.
When we exited the store, Ryan walked beside me instead of in front of me. But the best part? He never wiped the gloss off his lips. He trusted me, felt comfortable with me, and that was more attractive than any cosmetic could ever be.
We headed to the largest department store at the other end of the mall and struck gold. They had three fragrances to choose from with hints of apple and vanilla. I watched as Ryan spritzed them on little paper strips and waved them in front of my nose. Honestly, they all smelled vaguely similar, so I chose the one with the prettiest bottle and the saleswoman wrapped it up as she chatted with Ryan. He charmed her into adding a free gift with purchase that I didn’t actually qualify for. The scented soy candle would make my gift seem even nicer, and I was so grateful I’d asked Ryan to accompany me today. Not just because he was simplifying this complicated process for me, but because I was actually enjoying myself—while shopping. It was unheard of! And it was all because of Ryan.
“Where to next?” I slipped my hand through the handle of the pink and cream striped gift bag and turned to him.
He smiled, easy and bright, and looped his smooth hands around my bicep. “Let’s stroll. Maybe we’ll find something to add to the perfume.”
I was aware we looked like a couple as we walked, but I’d be damned if I was going to shake him off. His hands were soft and warm, and I felt proud to have him on my arm. Ryan paused in front of a trendy clothing store, and I stopped to see what had caught his attention. The mannequins in the window wore clubbing clothes. I raised my eyebrows in question. He smiled and pulled me into the store.
Ryan led me to a clothing rack with mesh half shirts and glitter tank tops. My erection was returning, visualizing him wearing the slinky tops as his lithe body danced for me, sweating and breathless. “Why don’t you try one on?”
“Ha! This is hardly practical for a date at the lounge. My friend Cyan wears this stuff when he goes to The Playground to dance. I don’t think I have what it takes to pull this off.”
The idea of Ryan grinding amongst a crowd of hungry men at the only gay nightclub in Cooper’s Cove made me want to growl. Boldly, I grabbed his hand and brushed his fingertips over my erection. His eyes widened as he looked down between our bodies.
“You definitely have what it takes, Boytoy. Try the shirt on for me.”
“But where would I wear it to?”
“I’ll take you to the club.” I turned him in the direction of the dressing room. “Go.”
Ryan added the red sequined tank and slim-fitting charcoal cargo pants to his purchases and practically skipped out of the store. He felt light and happy. It was all over his face. His pretty blue eyes sparkled with a light that hadn’t been there when we entered the mall.
I steered him toward the food court, and we stood in line at Ice Cream, You Scream. We both ordered butter pecan cones, and I nearly came in my pants watching Ryan lick his creamy treat, his little pink tongue darting out between his shiny lips to lick his cone. The satisfied moan he made as he closed his eyes and savored his treat almost did me in.
He had no clue how sexy he was, which was fine with me. The fewer people who knew, the better. After we finished dessert, we walked past a little boutique that sold keepsakes and mementos and handcrafted jewelry, the kind of stuff my mom would go nuts for, and Ryan tugged me inside. I browsed the engravable gifts and trinkets and finally selected a sterling silver bracelet with charms that reflected things my mom enjoyed and I added two birthstones, my mom’s and me and Carly’s. She was going to love it.
