Perfect Man

Chapter 1-2

Alex couldn’t believe he was sitting at a corner booth in Max’s Bar waiting for some man named Craig. He sipped his beer and checked his watch. His “date” was already ten minutes late. Swell, stood up by a blind date arranged by his sister. All right, so maybe he was pathetic.

“Five more freakin’ minutes,” he muttered out loud.

As if on cue a tall, dark-haired man in a pinstriped suit appeared in the doorway. He looked to be about twenty-eight, Alex’s own age. He was gorgeous with his classic high cheekbones and chiseled jaw. Movie star looks is what they used to call it. He’d give his sister that much, she did know a good-looking man.

Too bad he was also one of the biggest pricks Alex had ever known.

Why in the name of all that was holy hadn’t he found out Craig’s last name from his sister? Craig f*****g Fontaine.

Idiot.

Craig glanced in his direction and approached his table with a beautiful perfect smile. Alex’s c**k betrayed him by growing hard.

“Alex?”

Craig did not remember him. Perfect. Figured.

“No, sorry. You must have the wrong person,” Alex said.

Craig’s killer smile dimmed for just a moment. “Really? You look just like the picture on your sister’s desk.”

Jill and her damn family pictures.

“All right, yes, I’m Alex.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Craig said, grabbing the empty chair and plopping his six-foot-two-inch frame into it. “Traffic was a bitch.”

“Uh-huh. Look, um, Craig, I was just leaving.”

“Leaving? Hey, I know was a bit late, but…Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Craig frowned. “You look so familiar. Are you an actor or a model or something?”

Before he could reply the waitress came to their table to take Craig’s order. He ordered a beer and turned back to Alex.

Alex sighed. “Ferguson is my sister’s married name.”

“So?”

“Her maiden name was Nichols.”

“I don’t follow you.”

Dumb jock. Craig had always been a dumb jock. Gritting his teeth, Alex said, “I’m Alex Nichols. Didn’t Jill tell you my name?”

Craig shrugged. “She just said her brother, Alex, but…”

“We went to high school together, Craig,” Alex said very slowly.

Craig continued to frown as though deep in thought. He shook his head. “Alex Nichols? I don’t think I remember…Alex Nichols?”

Alex waited for the waitress to set down Craig’s beer. When she walked away, he took a large swallow of his own drink before responding.

“I came out my senior year in high school,” he said, wincing a little at the still-painful memories. Hell, it had been ten years, you’d think he’d get over it. “You did your best to torture me the rest of the time we were in school.”

Craig opened his mouth and then shut it.

“You took every opportunity you could to humiliate me because I was gay. And now you’re here claiming you’re gay? Please.” Alex snorted. “You probably found out exactly who my sister is and planned this whole thing just to play some f****d-up game.”

“Whoa…Alex. No. Geez, that’s not true. I didn’t know who you were.” Craig ran his long-fingered hand through his tousled dark hair. “Man, that was ten years ago. I can’t believe you still even remember that.”

Alex pushed aside the lump forming in his throat. This was just great. “Maybe because it was a shitty time for me, thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry. Look, I asked to meet you. That’s true. I saw your picture and I thought you were hot and your sister mentioned having a gay brother so I asked her if that was the guy in the picture and well, she set it up from there. I didn’t realize you were familiar until I saw you in person and even then I didn’t think about you being from high school.”

Alex felt stupid for caring. How could it hurt after all this time? Maybe because in high school his fantasy man had been Craig Fontaine. They’d been friends before he admitted being gay.

“I’m really sorry, Alex,” Craig said. “Whatever I said in high school. I don’t know why I did any of that. Probably because I was questioning my own sexuality and it scared me.”

Alex exhaled. “Yeah, um, forget it. I didn’t mean to hit you with all this hostility. I was just surprised, I guess. Anyway, I should be going.”

“What? No. Come on. Let me buy you dinner. We can start over, can’t we? I saw a steakhouse on my way over here. We could probably even walk. Please?”

The gorgeous former man of his dreams was pleading with him? How could he resist that? Probably should. It could still be some dumb jock joke.

“Okay.”