Excerpt: Undertow
Book 3: Big D!ck Escort Service Series
Chapter 1
Ethan stepped aside to allow a cute blonde in her early twenties to go ahead of him into Dick’s Gym and Fitness, the place where he and his buddies worked out on a regular basis. She deliberately passed close enough for her yoga-pants-clad hip to brush against him.
He smiled down at her. If she wanted to take him for a spin, he’d be game.
“This is why I asked you, Dick,” Ethan’s buddy Dave was saying as Ethan entered the lobby area. Dave was standing at the check-in counter, talking to the heavyset gym owner, who was ignoring his laptop in favor of giving Dave a surly expression. “What with your choice of clothing, I figured you’d be up on the latest trends.”
Ethan stopped near them, giving the blonde a smile right before she disappeared past the divider and into the heart of the gym. He would check in with her later. Or just take the lazy, and much easier, approach and let her come to him. He didn’t want to miss the exchange between Dick and Dave. Watching the two of them bicker and rag on each other was one of Ethan’s favorite pastimes.
Dick looked down at the Dick’s! T-shirt stretched across his bulk. “I’m wearing this to advertise the gym. What would you have me put on, a pink hula skirt and some coconut shells?”
Dave leaned an elbow on the counter as a grin worked up his face. His various smiles could charm the underpants off a nun. Ethan had always wanted that in his arsenal. “You’re advertising the gym? How, by showing people what happens if they don’t come?”
Dick huffed and turned toward his computer. “Mark my words, you and Janie shouldn’t stray too far from the setup of the last show. You want to keep things consistent. Create a brand.”
Ethan perked up. Janie was Dave’s artist girlfriend, and they were talking about the logistics of her next big art event. “What’s up?” He leaned against the counter.
Dave turned to include Ethan in the discussion. “That creep from Arizona—you know, the one that likes to watch Janie paint for him in the nude?” Ethan nodded, remembering the man he’d met at Janie’s previous art show (the first she’d ever done, and a successful affair). “Well, he wants to sponsor one of Janie’s shows. Says he’ll pay for everything.”
A thrill ran through Ethan. He lived for art shows. It had been his mother’s dream to show her work, but she hadn’t been good enough. She’d only placed a dozen or so pieces in galleries throughout her life, all with poor sales. That fact hadn’t hurt her love of creating, or defeated her in any way, but she’d died dreaming of the big time. Now Ethan could celebrate his mother’s memory by living vicariously through Janie. It was a cool situation.
“What’s the catch?” Ethan asked.
Dick snorted, which wasn’t a good sign.
Dave ran his fingers through his dark hair as Noah, another of their buddies, pushed through the gym doors. Noah glanced at the guys and nodded. “Hey.”
“The catch is his fee,” Dave went on after returning Noah’s nod. “He wants another nude male portrait from Janie. The thing is, after seeing how she painted me for the last show, he won’t accept the normal paintings she’s done for him in the past. Those are detached, he said.” Dave rolled his eyes.
“So she has to do one of you again?” Ethan asked.
“No. He has one of me. He doesn’t want another. It has to be someone else. And to do it right, it has to be someone she knows. Those are her words, not mine.” Anger crossed Dave’s face. They all knew he had a protective streak a mile wide, and he was rarely reasonable when it came to anything that might affect Janie’s safety and well-being. “To take the creep up on his offer, she’d have to get someone we know to model for her, and she’d probably have to paint in front of him, at least for a little while.”
Dick swiveled again as an older man walked through the doors and edged around Noah. He held out his sign-in badge for Dick, who was not paying attention.
“The subject will have to be some other nude guy,” Dick said, “that is not you, and your only concern is that she has to paint in front of someone?”
“Hello?” The older man wiggled his key card.
“Did you just hear what I said?” Dick turned his surly expression to the older man. “I am talking about a nude male portrait and this clown’s odd take on it, and you’re badgering me to beep you in?” Dick shook his head and snatched the ID badge. “Your lack of concern on the topic is suspect.”
“What does that have to do with me?” the older man demanded, clearly just as surly as Dick. “That’s none of my business. If I gave a damn about every Tom, Dick, and Harry that said something asinine, I’d have a lot more gray hairs.”
“You’d have hair at all, never mind the gray hairs. That’s the first thing.” Dick handed the badge back. “And the second is, we are discussing a human anomaly. One that works out very close to you. Are you so sure this has nothing to do with you? Who knows what he’s capable of with this kind of logic.”
“Bah!” The man waved Dick away and passed the divider.
“Janie hates painting in front of other people,” Dave said. “I don’t want her to have to endure that for some creep.”
“I wouldn’t want her staring at some other guy’s dick, but that’s just me.” Dick shook his head and turned back to his computer as Ethan bit back a laugh.
“So, what are you going to do?” Noah asked, stepping toward the divider. He adjusted the strap of his gym bag over his shoulder. The guy always insisted on changing in the locker room. Ethan had no idea why. It wasn’t like he was coming from work or anything. But he showed up in street clothes, and he left in street clothes. It was just one of Noah’s things.
Dave shook his head as Colton, their fourth workout partner, came through the doors. “What can I do? I have to let her decide. We can do it without Creepy Rich Guy, but we’d be more limited.” He started toward the divider, and Ethan and the rest of the guys followed. “I’d like to hit another town for the art show, but then we’d need more money for marketing. This guy is willing to supply all that, plus the setup. I don’t like it, but we might need it. Still, it’s not my decision.”
“Tell them about your ideas to screw the whole thing up,” Dick called after them.
“Stay up there and keep advertising,” Dave yelled back. They paused near the cubbies where they stashed their stuff. Except for Noah, who just loitered. “Dick is worried I’m going to totally redo the whole theme for the next show. But all I’m really going to do is to tweak it a little. You know, go for different colors and fabric choices. The velvet we used last time was a bit weird. And maybe we should go for a marginally nicer warehouse this time. That’s if we’re funded. If we’re not funded, we’ll go with cheap again.”
Colton scratched his face, something the ladies called chiseled. Before they fawned all over him like lunatics. “You’re still doing that edgy chic thing for the show’s theme?”
“Yeah, but a little more upscale,” Dave said.
Ethan sucked air through his teeth. “I agree with Dick, bro. You heard what the critic said at the last show. Her art is raw. Edginess works for her. You can’t go too upscale, or it won’t fit.”
“I agree.” Colton motioned Noah away. “Get to changing. Hurry up.”
“Then stop talking about this until I get back.” Noah frowned at them. “I’m in this too.”
They were all in it. Maybe it was only Dave who had an economic interest in his and Janie’s new venture, but Colton had coined the phrase We’re Better Together about their crew. They worked together in all things. Lifted each other up. Motivated each other. A win for one of them was a win for all of them.
However, that didn’t mean they’d stop talking because Noah was concerned about wearing his gym clothes in public.
Dave clearly agreed with that sentiment—he waved Noah away, waited until he wasn’t quite out of earshot, then said, “A little more upscale would be nice, though.”
Noah’s step hitched and he glanced back at them with a glower before hurrying into the locker room.
“What are you thinking about upgrading?” Ethan tucked his bag into a cubby before heading to the free-weight squat area. He hated leg day. His legs were by far his weakest attribute. But in order to have a proportional body, he needed to exercise them. Which meant he also needed the guys to goad him into showing up for leg day.
“Intact windows, for a start.” Dave looked around, deciding on what he would do. Colton was his spotting partner. Ethan would have to wait for Noah to get back. “Walkways that people won’t trip on. Concrete that doesn’t have bloodstains…”
“Wait.” Colton held up his hand. “That last place had bloodstains?”
“Not a ton, but yeah. I had to buy rugs to cover them up.”
Colton’s expression turned incredulous. “What were they doing in that warehouse before the company went belly up?”
Dave shrugged. “Whatever it was, they had a couple accidents. So, anyway—”
Noah hurried back out. “What’d I miss?”
“Bloodstains.” Dave adjusted the weight on the leg press. “Anyway—”
“Bloodstains?” Noah’s eyes widened.
“If you want the whole story, you need to stop being so dainty about your dress code.” Dave settled into one of the machines. “Anyway, I want to fix those few things. Decrepit is fine. But dangerously decrepit leaves us open for a lawsuit, and that’s not a good idea, despite Dick’s assertions.”
“Assertions?” Ethan chuckled. “You’ve been hanging out with Madison too long. Big words don’t fit you, son.”
Madison was Colton’s girlfriend and an all-around awesome chick. She and Janie were best buds, and honorary members of their tight-knit group. That wasn’t just because they were lifers, on track to marry members of the crew. Had either of them sucked to hang out with, they would not have been welcome. All the guys knew that without having to say it out loud. Those girls, though, gave their all to help each other and the rest of the guys—whoever needed it. And that made them worthy. Better together.
“That’s a good point,” Colton said to Dave.
“Besides.” Ethan groaned a little as he got into position with the free weights. This workout was going to suck. He hoped that cute little number he’d noticed upfront got the courage to flirt later. Some good sex would make him feel better after this nightmare. “You tried to hide that stuff last time, right? So fixing that stuff will make the whole thing less rinky-dinky. Yeah. You’re right. Remind me to tell Dick.”
“Call him a clown.” Dave’s face turned red with strain. When he finished the reps, he sucked in a breath. “He hates being called a clown.”
“Ten-four.”
After the workout, Ethan grabbed a towel as Noah headed off for a shower and a change of clothes. Colton and Dave finished up and met Ethan at the cubbies.
“What now?” Colton asked, breathing heavily.
Ethan glanced off toward the elliptical machines. The hottie met his stare. She smiled a little before dropping her eyes. A moment later, her legs slowed and she reached for her water bottle. She was finishing up, almost certainly because he was about to leave.
Game on.
“How about a drink with a new friend of mine?” Ethan threw his towel over his shoulder.
Colton and Dave both followed his gaze. Each grinned and grabbed their bags.
“What time is it?” Colton asked.
Dave dug through his bag. “I don’t know. I can’t find my phone.”
“There’s a clock right there.” Ethan pointed at the round face fastened to the wall.
“That old-fashioned one?” Dave glanced up. His brow furrowed. He went back to rooting in his bag. “It requires too much brainpower.”
“Old-fashioned? Because it has hands and numbers?” Ethan squinted at the clock before wiping sweat out of his eyes. “One-oh-four.”
“Show-off,” Dave said. His lips tweaked up into a smile as he finally pulled out his phone. “One eleven! See? That clock is wrong. It doesn’t have satellite power.”
Colton checked his phone, too. “I’m game. I’ve got nothing going on.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working on your playground?” Dave asked with a sparkle in his eyes.
Colton turned his gaze skyward. It was actually a state-of-the-art mini-golf course with all the bells and whistles—an arcade, batting cages, and mini-car track—but his mother, who didn’t approve, called it a playground. The rest of them gleefully followed suit. “I’m waiting on approvals. I’ve done all I can do at the moment.”
“I’m going to meet Janie later to see what she says about Creepy Rich Guy’s proposal, but I’m good for now.” Dave wiped off his face before frowning down at the white towel. “This thing feels like sandpaper.”
“You get a girlfriend, and suddenly the gym’s towels don’t have a high enough thread count to meet your standards?” Ethan threw a glance the hottie’s way. She was getting her things together. He headed toward the front area. “Your settled life is showing.”
“This has nothing to do with a settled life, and everything to do with rubbing the skin off my face,” Dave countered.
Ethan passed the divider. Dick finished checking someone in before glancing their way and holding up a finger. “Do not make me remind you that my counter is not a sweat-gathering surface.”
Dave leaned his elbow on the counter.
Dick spread out his hands and lifted his eyebrows. “Are you hard of hearing or just plain stupid?”
“Just plain stupid, why?” Dave stared at him.
“Get off!” Dick threw another towel at Dave, who burst out laughing, caught it, and wiped off the droplets of sweat he’d left behind. Dick glanced at Ethan. “Did you get my email? Eight o’clock. Fancy spot. Dress the part. She wants to make sure you’ll work for an upcoming event.”
This was the other thing that had brought him and the guys together. They’d all worked as escorts at Big Dick’s Escort Service, a company Dick ran on the side. Dave and Colton had quit upon meeting their ladies, but Ethan and Noah were still raking it in.
Ethan brought up his phone and tapped into his email.
“This one seems very strait-laced,” Dick continued. “High-powered and a little crusty around the edges, if you catch my drift.” He pounded on his keyboard with his pointer fingers, his version of typing. “Noah seems like a better fit for this, honestly, but he doesn’t meet the height requirement.”
“Six feet wasn’t tall enough?” Dave shifted. “Is she an Amazon?”
Ethan smiled. “That would be a good time. I love the strong, feisty ones.”
“Strong and feisty, sure. But able to pick you up and throw you over her shoulder?”
“That’d be hot,” Ethan said with a laugh. “I’m game for a little role reversal.”
Dick huffed. “She is five nine, but often wears four-inch heels. She mentioned she could wear an inch shorter heels if the service provider”—Dick curved his fingers into quotes—“lied about being six three on the website.”
A smile spread across Dave’s face and he leaned over the counter to get a better look at the computer. “She sounds like Madison.”
“Yes, she does,” Dick said with a scowl.
Dave backed off the counter and gave it another wipe. “Five nine isn’t so bad. With heels, you can still knock her down if she tries to beat you up.”
Ethan quirked an eyebrow at Dave, his smile still burning brightly. “You’ve got problems, bro.”
Dave hesitated, then started laughing. “It certainly does sound like that. If I got out of line, my short woman would wait until my back was turned before digging a knife in it. Still, women who could beat me up intimidate me.”
“You’re a moron.” Dick shook his head. His eyes came up to Ethan. “Do you have all the info? She’s paying extra to get to the top of the list.”
Ethan scanned the details on the small screen. “No funny business, no touching, just dinner and a chat?” He shrugged, reading over the dress code. It was standard nice restaurant attire. He had it all in his closet. “Yeah, I’m good.”
The hottie from within the gym sauntered out, all hip. She gave Ethan an inviting look and slowed, a smile curling her lips.
“Sorry, love. I have to work tonight. Another time.” Ethan slipped his phone into his gym bag and headed out.