What Matters Most (16 page)

“Dare I ask why?” Evan did indeed dare to ask. Josh wasn’t surprised at all.

“Yeah, you can ask,” Josh teased, grinning when Evan glowered at him. “Because I doubt Montana is the GLBT Mecca, and I’d rather not get my ass kicked as soon as I step off the plane.”

WHAT MATTERS MOST

Bailey Bradford

94

How the hell did Nick do it?
Josh shifted in his seat, cursing when a cramp rippled from his lower back around to his ribs. His ass was numb and one of his legs was asleep, and he was bored out of his ever-lovin’ mind! On top of all that, he’d accumulated a few days’

growth of sparse facial hair that made him look like a seventeen year old boy desperate to pass as an adult, and—Josh sniffed cautiously, grimacing at the assault to his olfactory nerve.

He smelt funky. How was that even possible when he had showered last night and hadn’t done anything more than sit on his butt for the past several hours?

Josh smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand and grunted. Lowering the

window more might help. So would turning on the AC and getting some air circulating. It was quite possible, he decided, that he wasn’t cut out for this whole stalking thing. Three days of it, and his brain cells were clearly deteriorating. He
could
just show up at the ranch and hope Nick would talk to him…decently…without cursing and/or yelling, but Josh really wanted to talk to Nick alone, and he was more than a little afraid of outing the older man.

That wouldn’t endear Josh to him at all, and Josh just wasn’t sure he could pull the whole strait thing off. He’d thought he looked like a cowboy in his tight—but not too tight, Evan had stressed—Wranglers, his western shirt and the other accoutrements. Granted, the bright pink thong probably wasn’t something most cowboys wore, but Josh had to let his gay man out some way or another.

Josh snorted and wriggled around in his seat. Maybe if he took the thong off, he’d be a little more comfortable. It did seem to be digging in—

He was in the process of tugging his boots off when he heard a diesel motor in the distance. From the small crappy rest area only a few miles from the Mossy Glenn ranch on FM 352, Josh could only just make out a dot on the horizon. He hopped and jumped on one foot until he finally had the boot wedged on right then he scrambled back into his rental. On the off chance it was Nick, Josh didn’t want to be seen until he was good and ready.

The big black Dodge blew by too fast for Josh to see the driver, but he didn’t need to in order to know it was Nick. Besides the fact that every hair on Josh’s body had stood up to attention, his dick had as well—and his heart had gone into overdrive, dancing and WHAT MATTERS MOST

Bailey Bradford

95

shimmying in is chest. Josh buckled up and turned the key in the ignition, praying he was finally going to get a chance to talk to Nick, touch him. Surely he’d served enough penance for hurting Nick?

“Stupid bastard,
of course
he gave up!” Nick slapped the steering wheel as he floored the gas. Had he expected Josh to continue trying to contact him every day for the rest of his life? Seriously? After Nick had acted like a mannerless jackass and ignored the younger man’s texts and calls for over a month, shouldn’t Nick be relieved that Josh hadn’t bothered contacting him—or attempting to—for over seventy-two hours? He should, but instead Nick was about ready to break down and call the guy.

Nick was furious with himself for being such an ignorant ass, but the truth was, he hadn’t trusted himself, and he still didn’t. His heart felt like it’d been ripped out of his chest and stomped on, and that might very well be heartache caused by the knowledge that he’d finally driven Josh off for good, but what had Nick expected? For Josh to keep trying until Nick finally died at the ripe old age of forty? Because Nick probably wouldn’t last much longer than that, not as miserable as he was. Nick pressed harder on the gas pedal, as if trying to drill it through the floor would really make the truck go any faster. It was just that his mother was driving him batshit insane, and then there was Josh, or more precisely, there
wasn’t
Josh.

Nick’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as he sped along, gaze sweeping past the shoulders of the road to check for darting critters. As frustrated and confused as he felt, he’d prefer not to die because he overcorrected when some rabbit or something darted out in front of him. The fine hairs on Nick’s arms stood up and something very close to an electric shock shot through him from head to toe. His heart stuttered then raced as he spotted the dark blue Ford at the rest area. Nick had a split second to see inside the vehicle through his own darkly tinted windows, but he’d swear, if he didn’t know better—

The dark vehicle pulled out from the rest area. Nick’s entire body trembled before all the blood in his body rushed to his dick to say howdy. His head spun a little from the rush before Nick made himself take a deep breath, his eyes on the truck in his rearview more than on the road ahead of him like they should be. He slowed down, well,
slowly
, not wanting to WHAT MATTERS MOST

Bailey Bradford

96

tip might-be-Josh off. Which was stupid, because if it was Josh behind him, the guy obviously wanted to talk to Nick, and if it wasn’t Josh, maybe Nick wanted to hold on to the fantasy that the sexy young man had come to hunt him down.

Twenty some-odd miles later, when Nick was turning onto 94, he began to dare hope his fantasy was becoming reality. The dark Ford was still behind him, and Nick’s body was still reacting like it always had to Josh. Nick couldn’t stop a grin at that; he’d spent hours at a gay bar only to find that his dick didn’t give a damn about any man there, but give him even a hint of Josh and Nick had an erection he could pound nails with. He flicked another glance in his rearview mirror, checking to see if the truck was following him still. Granted, it might not be Josh, but either way Nick had the perfect place for a confrontation regardless of who the man following him was. If it was Josh, he’d probably feel right at home. If it wasn’t and whoever was in the Ford wasn’t gay, he’d sure get a shock. Either way, Nick thought as he grinned wickedly, it was about to get real interesting real quick.

The club parking lot was packed like it had been the last two times Nick had come to The Purple Turtle. Despite the name, there wasn’t anything slow about the clubs; the music was fast and the hook ups were even faster. The first time Nick had come here he’d practically ran back out the door when a cute little blond guy with big sparkling blue eyes had promptly latched onto him right inside the door. Before Nick had been able to do much more than gasp, a firm hand had cupped his cock and a promise of the best blow job he’d ever have had been whispered in his ear. Nick had dislodged the guy quickly and almost painlessly—the blond had a hell of a grip for such a little man—and Nick had been propositioned another half dozen times before he got back out the door. He’d been terrified and yeah, a little turned on, which was why his steps had faltered in the parking lot and the blond had managed to catch up to him.

The blond, a sweet little bit named Adam, had followed him out and started

peppering him with questions Nick had, strangely enough, found himself answering.

Something about the concern in those blue eyes had made Nick agree to a cup of coffee at a nearby coffee shop. Adam was easy to talk to and Nick had ended up telling Adam about Josh and the ranch and this newly discovered part of himself. Maybe he didn’t get into WHAT MATTERS MOST

Bailey Bradford

97

specifics about what had happened the last time Nick had been with Josh, but Adam seemed to have figured out something sexual went down. He’d blinked those big eyes when Nick told him about ignoring Josh’s attempts to contact him, then Adam had told Nick he was seven kinds of a fool.

Nick kind of agreed, but his pride had got him into a mess he wasn’t sure how to extract himself from. At first he’d been too hurt to deal with Josh, then he’d been angry and then he’d just been a damned fool, as Adam had pointed out.

Adam had leant forward in the booth seat, bracing his elbows on the table and his pointy chin in his palms. The wistful expression on his handsome face pinched at Nick’s heart. “I wish someone loved me enough to chase after me even though I was being a total douche.”

Harsh words from such soft lips had left Nick feeling like the world’s biggest ass, and he’d stuttered through a denial. Josh didn’t love him, he just—Nick didn’t know what he wanted, and the truth was, he was too chicken to find out. Adam had rolled his eyes and swatted at Nick’s hand, and the two had somehow managed to become friends, which was the only reason Nick went back to the Turtle the second time. Adam had snickered and promised to ‘guard’ Nick’s ‘virtue’ and the two of them had ended up dancing and tossing back a few drinks before Adam found a likely candidate to hook up with for a few hours.

After, of course, he’d nagged and prodded at Nick to man up.

And wouldn’t Adam end up laughing at him tonight? Nick felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. The little blond had given him a hard enough time over the phone before agreeing to meet Nick tonight. When Nick had told him why he was heading to the Turtle, Adam’s teasing had stopped and he’d quietly told Nick if he fucked this up, Adam would make sure Nick was never capable of getting an erection again. Before Nick could react to the threat, Adam had pointed out what a meat market the club was, and now, as Nick parked his truck a block from the place, he was having serious doubts as to the wisdom of leading might-be-Josh here. If it was Josh, he’d be swarmed with eager bodies and hands in seconds.

The thought brought another flush to Nick’s cheeks, this one making his skin feel tight enough to split. No one was going to touch Josh besides him. He glanced in the side mirror and yelped to find Adam’s grinning face only inches from his. Even through the window he could hear the blond’s laughter. Nick frowned at his friend and shut the truck off, watching WHAT MATTERS MOST

Bailey Bradford

98

for the Ford truck in his peripheral vision. There was just enough sunlight left for him to make out the dark vehicle pulling into a slot a block away.

“Hey,” Adam chirped, cutting his eyes in the direction Nick was looking. “Is that the guy you think might be
your
guy?”

“He’s not mine,” Nick muttered as he turned to shut the truck door.

Adam harrumphed and sidled closer, placing one hand on Nick’s lower back. Nick

didn’t flinch like he had the first few times Adam had touched him; the man was just one of those touchy feely types Nick had never understood, but telling Adam to knock it off would have caused hurt to blossom in his friend’s blue eyes and Nick didn’t want to do that. Adam pushed gently and Nick started walking, trying his best not to look behind him. Adam wasn’t so subtle.

“So you won’t mind if someone else takes him to the back room, or—” Adam hissed, his warm breath gusting over Nick’s shoulder since the blond was peering behind them.

“Shit! You didn’t tell me he was a cowboy, too, or so freaking good looking! Can
I
take him home if you don’t want him?”

Nick stumbled and forced himself not to look back. Josh wasn’t a cowboy, what the hell was Adam going on about? And—Nick stopped and gripped Adam’s biceps, jerking the smaller man around to face him. “Don’t you fucking
dare
try to hook up with him! I mean it, Adam…” He trailed off at the smug smile Adam gave him.

“Gotcha. I wouldn’t poach. I may be easy, but I’m not a complete whore,” Adam said, his smile fading. “But you better appreciate him, coming out here to rescue you like you’re one of those women in a romance novel who gets all butthurt and runs away only to be rescued by the big, strong alpha male. You
do
realise you’re the chick in this, right?”

Nick let go of Adam’s arm and pushed him away. “What? No! What kind

of…that’s…” He couldn’t figure out how to refute it. Offence seemed the best tactic. “How do you know that shit anyway? Spend a lot of time reading chick lit?”

Adam scoffed and smacked him on the shoulder. “Hey, he’s even wearing the white

cowboy hat! But—first off, the fact that you even know the term chick lit should have clued you in to the fact that you’re gay. Second, those books aren’t chick lit, they’re romances, and yes, I used to read them and beat off imagining the big, strong alpha male fucking me instead of whatever hussy was the heroine. Then I found something better to read.”

WHAT MATTERS MOST

Bailey Bradford

99

Nick glanced at the man and was relieved to see that he hadn’t been offended despite Nick being a jerk. “Oh really? And what’s that?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but anything was better than dwelling on the too accurate description of himself Adam had just handed him. He
was
the chick. Shit.

Adam nodded to the bouncer, ignoring the line of people waiting. “Do me a favour, Rick? Let the guy in the white cowboy hat in without making him wait? His name is Josh. It’s one of those romantic true love things.” Adam tipped his chin at Nick, who felt heat scorch from his toes to the top of his head as the big bouncer grinned at him.

“Sure thing, Adam,” Rick rumbled, holding open the door. “Only ‘cause you look so hot, though.”

Adam beamed and added an extra swish when he walked inside, the plump mounds

of his ass swaying in a way that had hungry eyes following his every move.

“Looks like you’ll have your pick tonight,” Nick pointed out as he took Adam’s elbow and led him to the bar.

“Good thing,” Adam snickered, glancing behind them. “Looks like you won’t be here long. Let’s dance.”

Nick tried to protest, his throat parched from a combination of fear and hope. “But I want—”

“Shut up,” Adam snapped, narrowing his eyes. “You don’t know
what
you want or how to get it, so I’m gonna help you. Now move.”