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That seemed to loosen Jamey a little as he wrapped his arms around Lochie s neck
and reciprocated. Feeling his dress khakis starting to tent, Lochie broke the kiss and
rested his forehead against Jamey s.  You know I love you, yeah?
Biting his kiss-swollen lips, Jamey closed his eyes and nodded.  Tell me what to do
in there. How do I act like you re not the center of my universe?
When Jamey opened his eyes, Lochie saw tears swimming in their blue depths. He
hated this, hated seeing that hurt in his lover s eyes. Maybe after this year s ball he
could come clean with his mates about Jamey. Lochie dried the spilling tears with his
work-roughened thumbs.  It s up to you. You can sit at the table and drink, begging off
dances, or you can follow my lead.
Exhaling, Lochie felt his own eyes starting to burn.  I m sorry. I-I just have to do
this. At least for one more year. I ll figure out a way to tell my mates. Wiping Jamey s
tears one more time, Lochie kissed his nose.  I don t want to hurt you, but I don t know
if I m strong enough yet to chuck away all that I ve worked for.
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Nodding, Jamey pulled back.  Okay. Let s get this over with. Jamey smoothed his
dark blue low-rise jeans over his thighs as he sat up straight in his seat.
Lochie groaned as he caught the sight of the hard ridge running down Jamey s leg.
Unable to resist, Lochie ran his hand over Jamey s hardened cock.  It must not be too
upsetting for you if you can still get this hard.
Jamey smiled and batted his hand away from his cock.  It was that damn kiss
combined with the fact that I ve never seen you dressed up. You look too sexy to be
released in a roomful of horny women. Jamey tried to smile, but Lochie could see the
pain and worry still written on his face.
 Believe me, babe. With that face and those jeans, no one s going to be paying old
Lochie a bit of attention. Lochie felt the words in his gut. What am I doing? He knew the
truth of the words as soon as they left his mouth. He hadn t given much consideration
that the night might be just as hard on him as Jamey. How would he react to seeing
someone else touching his Jamey?
Shaking his head, Lochie sat up and put the ute in gear. His voice had dropped a
register as he ground out between clenched teeth,  Let s get this over with.
* * * * *
Walking into the dimly lit hall, Jamey felt as though all eyes turned to them. He
looked around at the strange faces as people called out a greeting to Lochie. His
handsome lover waved and called back to a few of them. He turned toward Jamey and
pointed to a tableful of men.
 Go on over and say hi to my mates. I ll get a couple of beers and be over in a
minute. Without giving Jamey a chance to protest, Lochie wound his way through the
crowd toward the bar.
Looking over at the table, Jamey took a deep breath.  And the acting begins, he
mumbled as he made his way toward the table of four men, each of them dressed like
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Lochie in khakis and a sports shirt. Must be the bush uniform of the night. Jamey
looked down at his tight jeans and button-up blue shirt. He already felt out of place.
The men were smiling and waving him over as Jamey approached their table.
Jamey wasn t prepared for the devastatingly handsome group he approached.  Hi. I m
Jamey. Lochie s& worker. Jamey almost choked on the word. He nodded at the men
and sat down at the end of the table against the wall. It would be better if he could just
crawl under the table, but Jamey imagined that wouldn t sit well with Lochie.
 Nice to finally meet you, mate, the guy in the red shirt said.  Name s Trev. Trev
pointed to the rest of the men as he said their names.  That s Chooka, Jacko and Red.
Glad to see the two of you here checking out the talent. Lochie only gets a leg over once
a year. The rest of the time he suffers, I guess.
All the men at the table started laughing as Lochie walked up to the table holding
two cans of beer.  Hey. What s so funny?
Jacko wiped the tears from his eyes and winked at Lochie.  We were just telling
your mate here how you only get a leg over once a year. Jacko picked up his beer and
took another guzzle. He crushed the can and stood.  Getting another tinny. Anyone
else? When several hands went up, Jacko shook his head and walked toward the bar.
Jamey tried to maintain the fake smile he had plastered on his face. Lochie must ve
sensed his dilemma, because he took the chair next to him just as he was nudged by
Red.
 That bird s giving you the look, Lochie.
Lochie looked over Red s shoulder. Jamey quickly tried to figure out which woman
they were talking about. There was a woman of about forty who was indeed taking a
gander his man s way. The woman s face was pinched and heavily painted.  That bird s
as ugly as a box of blowflies, Lochie chuckled as he lifted his beer to his mouth. His
eyes flashed sideways toward Jamey.
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Jamey tried to maintain the smile, but his face was beginning to hurt. He decided to
keep his beer in front of his mouth. Finishing his drink quickly, he looked at Lochie and
stood.  I m getting another. Do you want one?
Eyes big as saucers, Lochie looked down toward his can.  I just gave that to you.
You done already?
 Yep. You want another one, or what? Jamey knew he was sounding pissy, but he
couldn t help it. He just hoped getting drunk would help. He was usually the life of the
party once he slid over the edge from sober to tipsy.
 No. I don t think we both need to get drunk this evening. Lochie narrowed his
eyes just a bit as he looked at Jamey. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]