Lane Read online

  “I hope so. He spilled his beer on my shoes.” It was my turn to roll my eyes.

  Gray chuckled. “You’ll never let me live that down. It was just a little bit, and those shoes washed out.”

  I would remind him of that night until he was too old for even little blue pills to work. “That is not the point. But I don’t picture him as the type to get wasted on a date, so I think I’m good.”

  “You never know, it’s the quiet ones you have to worry about.” The laughter in Gray’s voice said he was secretly wishing terrible or kinky things on me.

  Probably both.

  “It’s just a first date. He seems functional and like he has a good head on his shoulders. I’m not worried about it.” Aside from the stalking thing, there wasn’t anything about Lane that made me uneasy. I was nervous, and slightly uncomfortable if I was being honest, but nothing about him said creepy or weird.

  As for the kinky part, there would be time to figure that out later.

  “You said he models lingerie for a living. What was he wearing at Starbucks? I’m just curious, not judging, so no offense meant.” I had to admit that if the situation were reversed, I’d be curious as well.

  I wasn’t sure how separate his work life was from his home life, but asking that the first time we actually spoke seemed rude. If it wasn’t something I’d ask a woman on the first date, I thought it’d be a good idea not to question a man about it. Asking what kind of underwear a woman wore would get me slapped, or arrested possibly, so I wasn’t going to ask Lane.

  “Slim-fitting jeans and a T-shirt. He’s lean, and everything fits tighter than most of my straight friends would wear but nothing that said overtly feminine.” A lot of people had jobs where they did things they wouldn’t normally do in their personal life. Just because he wore feminine things on the website didn’t mean he brought that into his personal life.

  Right?

  “Would it make a difference to you if he was wearing something like that under his clothes or when he was at home?” Gray had spoken carefully, and I knew he was trying to make sure I’d looked at things from every angle. That didn’t mean the question was easy, however.

  “I don’t know. It’s never made a difference when I dated women, so I can’t see how it would with a guy.” I started pacing around the kitchen and finally just shrugged. “Eventually you end up naked, so everything else is really just decoration.”

  Gray snickered. “So you don’t care how the present is dressed up as long as you get to play with it?”

  That sounded dirtier than I’d intended. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

  Well, it kind of was, but the way he’d said it was filled with more innuendo than I’d planned. He laughed. “I’m going to have so much fun wrapping your Christmas present this year. You have no idea.”

  Lord, what had I gotten myself into?

  “Just don’t scare my mailman. I already make him nervous.” He was a cautious little thing that always went in the opposite direction every time he saw me coming. I felt like a big dog in a yard that just wanted to say hi but scared the hell out of the guy no matter what I did. It was a little bit disconcerting. I couldn’t imagine what he’d do if Gray got too creative.

  “I’ll wrap it in plain paper before I send it. Nothing scandalous.”

  Just what I needed. Plain paper packages arriving at my house. It’d look like I was ordering weird shit online. That would make the mailman feel so much better. “Don’t get me arrested or make my mailman refuse to come back. That’s all I’m asking.”

  I was going to end up on the news because of one of his jokes. I could already see it.

  Gray laughed, not sounding sincere in the least. “I promise.”

  I snorted. “I know better than to trust you when it comes to something like this.”

  “Because you’re smart.” Then his tone turned more serious. “But you know you can trust me if you need to talk to me about anything, right?”

  “Of course.” Gray might have been the guy who’d instigated all the crazy when we were in college but he was also the guy who’d do anything for a friend. “It’s just a first date.”

  It was just a first date.

  ****

  There were better things to do on a first date than dinner, but I hadn’t been able to think of anything else. I’d thought about the movies, but I wanted a chance to get to know him. I wasn’t sure why it was so difficult. In the past, I hadn’t thought twice about going to dinner with someone on the first date. It was easy, an instinctual invitation when I thought about dating someone.

  Was I worried about impressing Lane?

  No. He hadn’t seemed to be the type of person who would care where we ate.

  Was it because he was a guy?

  That was harder, but I didn’t think so. The last time I’d remembered being as nervous over a first date was back in high school. It felt like a lifetime ago, but I’d been nervous and excited and it had felt like small gremlins had invaded my stomach. Amy. I thought she’d been perfect. We’d dated for about a month, which seemed like a lifetime back then.

  Something about Lane made me want to smile and find out more about him. I was excited, and a little bit nervous. But it was like the way every cell would tense right before the roller coaster started to reach the top of the hill. It wasn’t bad, but it was still stressful.

  My phone call with Gray hadn’t been very long, but it had been just distracting enough to keep me from focusing on my work. But it also gave me an excuse to text Lane. He’d said he wasn’t much of a night owl when we’d traded numbers, so I hadn’t wanted to wait too late to text him. I’d hoped to get more work done before we spoke, but Gray had killed my focus earlier than I’d planned.

  Swiping my finger across the screen, I tried not to overthink it as I brought up Lane’s name in my contacts.

  I hope the rest of your day went well. Are we still on for dinner tomorrow?

  Hitting send, I ignored how stilted the message felt. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for Lane to respond, but when he texted back quickly, it felt like a weight was lifted off me.

  The day went great. No shoot today but I got a lot done on the blog. How was your day? And yes I still want to go to dinner.

  I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been until relief went through me. I’d basically cornered him earlier, so I hadn’t been sure if he was just agreeing because I overwhelmed him or because he’d actually wanted to.

  The day was good. I had several clients so I was busy. Any idea of where you want to go eat?

  There hadn’t been time to learn if he was on any kind of weird diet or just had a passionate hatred for fish. I’d met some people who automatically assumed everyone was on some kind of crazy weird diet so they hadn’t even thought to mention it.

  I thought that telling me you didn’t eat meat, gluten, or dairy would be important, but evidently not.

  I’m good with almost anything…and that’s not helpful to you at all LOL

  He was right, but he had me chuckling as I texted back.

  Yep. Not exactly a font of information there.

  His reply had me laughing.

  So you don’t want me to be mysterious? As your stalker I think I’m supposed to play it cool.

  I could picture that teasing grin of his, slightly embarrassed, but still trying to put himself out there.

  You were so mysterious I didn’t even notice you were stalking me. I’m thinking you should go for something more noticeable this time. Like talking lol.

  As I read his reply, I imagined the blush that sometimes crept up his face.

  You’re asking for a lot. Stalking is a solitary pursuit.

  I didn’t want solitary. I wanted to get to know my funny stalker.

  Well I’ve changed the rules on that…now what do you want to eat tomorrow lol don’t make me guess.

  He messaged back quickly and I could almost imagine the smile on his face.

  Oh, the quiet reader
has a bossy side that matches those tattoos huh?

  He had me very curious about his definition of bossy.

  Yes, but you only get to see that side if you behave.

  He made me wait longer that time, and I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Had I overstepped some invisible boundary? When my phone dinged, I smiled.

  It’s a good thing you can’t see how red I am.

  It was my turn to make a confession.

  No I liked seeing you blush.

  That had been the right answer, or at least not a wrong one, because he messaged back quickly again.

  Not commenting on that lol…back to food…um…anything you don’t like?

  Had he changed topics because he’d gotten uncomfortable or because he hadn’t known how far to take the flirting? I had a feeling it was possibly both. The question in his mind was probably how far to push the guy who’d thought he was straight until just a few days before. Getting back to what I was supposed to be texting him about was harder than I’d expected. Flirting with him felt natural…easier than I’d thought it would.

  I’m open to just about anything. There’s a new place a few miles from downtown. It seems to have a mix of things so there should be plenty of options.

  It wasn’t a chain restaurant, but I’d heard good things about it. Evidently, they had everything from steaks to fancy tacos, so we’d have to see how it tasted, but no one had said anything bad about it yet.

  Sounds good. I think Eli and his boyfriend were there the other night. He said it was good if I’m thinking of the same place.

  Do you want to meet over there or do you want me to pick you up?

  As careful as people were in dating, I wasn’t surprised when he texted back immediately.

  I’ll meet you there.

  But then the follow-up made me smile.

  Not because you look creepy or because as your stalker I’m supposed to be mysterious but I might have a late shoot depending on people’s schedules.

  His job had to be a bit like mine in that normal hours didn’t always apply, so I could understand the need to be flexible.

  What time do you want to eat? 7 sound good?

  I was hoping that would be late enough for him, but we could make it later if he needed us to. I was just curious to see how it would go.

  That’d be perfect. It’s been a long day for me so I’m going to head to bed but I’m excited about dinner.

  Then just as quick…

  Not that I’m trying to sound clingy or weird…I’m just a stalker not nuts.

  Laughing, I wandered back over to the table and sat down.

  Good to know. You go to bed, I’m going to work on my project for a while. I’ll see you tomorrow.

  I wanted him well rested for our date, and something about his texts said he wouldn’t mind my being a little bit controlling.

  Night bossy

  Good night my stalker.

  Words I’d never thought I’d say to anyone.

  Chapter 6

  Lane

  “You’re wearing that?” Eli’s voice came from behind me and made me jump.

  Turning my head, I continued getting dressed. “What? I look good in these jeans.”

  I’d picked out my nicest jeans. Ones that weren’t too tight but showed off my ass and legs. I had a lot to learn about what Wilder was attracted to, but the jeans were a good bet either way. Hanging up on the rack beside me was a slim-fitting button-down shirt that looked great with the jeans.

  It was a good date outfit, so I wasn’t sure what Eli was going crazy over.

  He just stood there shaking his head, half-naked, dressed in black lace panties and a matching fitted tank top. I’d been right when I’d thought the shoot might be in the late afternoon. But the timing had worked out perfectly, because I could head over from the studio to dinner and still be on time.

  “The clothes are fine. Boring, yes, but you looked good when you came in. It’s those that I have a problem with. What are you wearing?” He looked like he was either terribly offended or had seen a spider.

  “Your drama is starting to leak out all over the floor.” The underwear wasn’t that bad.

  The black boy short underwear was cute and comfortable, but not exactly sexy—or feminine, which was what had caught Eli’s eye. I wasn’t exactly shy, but I was more conservative than Eli when it came to how I dressed. Most of the time, people would’ve never guessed I had sexy feminine things underneath my regular clothes.

  That was how I liked it. I didn’t need to stand out or be flashy, that just wasn’t who I was.

  “Those are not I’m going out on a date with a sexy tattooed hunk underwear. Those look like you have the flu and had to stumble to the doctor’s office.” Eli’s eyes dragged down my body, in an almost clinical way, like he was trying to analyze me. “You said this was a date. This isn’t some kind of I’m going to pretend to just hang out with the straight guy so I don’t make him uncomfortable thing, is it?”

  Sighing, I gave up trying to get dressed and let my jeans fall back around my ankles. I probably looked ridiculous, but everybody else was in a similar state of undress, so it didn’t matter. “First of all, even if it was, it’s none of your business. You promised you weren’t going to butt in. Remember?”

  Eli rolled his eyes like I was ridiculous. “There’s not butting in and then there’s letting you torture yourself, those are two different things.”

  “I’m not going to debate that with you. But no, this is a date. I just don’t want to overwhelm him and we haven’t had a chance to talk about more personal things. I told you that I wasn’t sure how much experience he had with men, and I didn’t want to surprise him.” From what he’d said and hinted at, Wilder had never been in a serious relationship with a guy.

  Surprising him with interesting things on a first date seemed like a bad idea. Not that I thought we were going to get naked on the first date. I liked the guy, but I wasn’t going to rush. But I also wasn’t going to be caught in a situation where things got out of hand and I got naked—and oops, I’m wearing red lace panties.

  Nope.

  “If he’s someone that you have to hide who you are from, he can’t be Mr. Right. And he probably shouldn’t even be Mr. Right-Now.” Eli got wound up about a lot of topics, and I could see I’d hit on one without realizing how it would sound to him. He kept going without pausing, not letting me get a word in.

  “I understand about hiding things from your family, lord do I understand that, but this is different. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are from someone you’re dating.” I got how difficult seeing it from my perspective would be for Eli. The idea that I’d hide who I was or what I liked from a date probably hit every button for him, but that wasn’t how I saw it.

  “That’s not it; I know who I am and what I like. But there’s no reason to spring something like that on him before we’ve had a chance to talk about it. He knows where I work, and he probably has some questions. But just in case things go further than I expect, I want to have a chance to talk to him about it first.” Some things you just shouldn’t spring on a date.

  I liked to wear panties.

  I liked to get spanked occasionally.

  I knew I was cute but I was a bit of a math nerd and I played DnD with friends a few times a month.

  There were lots of things you just had to ease people into. There wasn’t anything wrong with that. Wilder was already dealing with a lot. I didn’t see a problem with taking things one step at a time. I knew to Eli it would sound like excuses for hiding who I was, and maybe he was right. But it didn’t feel like that.

  “You shouldn’t have to hide who you are. He’s sexy, but—”

  “Who’s sexy?” We’d both been so wrapped up in the discussion that I’d missed Roman coming over. He wrapped his arms around Eli and pulled him to his chest, a wicked grin on his face. “Are you up to something, Brat?”

  Eli sighed, leaning into Roman. “Not yet, but if I get into trouble,
it’s Lane’s fault. He’s being ridiculous.”

  I rolled my eyes and looked at Roman. “I’m not the one being ridiculous.”

  Eli butted in, turning his head to glare at Roman. “He’s hiding what he likes from his date.” Then the death glare focused back on me. “And I don’t think you should go in there looking all vanilla.”

  Roman chuckled. “Isn’t that his decision?” Then Roman focused on me. “The tattooed guy from the coffee shop, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes, and he’s already had to deal with a lot; I’m not even sure if he’s dated a guy before.”

  “If he’s already dealing with a lot, then I can understand why you’re being cautious.” Roman leaned in and kissed Eli’s cheek. “You, my brat, have to let him handle things in his own way. If he starts changing who he is and becoming some kind of little Stepford boyfriend, then you may butt in all you like. Does that work?” Barely suppressed laughter flickered through Roman’s eyes.

  I shrugged. “Works for me.”

  I wasn’t planning on becoming someone else. I stalked him, but I wasn’t obsessed with him.

  There was a difference.

  If Wilder couldn’t accept the fact that I was a guy, or that I had some feminine things in my closet and a lot of feminine things in my drawers, then we just weren’t right for each other. I was going to give him a chance to figure that out, though.

  Eli grumbled, clearly not excited about the deal, but eventually, he nodded. “All right, but you have to call me tomorrow and tell me how it went. And you can’t wait a dozen dates into the relationship to let him know about everything else. It’s not fair to you or to him, and you don’t want to give me an ulcer.”

  “And then I’ll have to give you a red bottom while you’re locked up in the cage, because you’ll be driving everybody insane.” Roman chuckled and glanced at me. “So you’ll be doing everyone a favor if you don’t wait too long.”

  No one at the company knew what the word boundaries meant. “I think you would be the only one happy in that scenario. But all right, as soon as there’s an opening in the conversation I’ll discuss it with him. I’m not an idiot. I don’t want to get too attached to a guy who will never fit into my life.”