Rhett POVI was in the boardroom around ten in the morning when I saw from a window Milo hurry into the office, looking like a frantic mess. He stopped his running and adjusted his hair and suit before he walked any closer to the boardroom where everyone was preparing for a meeting.He entered the room and sat right next to me. I noticed his lack of cologne and antiperspirant, which was noticeable after his obvious run to the office.“Is that the same suit from last night?” I asked quietly so no one overheard.Milo smiled his dashing white teeth at me and said, “I like your friend.”I’m sure all color drained from my face as the weight of his words settled in my mind. I knew he would make a move on Harrison when I left him at the bar, but he spent the entire night with him? That seemed a little excessive and I was not expecting it.“Sounds like he liked you too,” I mumbled. I glanced over at him and my eyebrows drew together. “Where’s your tie?” I asked. Milo looked down at himself an
Rhett POVI was setting the table for dinner and Rebecca was busy in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.“That’s him!” she exclaimed with excitement.“I’ll get it,” I told her as I went to the door and opened it.Harrison stood there looking as handsome as ever. His blonde hair rested at his shoulders in waves and his honey brown eyes lit up when he saw me. He dressed in a navy blue, V-neck tank and jeans - a usual attire for Harrison, and I smiled at him.“Welcome, welcome.” I stood to the side and motioned for him to enter.“Hey,” he greeted with a smile. He then held up a bottle, “I brought this wine. I wasn’t sure if Rebecca drinks wine, but I thought it a safe bet.”“She loves red, yes. Thank you.” I took the bottle from him as he extended his hand to me and walked through the door. “She’s in the kitch-”Rebecca suddenly appeared in the hallway, stopping me mid-sentence with a beaming smile on her flawless face.-Hall,” I finished with a smile at her.“Harrison!” She hugged him ti
Harrison POVDinner wasn’t nearly as awkward as I had imagined it to be, and I found myself actually enjoying myself the more time I spent there. I hated to admit it, but Rebecca and Rhett were really cute, and I absolutely adore Rebecca and her spunk. She seems like a great match for him, and her energy is so amazing that I even told her that she would be welcome to join the Hype Boys. She was elated, and I left there with a big smile on my face.I still feel jealous that she gets to call Rhett hers and I don't, but if I was going to give up Rhett to anyone, I would want it to be Rebecca Hoshiko. I wonder if she’s going to take his last name and become Rebecca Langely? It has a nice ring to it now that I think about it. Or maybe hyphenate it to Hoshiko-Langley? Langely-Hoshiko? Meh. That’s a bit much.I surprised myself by thinking these things while cleaning up the bar the next morning. We are closed Sundays, so I had the entire place to myself and nothing to do. I ended up getting
Harrison POVRhett’s eyes wandered the room again and settled on something on the ground by the bed. I followed his eyesight and found a blue tie that was molded around the corner of the bed. Milo's tie, to be more exact.“Oh, uh… aha…” I weakly chuckled and scratched the back of my neck.Going and picking it up to hide it would do no good since he’s already seen it, so do I just leave it there and pretend his coworker’s tie isn’t in my studio apartment? Does he even care? I mean he left Milo there for me, I didn’t think he would have such a reaction to finding out I played with his little gift.His face remained blank as he stared at the tie and said, “Harrison, I have a… strange request.”“Hit me with it,” I said before sipping on my beer.“… Will you sleep with me?”I about choked and did a slight spit-take as he said that. I wiped my lips and chin, coughing. Rhett patted my back as I asked, “Pardon?”“Not… not sex, I just mean… will you lay down with me and… take a nap?”“… Why?”
Rhett POVI woke up from my nap feeling warm and well-rested. I blinked a couple of times before my eyes focused, and I saw Harrison's room around me.I can’t believe I asked him to spoon with me! I know I caught him off guard — the guy choked on his beer! — but more than anything at that moment, I wanted to touch him. Not just a simple touch, though; I wasn’t going to simply place my hand on my best friend/former lover’s thigh and call it good - that would just be awkward.‘Because what’s LESS awkward is asking him to fucking spoon with you!’ my conscience mocked.I remember falling asleep easily when I curled up with him, but I’m facing the other way now, and I feel a weight on my torso and warmth on my back. I looked down and saw Harrison's forearm visible around me. The veins in his arms were pronounced, and the blonde hairs were practically glowing with the streaks of light seeping through the gaps of the wood in the apartment. I smiled initially, and then I felt my cock twitch a
Harrison POVIt took me a few minutes after waking up from my nap with Rhett to gather myself. He sprung up and ran out of here like I had set him on fire! He was the one who asked to take a nap together, so what the fuck was that reaction?!I was warm and had to tie my hair up. Whether it was from spooning with Rhett after all these years or if it was the sudden burst of adrenaline when he woke me up, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I needed another beer, and the one from earlier was warm.Climbing downstairs, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and when I fished it out, I saw an unknown number.“Hello?”“Harrison?”“Rebecca?” Rhett must have given her my phone number after our dinner.“Yeah! How are you? I wanted to invite you to come and visit the wedding venue with me. My bridesmaids are all busy with work and I have nothing to do today, so I thought it would be nice to show you around.”Rhett wasn't going to spend his day off with her?“Um, yeah, sure. I can do that.”“Great! Okay,
Rhett POVI was busting my ass all day trying to uncover where this massive chunk of money could have disappeared to. So far, I discovered that half of the money had disappeared from an account that I had no control over, so that was a load off, but other than that, I still had five million dollars missing from somewhere.“Anything?” Milo appeared in my doorway suddenly, making me jump as I had been so focused and hunched over toward the computer screen.“No. You?”“I don’t even know where to start, Rhett,” he admitted.“What?” I turned my head to look at him, my eyebrows drew together. “What the hell have you been doing all day then?!”“Well, I stepped out for a smoke and then I was on the computer-”“Milo, I swear to God if you tell me that you’ve been on ANY social media platform while I’m digging for millions I’m going to kill you.”“Of course not! I was-”“I want you to check who had access to each account so that once I find the accounts it came from we will have a list of suspe
Harrison POV“What are we going to do with all these goodies once we’re done? We only have one corner of the dining table left empty to hold anything. Bake sale? Make a little moolah with these bad boys?” I waved a brownie gently in front of Rebecca’s face playfully.She giggled and went back to mixing the batter. “It’s really not that much. And I was thinking of taking it to the office.”“Where your dad and Rhett work?”“Mhm. I stop by now and then and bring them something yummy. It gives me an excuse to visit Rhett at work, and everyone there appreciates the gesture.”I nodded my head to her, suddenly wondering how big the building Rhett works in is. I had never been there before because there was never a reason for me to visit, and it's on the other side of town than where I live and work, so I've never actually seen where he works.I walked to the other side of the big kitchen and looked around. How does this girl seem to have so much free time to bake and go out and still afford
Harrison POV*One year later*The front door to the bar opened and in came my favorite person; Rhett Langely, AKA my boyfriend. His arms flexed in his white tank and made him look yummy as he carried in a box of glasses for me. We were getting ready for the opening of my very own bar: Hype. After Rhett’s promotion with Hoshiko Enterprises, we moved in together and still had enough money to buy a building and turn it into my dream bar. Rebecca furnished it and made sure that the overall feel of the place was good with her mad skill of interior design. She said that the dark browns that were in The Lock Box didn’t suit my vibe, so she chose a lighter color palette for Hype; the tables were a blond wood, the seats were blue, the chandeliers were multicolored, and there were color-changing LED lights behind all the liquor on the back wall.Holly designed the posters and handled all social media and promotional advertising. She’s fully healed and back to her wild self after her hospital
Harrison POV What. The fuck. Just happened?! Rebecca said no at the altar! Holy fucking shit! My mind was all over the place and my jaw was on the floor, along with everyone else's as we watched her walk away and through the doors. I looked at Rhett to see how he was doing and noticed that he was smiling while he watched her retreating figure. What the fuck was happening right now?! He turned to me with an expectant smile, and I panicked. “Am I missing a cue or something? Holly didn’t tell me what to do if this happens at a wedding. What does the best man do in this scenario?” He grabbed my hands and pulled me to the altar with him. He answered, “You kiss the groom.” He cupped my face and pulled me into the most passionate, loving kiss I had ever felt, and I knew at this moment that Rhett was finally mine. All these years of friendship, bottled feelings, and buried emotions all let loose into this moment in front of all these people. Gasps could be heard throughout the room, bu
Rebecca POV It was the day after our bachelor/bachelorette parties, and I was nursing a slight hangover when my dad showed up at the condo. “What are you doing here, dad?” “I wanted to speak to you about something.”I invited him in, and we sat on opposite couches. I sat with my legs crossed and a blanket around my shoulders as I sipped on some tea to help my head. Dad leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, tapping the tips of his fingers together as he mustered the courage to tell me whatever it was he came here to talk about. “Is something wrong, dad?”He took a deep breath and didn’t answer yes or no. “Something has come to my attention,” he started. “One of the employees of Hoshiko Enterprises that attended Rhett's bachelor party… live-streamed certain parts of it.”I chuckled. “It’s okay, dad. I told him he could have strippers there.”“It wasn’t the strippers that were troubling.” I remained silent and let him continue, “At one point, the men were doing body sho
Rhett POV I was practically in a daze as the other groomsmen came into my room and helped me get ready. I thought Harry would be here, and I wish I hadn’t scared him away. I just wanted another tender moment with him, but the look on his face was a look I hope to never see again. I had hurt him, treated him like a plaything, taking him at my convenience and never truly admitting what I was feeling to him. He deserved better than me. Far better.Milo didn't let me have another drink to calm myself down after I spilled the first one, so I was empty handed, sober, and overwhelmed with emotions as the other groomsmen talked amongst themselves.The groomsmen were lounging carelessly around the room, now and then they would share words of wisdom (from those married) and sexually explicit advice (from those single) for the honeymoon that nearly made me cringe. My parents stepped into the room just in time to stop one of the guys from going further into detail about the most difficult posit
Harrison POV I had to leave the room and let the other groomsmen help Rhett finish getting ready and into a new shirt. Ever since he asked me to be his best man I was imagining helping him with his cufflinks and smiling with him at the altar as we watched his bride walk down the aisle. Now, I’m not so sure.How dare he make a move on me like that! And doing it an hour before he’s supposed to get married! I just kept thinking of Rebecca and how heartbroken she would be if she found out anything about Rhett and me. I imagined her in her dressing room, standing in front of the mirror with a smile on her face as her bridesmaids fixed her veil around her shoulders and straightened her train. My eyes watered at the thought. I can’t stand the thought of her getting hurt, but what am I to do? I can’t go to her and tell her that her groom and I fucked at his bachelor party and that he made another move on me just minutes before they were supposed to say “I do.” I can’t do that to her, but I
Rhett POVI stood in front of the floor-length mirror with a drink in my hand and barely recognized myself. This was who my parents always wanted me to be, not who I truly am. They wanted me to be a successful, career-driven man with a doting woman on his arm. The person in the mirror looked about right to be that person. Honestly, I don’t know who I want to be, but it sure as hell isn’t this guy in the mirror. I sighed, and heard a voice behind me say, “That’s not a happy sigh.” I turned and smiled at Harrison, looking handsome in his suit. I was yet to put on my jacket and was just in my white button-down and suit pants. We had time before the wedding started.“Nervous?”I nodded my head without a word. “Don’t be. Today will go perfectly. Everything looks beautiful and is set to perfection. What your feeling is just the wedding jitters; everyone gets them.”He came into the room and sat on the couch after unbuttoning his suit jacket. I admired him through the mirror.“Harry… do y
Harrison POVAfter my moment of awful reflection and wondering what life would be like without Rhett, I woke up feeling renewed and ready to watch Rhett begin his life with someone new. I know our friendship is strong enough now that nothing could break our bond, and I was finding it easier to push my feelings to the side. If Rhett could be happy with someone else, then so can I, and I’m excited to find that person.I got ready in my suit and headed over to the venue hours before the wedding was supposed to begin. I’ve never been to a wedding before, but I’ve watched enough movies to know that the bridal party was supposed to show up and be supportive and enthusiastic for the bride and groom as they got ready, so I got ready to hype him up.Valet parked my car and I didn’t hesitate to give them my keys this time. I walked in and immediately went to check out the room where the wedding was set to be. Rebecca had told me how the venue would look and showed me the room it was set to be
Harrison POV I’ve questioned once or twice what would have happened if I never had that summer in the lake house with Rhett. I questioned myself: how long would it have taken for me to discover my sexuality? I always knew I was attracted to boys, but would I wait until college to finally date one? *My parents split ways when my sister and I were seventeen years old and still yet to graduate from high school. Dad left, so mom took care of us for the rest of the year until we were officially adults and could handle ourselves. My best friend and I continued our senior year of high school as the Hype Boys as usual, pumping up people before sporting events and making people smile as we always have. There were whispers since I was considered to be good-looking but never had a girlfriend, but I brushed the comments aside throughout the rest of the year. Rhett and I went to different colleges; his parents paid for him to attend a university while I went to a community college in town, on
Rebecca POV The night before my wedding, I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling, letting my friend’s comments from my bachelorette party run around in my mind. It just seemed like everyone my age was settling down and starting families, and that day that I saw Rhett I had been wondering if I would ever have that. Maybe I thought the stars were aligning and the universe was telling me yes, it will happen, and here’s who it should happen with, but what if I’m wrong? What if I hadn’t come back and introduced myself to Rhett that next day?*I was passing out the yummy treats that I had made the day before at the office. The floor I'm on right now is where one of my best friends, Alaina, works, and I always love our little catch-ups. The basket I was holding began to slip out of my hold and was too big for me to catch one-handed, and ended up falling to the floor. “Oh, no!” I got down on the floor and began picking up what had fallen out. A set of large hands came into sight and h