GENRE: Gay Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 6,322 words
RATING:

The rehearsal dinner on the night before Royce Lummis' wedding is a disaster. Thad, his fiancé, is stuck in a meeting and can't make it. Rodney, the best man and Royce's ex, stands in for Thad, but an argument between them almost ends in a fight. Fed up, Royce leaves the rehearsal only to be waylaid by Rodney, who apologizes and entices Royce with an impromptu bachelor party.

Rodney is ready to take a very drunk Royce home when they encounter Thad entering the bar with a date. Heartbroken, Royce calls off the wedding. He's convinced he will never be enough for anyone and no one will put him first. Rodney offers him a place to stay and helps Royce move out of Thad's house.

As Royce's heart heals, he slowly realizes Rodney has always been the best man for him. But can he convince Rodney they're meant for each other?

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Three shots of bourbon later, and I was a very happy boy. I was also draped all over Rodney’s chest on the dance floor.

“You have such a nice, firm chest,” I slurred into his tight T-shirt, rubbing my face back and forth to feel the definition there.

“That I do. Comes from working construction all these years.” Rodney had his well-muscled arms around my waist. Actually, they were holding me up since I was kind of wobbly from the alcohol. I was a total lightweight.

“Mmmm. God, you feel good. Smell good, too. I’ve always liked your smell.” I took a deep breath, and then moved over to suck on one of his nipples through his T-shirt. I always got flirty when I drank.

“Whoa, there, lover boy.” Rodney lifted one arm from my waist to fist my hair and pull my mouth away from his chest. That only made me want more, so I used both hands to grab his head and bring him down to smash our lips together.

“Mmphf!” Rodney may have felt guilty, but he was never one to waste a lip lock opportunity. He let me have my way with his mouth for a few seconds, and then tugged on my hair again, hard. I moaned at the sting.

"Okay, Royce. It's time to go home. Mission accomplished -- you're drunk. I’ll drive you." Rodney had switched to soda after one shot. He kept an arm around my waist and guided me away from the bar toward the exit. I kept groping his ass. When he stopped suddenly, he had to grip me tightly to his side since I almost fell over.

“Holy shit!” he said. Rodney stared at a couple that just entered the club.

I looked in that direction and realized the reason for his outburst. Thad, my fiancé, had just entered the club with another man, and they looked cozy. Too cozy, actually. My brain fog receded a bit with the rising anger and betrayal that built within me. Just before they reached the bar, Thad stopped and kissed the slender little queen in a public display that rivaled a porn star.

Officially, my night was in the toilet. I couldn't believe what I saw. This was the man who was always too tired for sex, who worked late nights and took extended business trips ... I was an idiot. I pushed away from Rodney and with a drunken gait, made my way over to the couple that now stood at the bar. Rodney followed, his hand at the small of my back to keep me on my feet.

“So you had to work late tonight, huh?” I announced on a hiccup, pushing between the two of them to stare up at Thad. His eyes grew round in shock.

“Shit, Royce! What are you doing here?”

“Well you see, honey, Rodney decided I needed to have a little bachelor party, so here I am. Who are you doing here?” I covered my mouth as the giggles threatened to overwhelm me. At least it wasn’t tears -- not yet, anyway.

“Royce, I can explain.”

Rodney had to catch me before I fell because I was laughing so hard. “Explain? Really? I’m sure you can! This is your assistant, and you’re both working late on those multi-million dollar contracts, right?”

I turned to Thad’s companion. “Hi, sweetie. My name is Royce Lummis. I’m your date’s fiancé. We were to be married tomorrow night, but now the wedding’s off.”