Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Bestens, Tennessee was all I knew.
I’d lived here for my whole life. I was 22, and I’d never been on an airplane. I’d been out of Tennessee on road trips, but only to Kentucky once, Georgia twice, and one school trip to a museum in North Carolina.
I’d gone to college only ten minutes from here at Tennessee North University before graduating last year with a marketing degree and no goddamn clue what to do with it.
For now? I was just a bartender. I liked a simple life, and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but there had been a switch flipped in my mind once Draven and I were getting physical, too.
Maybe I didn’t crave pure violence, but I did crave physicality.
Back when I played hockey, I secretly liked when players on other times would try to fuck with me. I was a sweet person, but the moment someone actually got in my face?
I wasn’t backing down.
Ever.
It had to be the only reason why my cock had responded when things got intense with Draven. Why I’d come alive, once I started trying to fight.
And against my better judgment, I couldn’t be dishonest with anyone. Not even Draven.
Max
Fine. Yes. I liked it. But I was also terrified, and I still don’t trust you.
Draven
Good boy. Thanks for the honesty.
Call me good boy again and I’ll kill us both.
Why? Did reading it make your cock too hard all over again?
Quit talking about my dick. You’re Lily’s boyfriend.
Not exactly her boyfriend at this point.
I didn’t know what the hell he meant by that last comment, but my whole body was heated at this point, and I had shit to do around the bar.
Ugh.
Fuck it. Not wasting time on him or any provocative things he says.
I muted the text conversation before sliding my phone back over to my friends, because they didn’t need to see a goddamn word of this.
I opened my video comments back up again and they scrolled through those for a few more minutes, keeping themselves entertained.
I tried to act normal even though it felt impossible. I walked over and greeted an older couple on the other end of the bar, making them a vodka cranberry and a standard gin and tonic.
Back into the regular routine.
My life hasn’t changed just because of one weird night, and it’s not going to change because of people watching me online.
Andrew was laughing again when I made my way back to the other end of the bar.
“This guy NedHedd3 said he’d pay a hundred bucks if you send him a fully naked pic. You gonna do it, Burnett?”
I smiled. “He’d have to pay a lot more than that.”
“What, like, a hundred and five bucks?” Mason teased.
“You’d do it for free, babe, and we both know it,” Jesse told him, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek.
Robbie shook his head. “Go be lovebirds somewhere else. Andrew and I are trying to hang out without catching stray precum from your guys’ constant love-boners.”
Jesse cackled. “How do you think precum works, dude? You think it’s going to shoot out of my pants just because Mason makes me—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Andrew said, holding up a hand.
“You should listen to him,” I said.
“Why?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Because football players are always smarter than hockey players.”
I caught daggers from Jesse and Robbie across the bar for that one.
“Max Burnett, you want to die tonight?”
“Hey, I played hockey, so I’m allowed to say it,” I protested.
“All I’m picking up,” Jesse said, raising a finger, “is that Andrew wants to see me and Mason fuck right here on this bartop—”
“Gonna smack you, Sanocki,” Andrew said, holding up a threatening hand.
Mason was still scrolling through the comments on my video, transfixed by how many there were.
“Seems like a lot of gay dudes like your Cocktail Bro videos ever since you started posting shirtless, Max,” Mason said. “Is that weird for you?”
“I don’t mind,” I said, grabbing my phone back and looking through the comments. “It’s weird. All I wanted to do was share cocktail recipes. Now everything’s getting complicated.”
I couldn’t deny it. There was a lot of action from gay men. They liked my backwards hat, my biceps, and the way I wore my shorts low-slung, apparently.
I’d just thought I looked ready for a pool party, but apparently, I was bait.
Bait for freaks, both online, and on my own goddamn front porch.
“Who is that Rex67 guy?” Andrew asked. “He seems to comment a lot.”
I shook my head. “Nobody. Just a random guy.”
“He said he wants to watch you sleep? Bit weird.”
“He definitely is a weirdo.”
“Stalker levels of weird.”
I missed when I lived in a frat house and always had tons of other guys around. Until now, I never realized how much safer it felt. Living with my frat brothers had been my favorite part of my life so far, and goddamn, I still missed college.