Nichole met him outside again and they all walked to the restaurant holding hands, like last time. They talked, but the conversation was held up more than once by meaningful stares.
As they stepped into the restaurant Luke grabbed both Bryan’s and Nichole’s hands and held them still. “You have to come up tonight. Please?”
Bryan glanced at Nichole, and she shrugged. He wanted this, but did she know what they were getting into? “You okay with this, Nichole?”
“Yes,” she hissed and stepped closer to him, running her fingers over his chest.
Bryan drew in a deep breath and sighed. He’d never done anything like this before, but being with both of these people felt right. After dinner they made their way back over to Luke’s building, fits of laughter interrupting their progress at least once a block. They were high on lust and emotions.
When they got to Luke’s building he led them into the lobby. They all said hello to the doorman and the concierge, but Bryan felt strange going upstairs with the pair. Surely it looked strange to the men?
Bryan was worried about the way it would look for Luke. When they’d stepped into the elevator, he turned to Luke.
“What?” Luke asked.
He hadn’t been able to disguise his worry. “I don’t want people gossiping about you. How many people do you bring up here?”
Luke gave a slight smile, his gaze connecting with Bryan’s. “That’s sweet. They won’t talk.”
“Are you sure?” Bryan asked.
“No, I’m not. I’ve never brought another person I was dating up here, just friends. If I hook up I go somewhere else, never home.”
“Really?” Nichole asked.
“Yeah. I don’t want people to know that much about me. My place is special, my sanctuary.”
“So why are you inviting me—us—up?” Bryan asked.
Luke shot him a look that burned Bryan’s body. He’d been hot before, but now he was boiling. The elevator stopped and Luke eyed both him and Nichole.
“Welcome to my home.”
Luke grabbed Bryan’s hand first, then Nichole’s before the doors slid open.
His place was totally posh, especially for someone his age. Luke had his mom to thank for his success. At the young age of eight, his modelling career had begun only because his mom had threatened him with boarding school if he didn’t model. He’d chosen modelling and become the prima donna she’d always wanted. It had been too bad for her that his testosterone had kicked in during puberty, forcing him to take control of his own life or wither away under her strong arm. Of course, most of his money had come from wise investments and a little luck. Only in the last year, since he’d met Christopher, had his modelling career taken off to dizzying heights, and he now had a movie to co-star in.
He smiled to himself as the elevator doors slid open, revealing his sanctuary away from the crazies of the fashion world. He held back and watched Bryan and Nichole step into his wonderland. The few friends he’d brought into his home had been amazed, and their reactions always made him smile. Usually it was repair people, real business associates and close friends. The friends had gushed horribly, usually overdoing it, so he’d kept those invites to a minimum.
The main wall colour was called Perfect Greige, and the décor had Turkish Coffee accents. Basically beige with dark brown and grey, but he’d loved the names of the paints and wouldn’t forget them any time soon. The furniture had been handpicked by an Italian designer who’d given him the best blow job he’d ever experienced. The soft leather high-backs were beyond comfortable. Every accessory had been selected based on sentimental value and not only for decoration. He had bought the lapis-blue bowl in India when he’d done the photo shoot for Dior. The black onyx statue had come from Mexico, where he’d been for a swimwear shoot last May.
For a moment emptiness and despair filled Luke. His life had come down to possessions and meaningless fucks in bathroom bars. With Bryan he hoped to fill the hole in his soul for a few hours. Nichole was a bonus that he wasn’t sure how to deal with. Part of him wanted to be alone with Bryan, and that worried him a little. These two people had been strangers not that long ago, but somehow that had all changed, and he didn’t know exactly how Bryan had come to mean so much to him. How had someone become so important that he was breaking his rules and doing the one thing he’d decided he never would?
The empty, clawing nothingness that mocked him threatened to erupt and bring him to his knees, but he kept the beast under control and pushed aside his wishes for love and contentment. Too many times in the past, he’d mistaken people’s intentions. Sure, Bryan and Nichole seemed nice, but only time would tell. He shut down his feelings for Bryan, fearing the guy’s reaction. One day he might find something close to love, but why throw away two perfectly good bodies just because he had a problem with his emotions?