He opened the contacts on his phone and scrolled down the list, thinking of the different men he’d met in the area. There was that banker… Or maybe the cowboy who worked on a ranch… Instead of pulling either contact up, he went to Twitter and searched the hashtag, quickly finding a picture of Kellus tonight.
Arik grabbed his drink and stepped back while keeping Kellus on his screen. His knees bumped the chair behind him, and he took a seat, staring at the phone until the screen darkened. When had he ever been in this situation? Based on the reaction in his pants, he was really into the guy. After they’d thrown the messed-up scumbag out, Kellus hadn’t lasted twenty minutes before bailing. His artist had never regained that sparkle. He’d even watched as Gage pulled Kellus aside and tried to talk to him, but all Kellus did was apologize over and over, not hearing a word of concern that Gage offered.
He rolled his eyes. He shouldn’t know any of that, but he did. Only because he was a nosy fuck and had listened in on their private conversation. What if Kellus needed someone to talk to right now? He shouldn’t be alone after all that crap tonight. Arik should at least open that door, be there for him.
Not letting himself overthink his actions, he put his cocktail glass on a side table, pulled up his text messages, and sent Kellus a text.
“I’m checking on you.”
Did that sound all right? Hell, too late now, he’d already pushed send.
As he sat there waiting nervously, he drained his drink, chomped on the ice, and stared at the phone. When he couldn’t stand waiting another second, he tried again.
“I hope you’re okay.”
Minutes passed and he still got nothing back. Was Kellus out? He sure as hell hadn’t gone to the after-party Arik had planned and that was still going on downstairs. No, he didn’t see Kellus going out tonight. After the incident, the artist had become withdrawn, and completely devoid of all emotion from the time they re-entered the gallery until he left the venue. Arik had watched him walk to the farthest parking lot… He stopped that thought. He was beginning to feel a little like a creeper with all the silent watching he’d been doing.
If the shoe fits…
His phone vibrated in his hand and his heart soared to see Kellus had responded.
“Everything’s fine. I’m sorry for the disruption tonight. It won’t happen again.”
He quickly typed back.
“Stop apologizing, there’s no need. The opening was a huge success and I think we need to celebrate. Let me take you out for dinner and drinks tomorrow night? Then afterward you can show me the town.”
He pushed send and immediately wanted to pull the message back. Maybe he shouldn’t have responded so quickly. That screamed desperation, didn’t it? Before he had a chance to answer himself his phone vibrated in his hand.
“I prefer to keep our relationship professional.”
Well, fuck! Arik stared at the phone. That hadn’t been the response he’d hoped for. Did he just get brushed off? Arik pushed farther back in the chair as he absorbed that blow. If so, this was a first. Had he read all the signals wrong? Or was the sexy artist still licking his wounds from earlier this evening?
Arik wasn’t entirely sure, but if Kellus would just agree to go out with him, he’d be more than happy to help lick or suck anything the guy needed him to. Drawing Kellus out of his self-imposed shell was going to be more of a challenge than he’d originally thought.
“Strictly professional, Scout’s honor.”
He didn’t see the need in telling Kellus he hadn’t ever been a Boy Scout; he’d worry about that after he got the artist to agree to go out with him. Typing quickly, he added, “I’m excited about the gallery opening being received so well. I want to celebrate.”
A minute couldn’t have passed before he got a return text.
“Please understand I can’t, I’m sorry.”
Arik finally understood why men got so desperate. He had to toss the phone across the room toward the sofa to keep from typing back, asking what that meant. He’d be willing to wait until the next night or whenever to go out. Kellus had made his intentions clear. It sucked on every level, but he needed to let it go for now. Rising, he grabbed his glass and went back for a refill, letting the deep ache in his heart guide the level of Crown he poured. The glass was full as he headed toward his bedroom to spend some alone time with his imagination and his hand.
Chapter 10
Two weeks later
Seclusion wasn’t such a terrible thing. He was avoiding life, but maybe becoming a recluse artist could become his new MO. He’d moved all conversations with Sara to email, and after the last hushed conversation with Gage on the night of the opening, he’d kept Gage to text messages that he returned about every other day.