Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
What. The. Hell.
Joe wasn’t a bad-looking guy, but that didn’t mean Zane wanted to jump his bones. That was up to him, and pushing them together like two Ken dolls was seriously starting to get on his nerves. He had been employed to entertain everyone, not to be the entertainment.
But he hoped for tips, and that made him stand still, unsure how to proceed when his natural reaction of voicing his annoyance loud, clear, and with expletives didn’t seem appropriate.
“Hey! It’s just a game!” Joe yelled, but realized this wasn’t directed at him when Tamara yelped, and a piece of furniture made a rumble against the floor.
“Learn to keep your fucking hands off him or I’m gonna kick you out!” Roach growled back.
“Take your homophobic ass out of here!” Tamara yelled.
How the hell had it come to this?
Zane ripped off the scarf to see Joe leaning back against the table he must have been pushed against, Roach, who looked like a wolf out for blood, and Tamara, who stood between, them, fashioning herself as Joe’s protectress.
It was time to step in before it came to blows, and Zane put his arms around Roach, hugging him from behind. He would not be paying Culver for glasses broken in this fight.
“There he is. May I introduce my partner, Reed?”
There. He’d said it. Reed. It only made sense to introduce Roach to others by his name.
Tamara’s shoulders sagged. “Oh,” was all she had in her.
Joe raised his hands and rolled his eyes, but kept a distance. “Okay, okay, only gay in the village, and he’s yours, I get it.”
Roach glanced at Zane, his fists curled and ready for blows. He was so tense Zane could sense an ache in his own muscles and had to roll his shoulders to unwind the stiffness.
“No, I’ve been traveling most of my life, but stayed here for him,” he said, loud enough to be heard over the music, his voice switching to a more melodic tune as he kissed Roach’s shoulder. “Because you’re my daily bread, my PBJ.”
Roach blinked a few times, but then the tiniest smile appeared in his eyes. “You’re so dumb,” he muttered, which prompted Zane to embarrass him further.
“I’m a real picky eater, don’t ever want nothin’ else. My PBJ.”
Tamara, on the other hand, hugged Joe’s arm and smiled at them, no longer offended by Roach’s intrusion. “That’s so sweet!”
Roach shook Joe’s hand after a moment of hesitation. “Sorry. Got carried away.”
Joe snorted. “That’s okay, PBJ, I’d be keeping an eye on him too.”
Elizabeth squeezed Roach’s shoulders, smirking. “Don’t worry, Denver, we won’t molest your man anymore.”
Zane shook his head, tightening his arms around Roach, because he’d have to let go of him so they both could go back to their respective jobs. But that last hug couldn’t hurt.
Chapter 24 – Zane
Zane wasn’t sure if he was too tired to complain, or if Roach’s easy company put him at ease, but he couldn’t remember the last time heavy cleanup didn’t feel like a chore.
Perhaps it was the fact that they were both drinking on the job.
It was three in the morning, but while Zane was fatigued, and his throat hurt from singing, he did enjoy the fact that everyone else had gone, which left him free to flirt with his man as they cleaned counters and swept the floors between sips of beer.
“Wait, I have another line,” Zane said, grinning as he gathered broken glass into a dustpan. “I’ll lick out all your jelly and dry you out!”
Roach laughed out loud. “No! That’s horrible! Enough. I had to endure it all night already.”
“Are you saying you don’t like my new, joyfully romantic music style?” Zane asked, tossing the contents of the dustpan into trash.
Roach mopped up right behind him. “It isn’t very you, is it? Unless you’ve gone soft. Come to think of it, you do talk of killing me much less. Is it the power of my ass?”
Zane smirked at him, still not over the fact that being around Roach, even if they were at work, was pleasant. He was never bored when they were together. “How does it feel to be a real gay man with a boyfriend?” he asked, leaning against the broom.
Roach turned his back on Zane as he mopped up the floor without hurry. “You didn’t give me much choice, did you?”
Zane snorted, his gaze gliding to Roach’s ass. “Oh, poor you. Forced into such indecency,” he said in a dramatic voice before breaking into a pseudo-operatic cry. “Trapped with his dick in a man’s mouth. So horrid is his faaate!”
Roach started laughing so hard he let go of the mop. “I meant coming out. I’ll be the first to admit I put my dick your mouth willingly.”
Zane hummed, watching him with a half-smile. “I’m an asshole. But you still can’t resist me.”