Pocket Pair Read online

  A Total-E-Bound Publication

  www.total-e-bound.com

  Pocket Pair

  ISBN # 978-1-907010-76-7

  ©Copyright Carol Lynne 2009

  Cover Art by April Martinez ©Copyright August 2009

  Edited by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

  Total-E-Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2009 by Total-E-Bound Publishing 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road

  , Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-sizzling.

  Poker Night

  POCKET PAIR

  Carol Lynne

  Dedication

  For all the authors and readers who attended, the first annual, Carol Lynne Authors and Readers Weekend, thank you!

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Volkswagen Eos: Volkswagen of America, Inc.

  Chapter One

  Trey Huggins gazed out over the water and sighed. He’d been with Bobby and Jules for a month, but he needed to go home. His friends told him he should stay at least until his attacker was arrested, but Trey was beginning to think that would never happen.

  How could he have been so stupid as to agree to meet someone in his home he didn’t know? Trey knew the answer immediately. He was lonely. Lonely, pathetic people like himself did all kinds of foolish things in the name of companionship.

  JB101 seemed so nice when he’d met him online. It wasn’t until he’d had a knife held to his throat that Trey had an inkling of JB101’s true intentions. And now the man who’d fooled him, raped and stabbed him, was walking around on the streets of San Francisco.

  According to the police, JB101 used one of the public libraries to set up his targets. The madman who changed IDs with every victim had already raped and stabbed four men, three of whom had died from their injuries, before setting his sights on Trey.

  “Here you are,” Bobby said as he walked out onto the deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

  Trey didn’t take his eyes off the view. “Yep. Where else would I be.”

  Bobby sprawled out on the lounge chair next to Trey’s. “You’re planning to come with me to Zac’s later, right?”

  Trey shrugged. “I don’t really feel like poker.”

  Bobby reached over and tried to put a hand on Trey’s arm, but Trey moved before he could be touched. “It’s not about playing poker. It’s about spending an evening with friends.”

  Trey leaned his head back against the lounger and closed his eyes. He didn’t want his friends to think he was mad at them, but sitting around a table laughing and joking wasn’t something he had in him just then. “It still hurts to sit upright for more than a few minutes at a stretch.”

  “Would you be mad if I had the game over here? Then you could drop in when you felt like it, and still lie down if you need to.”

  When Bobby took that tone, Trey knew he wasn’t going to be able to get out of it. “It’s your house. I just don’t want you changing your routine because of me.”

  Bobby ran his hands through his hair. “You’ve refused to see any of the guys since the hospital. It’s getting harder and harder to put ’em off. They just love you, man, and they want to see for themselves that you’re healing.”

  Trey knew his friends loved him. Heck, what would he do without them? But the shame he felt over what he’d allowed to happen was too much. “I just can’t stand the thought of anyone pulling the ‘What were you thinking?’ thing on me. I’ve had enough of that from the police.”

  “And you honestly think any of us would pull that shit on you?”

  Trey didn’t say anything, because truth was, yeah, he definitely believed a few of them thought it. Whether they actually came out and said it was a fifty-fifty proposition.

  With his lower lip stuck out just enough for Trey to know he’d hurt his feelings, Bobby started to get up.

  “Wait.” Trey reached out, but fell short of actually touching his friend. “Have the guys over. I’ll try.”

  Bobby stared at him for several moments before nodding and retreating to the house.

  Trey covered his eyes with his arm. The thing he couldn’t seem to explain to Bobby was that it wasn’t the rape that held him back. It was the shame that he’d been so desperate for someone to love him that he’d been willing to do almost anything.

  The things he’d done via a web cam for JB101 made him blush just thinking about it. What would happen if his friends found out? He felt guilty enough that he hadn’t told the police about them. At the time they only asked him if he’d had online correspondence with the rapist.

  Trey heard the sliding glass door open. “The guys will be here at seven.”

  “Will Jules be home?” he asked. He liked Jules a lot. He never asked him questions about how he was feeling emotionally. Jules was concerned with his physical well-being, but he was smart enough to know not to pry into the emotional side of his recovery.

  “Yeah. He should be home any minute. Why? Do you need something?” Bobby asked.

  “No. Just wondered.”

  Bobby went back into the house and Trey decided he’d better take a shower. He didn’t want one, but he knew it was poor manners to sit at a table with your friends smelling like stinky feet.

  After five minutes of internal debate, he eventually stood and went inside. Bobby was already setting up the dining room table. Trey grinned as he walked by. Bobby may say he was having poker night at his house for Trey’s sake, but by the way he was whistling, he wanted to host the bi-weekly event.

  “I’m gonna take a shower,” Trey announced.

  Bobby chuckled. “Probably a good thing.”

  Trey stuck out his tongue and slowly climbed the stairs. His wounds were coming along nicely, but the internal stitches still weren’t healed.

  After stripping off his shorts and underwear, Trey turned on the shower in his en suite. While he waited for the water to heat, he studied himself in the mirror. His friends gave him a hard time for sunbathing, but although he was African-American, there was obviously a Caucasian somewhere in his ancestry. With greenish-brown eyes and light skin tone, there simply was no doubt. He looked good with a tan, so he suffered the jokes from his buddies.

  He had two additions to his leanly muscled torso. He traced the jagged scars left by JB101’s knife. The doctors told him he’d been extremely lucky to make it out of the situation only losing his spleen and a lot of blood. Trey could think of one other very important thing he’d lost that night, his virginity.

  With a shake of his head, he turned away from the mirror and stepped under the hot spray. He picked up the soap and began scrubbing his body. When he reached his genitals, he washed them without his usual pleasure. Tre
y had begun to wonder whether he’d ever get another erection.

  He quickly finished up and put on a clean pair of underwear, baggy grey shorts and a black T-shirt. The best thing about having hair that was only about half-an-inch long, was that he was out the door as soon as his clothes were on.

  Downstairs, he inadvertently walked in on a major make-out session between Bobby and Jules in the kitchen. “Oops. Sorry.”

  He turned and started to walk out, but was called back by Jules.

  “That’s okay. Come on back in. We don’t have time to do what we want anyway.”

  Trey spun back around and smiled at the silver fox still wrapped in Bobby’s arms. “I could always sit out on the front step and hold the guys back until you take care of it.”

  Jules gazed into Bobby’s pale brown eyes. “Nice thought, but we like to snuggle afterwards. Fuck and run isn’t our thing.”

  Trey knew Jules didn’t intend to bring up a sore subject, but he always got a little depressed when he thought about his friends cuddling. Damn. That’s all he’d wanted, just someone special to hold him.

  He was saved from his thoughts by the doorbell. “I’ll get it.”

  Before he was even out of the room, the two men were back to sucking face. Despite everything, Trey loved that the two men couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It might be depressing, but it also gave him hope.

  He opened the door to Zac and Marco. “Hey, guys.”

  Zac stepped forward and reached out to hug Trey. As if on automatic pilot, Trey took a step back.

  “Oh. Sorry. You must still be sore.” Zac’s hands dropped to his sides as he came to a stop.

  “Jules and Bobby are in the kitchen,” Trey relayed, waving them back. “Which means we’re better off on the deck.”

  Instead of taking his usual spot on the lounger, Trey sat at the table. Marco passed him a beer from the case they’d brought as he took a seat beside him.

  “So, how’re you feeling?” Marco asked.

  “Better.”

  “You gonna be ready for the new school year?” Zac asked.

  “I think so. I still have a couple of weeks.” Trey took a gulp of his beer. He wished it were colder, but beggars and all that.

  “I talked to Cole earlier. He said to tell you he was thinking about you,” Zac said.

  “You talked to Principal Harding about me?”

  “Well, yeah. He doesn’t know the story behind what happened, but he knows you were injured. He needed a heads-up in case you wouldn’t be able to return for the start of school.” Zac took a sip and stared at Trey, daring him to disagree.

  “If he doesn’t know what happened, how does he think I got stabbed?” Trey asked.

  “Knife fight at the local bikers’ bar,” Zac chuckled.

  “You did not tell him that.” Trey set his can down more forcefully than he’d intended, sending foam down the aluminium sides.

  Zac held up his hands in a sign of surrender. “No. I told him you were attacked in your home, but that’s all I said. He did ask if he could come by and see you, though,” Zac added with a grin.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That I’d talk to you about it.” Zac leaned forward on the table. “Would you?”

  Trey’s insides felt like they were suddenly filled with hundreds of fluttering butterfly wings. “I’ll think about it.”

  Zac grinned knowingly.

  Yeah, his friend knew he’d had a crush on the good-looking principal since the day he’d first laid eyes on Cole Harding, but the blond Adonis was way out of Trey’s league. Did he really want Cole coming around to check on him out of pity?

  “Are we playing out here?” Angelo asked, stepping out onto the deck.

  Trey turned and shook his head. “How the heck did you get in?”

  Angelo looked decidedly guilty. “Well, I rang the bell and no one answered, so I let myself in.”

  Trey grinned. “Bobby and Jules must be occupied in the kitchen.”

  Angelo shook his head. “Nope. I was just in there. I was beginning to think you guys had pulled a fast one on me until I heard you talking out here.”

  “Maybe we should call Kent and let him know we’re back here just in case he goes looking for us upstairs,” Zac laughed.

  Trey enjoyed seeing his friend happy. Since Eric had come into Zac’s life, the man seemed to smile and laugh all the time. Happy looked darned good on Zac.

  “Have a seat.” Trey gestured to one of the empty chairs.

  Angelo hovered for a few seconds, finally lifting his six-pack of imported beer, and a bag of limes. “Maybe I should go put these in the refrigerator. It’s best to keep them cold.”

  “Suit yourself. There’s a bottle opener stuck to the side of the fridge,” Trey told him.

  Trey had considered asking Angelo out on more than one occasion. The guy was definitely hot, and although he had a wide range of quirks, he was fun to be around. But he never felt that spark like he did with Cole. Maybe it was because Angelo reminded him too much of the family he’d been forced to leave behind when he’d decided to teach instead of practice law like the rest of his family.

  He glanced around the table at his friends. Bobby was right. Being around the guys was good for him. Lord knew some of them had as many issues as he did.

  Take Marco, for example. He was in love with Kent, and everyone at the table knew it, except Kent. Trey didn’t understand the dynamics of the odd relationship the two men had, but Kent had made it clear what he thought of Marco’s lifestyle. Funny thing was, Trey didn’t believe Marco really had much of a lifestyle. All he ever saw the gorgeous man doing was eating and working. Still, there were gaps of time when Marco refused to comment on where he’d been. Trey had a strong feeling that was one of Kent’s problems. Maybe the big construction boss was just jealous at the thought of Marco having a life outside of work.

  “Earth to Trey,” Angelo said.

  Trey hadn’t even realised Angelo had rejoined them. “Sorry. Daydreaming.”

  “Ooh, was it a good one?” Angelo asked.

  “Well he probably wasn’t dreaming about men’s feet stuck into tiny athletic shoes if that’s what you’re thinking,” Marco teased.

  Everyone at the table chuckled. It seemed they couldn’t get together without someone bringing up one of Angelo’s strange quirks. The man hated bare feet and was very vocal about it, but give him a decent-looking guy in a pair of small athletic shoes, and Angelo boned up in a heartbeat.

  Angelo had suffered the teasing for so long, he didn’t even bother to comment.

  The sliding door opened, and Kent, Jules and Bobby joined them.

  “With the ocean breeze, it’s too windy to play out here,” Bobby informed them.

  “We know. We were just trying to get away from some of the noises you and Jules were making,” Zac chuckled.

  Even though Zac was lying, Jules’ face paled as he glanced at Bobby. Teasing or not, Trey didn’t want Jules to feel uncomfortable around them. “Relax, Jules, he’s joking.”

  Jules’ colour returned to normal as Bobby pulled him down on the lounger beside him.

  “How’s it going?” Kent asked Trey.

  “Okay. How’s business?”

  “Slowing down a little, but at least I’ve been able to get enough work to keep my help. I know a lot of contractors can’t even do that.”

  They all groaned over the current state of the economy, before settling into a peaceful silence. It didn’t appear as though any of them were in a hurry to play poker, and the idea of sitting on the deck, staring out over the ocean with his friends, suited Trey just fine.

  Trey took a drink of his beer. Since Zac had mentioned Cole, Trey couldn’t seem to get him out of his mind. His chest squeezed at the thought of Cole being the least bit concerned about his health.

  He wondered if he had the man’s number. Dang. He couldn’t believe he was entertaining the idea of calling him. Still…maybe I should just do it.
/>   Trey stood. “I’m gonna grab another. Anyone ready?”

  “I’ll take one,” Marco chimed in.

  Trey took Marco’s empty and went into the house. He threw the cans in the recycle bin and dug through the drawer until he found the phone book. When he located Cole’s name, he tapped the page with his index finger. Do I really have the nerve?

  Before he could talk himself out of it, he punched in the numbers. What if he’s busy? Trey almost hung up, but then he heard the click of someone picking up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey. Hi. Ummm, Zac said you spoke earlier. Sorry, this is Trey Huggins.” God, could he sound any more like a thirteen year old boy calling a girl for the first time?

  Cole’s deep chuckle melted Trey’s heart. “I knew who it was as soon as you started stammering.”

  Of course he did. How many geeks did he know?

  “How’re you feeling?” Cole asked.

  “Okay. Better. I don’t see any reason I won’t be well enough for the beginning of the school year.” Trey started pacing back and forth in front of the sink. He figured Marco was probably getting pretty darn thirsty, but he didn’t feel like hanging up yet.

  “Glad to hear it. Listen, I don’t suppose you’d be up for a cup of coffee sometime? I’m not sure if you’re up and around much yet.”

  Trey’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Coffee? Uh, yeah, I like coffee.”

  Cole chuckled again. “I know. Black with three sugars.”

  Trey swallowed. Cole actually knew how Trey took his coffee? “What can I say, I have a sweet tooth.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. So, you feel like meeting sometime?”

  “Sure. Anytime’s fine.” Trey tried to calm his racing heart. It’s just coffee, chill.

  “Are you busy now?”

  Trey bit his lip and looked towards the deck. “No.”