The Hot Toddy Read online

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  The Hot Toddy

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Preview the next book

  Note from G.R.

  eBooks by G.R. George

  G.R. recommends … Lexxie Couper

  Excerpt

  At the end of the evening, Alex drove Tuck home. He turned to Tuck in the car. “I’d like to walk you to your door, if you’ll let me.”

  Tuck shrugged. “Sure.” At the door, Tuck got out his keys and faced Alex. “I had a really good time tonight.”

  Those dark brown eyes bore down on him, sober and serious. “Me too.” Alex took Tuck’s hands in his and pulled them up to his lips, kissing the tips of Tuck’s fingers. “I really like you, Tuck.”

  “I like you too,” Tuck replied, suddenly anxious.

  Alex, who was taller by six inches, leaned down and angled his mouth over Tuck’s with gentle, but insistent pressure.

  Anxiety began to tighten Tuck’s lungs, and his pulse raced as the first bit of panic began to set in. Alex was a nice guy, a great guy, but he wasn’t Todd. Rattled, Tuck pushed him away.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex asked, confusion evident in his tone.

  Tuck’s hands shook so badly, he couldn’t get the key into the door. “Fuck!” he shouted, as the door flung open.

  Todd stood in the frame in a pair of shorts and naked from the waist up. Not helping. “What’s happened?” he asked.

  Tuck pushed past him and ran for his room. He stripped his shirt off and, with a frustrated shout, threw it across the room. He’d tried to pass himself off as prime dating material, but he’d sold Alex on a defective bill of goods.

  The Hot Toddy

  The Other Team, Book 2

  G.R. George

  Published 2016 by Book Boutiques.

  ISBN: 978-1-944003-00-5

  Copyright © 2016, G.R. George.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Book Boutiques.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is wholly coincidental. The names, characters, dialogue, and events in this book are from the author’s imagination and should not to be construed as real.

  Manufactured in the USA.

  Email [email protected] with questions, or inquiries about Book Boutiques.

  Blurb

  Todd Nelson and Tucker Thompson both know what it's like to feel abandoned, lonely, and afraid. Now in their early twenties, they still have each other's backs, sharing an apartment and working at The Other Team.

  Tuck avoids hook-ups while Todd constantly indulges in one-night-stands. Watching Todd go through a string of conquests in their home is brutal on Tuck, who wants Todd all for himself. What he doesn't realize is that Todd has strong feelings for him, too. Tuck has always trusted Todd to have his back, but can he trust him with his heart?

  Previously Published

  (2014) Renee George

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank my best friends, Michele Bardsley, Dakota Cassidy, Emma Ray Garrett, and Robbin Clubb for encouraging me to get off my ass and write, write, write. And to my husband, with whom I have spent over half my life, thank you for always supporting my dreams. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t thank my beta-readers and dear friends, Katherine Johnson, Gregory Payne, Kevin Macias, Barb Hicks, and Mark Boyer. Last, but certainly not least, for her patience and love, I’d like to thank Maryam Salim. I am surrounded by the best people!

  Cover Art: Renee George

  Hot Todd Toddy Recipe

  1 ounce whiskey or brandy

  ½ ounce Triple Sec

  1 tbs honey

  1 lemon wedge

  1 cup water

  Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Mix choice of Whiskey or Brandy with Triple Sec, Honey, and the juice of the Lemon Wedge in a mug. Slowly pour hot water over mixture and stir until honey is dissolved. There is nothing more comforting or satisfying than a Hot Toddy to warm a cold night.

  Chapter 1

  Fucking Todd

  Soft music played in the apartment when Tucker Thompson wandered in at two in the morning. Just over the music, he heard grunting. Fantastic. Todd, his roommate, reclined back on the living room loveseat, bare-assed naked, and getting his dick sucked like a rock star.

  Todd’s blond curls hung loose around his face, clinging to his sweaty skin. His wide mouth split his face in an open smile as he fisted his trick’s short, dark hair. He pushed the guy’s head up and down his length, eliciting strangled noises from the cocksucker. Todd saw Tuck right away, and the smile turned to a smirk. Of course, the man choking on Todd—and loving it—didn’t notice Tuck at all.

  “Oh, yeah,” Todd said dramatically, his gaze directed at Tucker. “That’s right. Yeah. Suck it. Feels so fucking good. Such a hot mouth on you.”

  The sound of him triggered a visceral reaction in Tuck, but even more so in the guy bobbing up and down on Todd’s cock, who started sucking faster and with more ferocity.

  “Oh, fuck yeah.” Todd winked at Tucker. “You’re so fucking hot.”

  Tuck rolled his eyes, tossed his coat over the back of the couch, and kicked his shoes off on his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He’d had a headache all night, and Todd’s theatrics weren’t helping.

  Todd would not shut up. “God, that hot mouth of yours. Oh, yeah, baby. So good!” Now that Tucker wasn’t in the room, Todd grew even louder, really putting on a show. “Oh, fuck, yes, yes!” he cried out. “Tuck! Yes, fuck, Tuck! Ah!”

  The apartment got quiet except for the music. Shortly, he heard an angry, “Who the fuck is Tuck?” Next he heard Todd laughing, and, a few moments later, a hard door slam.

  Shaking his head, Tuck tried, without success, to suppress a smile. Fucking Todd.

  They’d grown up together in the same foster home. Tuck had been taken in at the age of nine, and Todd, who was his age, had come in two years later. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, though Todd’s eyes were a deeper, darker blue.

  Through school, Todd had always been the tough one. He looked out for Tuck, keeping the bullies at bay. Todd’s mother had been a meth addict. They’d taken him from her when she ended up with a prison sentence as a third striker. Although Todd’s mother might have been neglectful, she hadn’t been abusive. Lucky Todd.

  “That was a shitty thing to do,” Tucker told him when he rounded the corner back into the living room.

  Todd was using a dirty T-shirt to wipe clean the mess of cum and spit glistening on his stomach. His muscular arms and chest flexed as he pushed the shirt around in a circular motion. God, he had a beautiful body, and he liked to show it off.

  “Who gives a fuck?” He glanced at Tuck and wiggled his eyebrows. “At least I don’t have to worry about him stalking me. I love it when they come.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And I love it when they go.”

  Tuck choked back a laugh. “Did you have to use my name to chase him off?”

  “It came on me like a flash of genius. A moment of brilliance, if you must know.” Todd stood up and threw the soiled shirt at Tuck. “Divine inspiration, even. Besides, it got rid of the twat, huh?”

  Tuck caught the shirt before it hit his face.
He could smell a mixture of Todd’s sweat and cologne clinging to the damp fabric. He resisted the urge to bring the shirt to his nose. He’d fantasized about Todd since they’d been teenagers. However, Todd thought Tuck was weak—someone who needed protection—not someone who needed a good fucking.

  After high school, they’d rented an apartment together. They both worked odd jobs to support themselves. When they’d turned twenty-one, Jay Lincoln had given them jobs as wait staff and bouncers for The Other Team—the area’s first sports bar that catered to gay men. The place had become a home for both of them over the past year.

  Jay had recently started dating a doctor. An older guy named Harvey. Tuck had never seen the boss so happy. He wondered what that kind of happiness felt like. He didn’t have the same kind of sex drive that Todd had—the compulsion to be desired by everyone. He only wanted one person, and that was the one person who wasn’t capable of sustaining a relationship longer than a minute past orgasm.

  Todd leaned over and picked Tuck’s shoes off the floor, giving Tuck a bull’s eye view of his generous, gorgeous ass. “You know I hate it when you just kick your shoes off anywhere. We have a carousel by the door.”

  Tucker hid his smile as he watched Todd. His cock twitched to life, growing semi-erect as he stared at his friend’s firm, rounded backside. He licked his lips, thinking about how much he wanted to grab up two handfuls of those luscious cheeks. God, the things he would do to Todd, if only he had the guts…

  Next, Todd grabbed Tuck’s coat on the way to the door. He hung it neatly next to his own on a coat peg. After, he put the shoes into the carousel, left on the left, right on the right, both toes in first. “Why do you have to throw your jacket on the couch? Jesus, you’re a mess.”

  Nodding, Tucker tried to pull off contrite. Did he have a passive aggressive streak? You betcha. “I know.” He smiled. “I’m going to bed. Long night.”

  Todd liked everything in his life neat and tidy—growing up with a meth addict mother gave him control issues. He held tight to his illusion of control. It made it easy for Tuck to punish him whenever Todd pissed him off.

  His feelings for Todd were making it harder and harder for Tuck to watch him share his body with strangers all the time. He’d never been intimate with anyone—not from a lack of offers. Instead, he’d never wanted anyone but Todd. Tuck found the occasional man attractive, and even the occasional woman, but they weren’t Todd.

  Tuck was going to have to make some hard decisions if he wanted to have a life—a life that didn’t involve him pining away for a guy who didn’t see him as anything but a friend.

  “Fucking Todd.”

  Chapter 2

  Fucking Tuck

  After showering Tim, or Tom, or was it Dan? from his body, Todd Nelson lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t get his mind off Tucker. When he’d called out Tuck’s name while he was coming, it’d been a joke, but his body hadn’t thought it was funny. Not a bit.

  People compared them all the time, but Tuck was much better looking. Model good-looking. His deep-set, light blue eyes were nearly violet, and he had sharp cheekbones, a perfect Roman nose, and full sensual mouth.

  Todd became aroused as he thought about Tuck’s mouth. Oof. He rubbed his hand over the length of the shaft. The boy had no idea what kind of effect he had on Todd. Todd fantasized, and not for the first time, about how good it would feel to have that sexy mouth trail kisses down his neck and chest and stomach—Tuck’s tongue licking every crevice and dip along the way.

  Todd wet his fingers and closed his eyes. He lightly touched the tips to his skin, trying to mimic the imagined sensations. The first time he’d met Tuck, they’d been eleven years old, just on the edge of puberty. Tucker had been a small kid, all skin and bone. On top of his size, he’d been what some might call “pretty.” It made him an easy target for bullies.

  Todd had been physically stronger than Tuck, but he’d never been able to match Tuck’s iron will. The man’s indomitable strength is what made Todd fall in love with him in the first place.

  When they were sixteen, he’d tried to tell Tuck how he felt. Tuck had reacted with anger, accusing Todd of messing with him. In his life, Tuck was the only person he ever truly cared about, so instead of forcing a relationship with his friend, who obviously didn’t want one, he took Tuck for what his friend could give him. Friendship. Companionship. Family.

  He rubbed his thumb over the straining tip of his cock, smearing the clear precum glistening around the opening. His stomach shivered as he pictured Tucker’s tongue dipping in and tasting him.

  A bang on his door jerked him from his fantasy.

  Tucker yelled through the barrier. “I’m taking a shift tomorrow night to train the new guy. I told Jay you’d bounce.”

  “Okay,” Todd said. “No problem.”

  Neither of them was afraid of hard work—one of the many things they had in common. They got along great, liked the same movies, music, and video games. They also had similar senses of humor. Other than the lack of sex, they were the perfect couple.

  Fucking Tuck.

  Chapter 3

  Who’s the New Guy?

  It was a quiet Tuesday at The Other Team. Jay scheduled Tuck until ten. Chris was working behind the bar, Todd worked the front door, and Tuck was training Alex, the new waiter Jay had hired. Alex was attractive in a Benedict Cumberbatch way. Tall and lanky, long face, overly large eyes and mouth, which just added to his appeal. Of course, Jay only hired attractive men. It was good business.

  The Other Team was a stop-gap for Alex. A place to make a little money until he graduated from college with his Master’s. Tuck didn’t mind. He admired Alex’s ambition. At nine p.m., he smiled to himself. So far, so good. Alex picked up the routine quickly.

  “Do you want to get a drink sometime?”

  “Huh?” Tuck glanced over at Alex. “What did you say?”

  Alex smiled. “I asked if you wanted to get a drink sometime. You know, with me.”

  “A drink?”

  “Am I speaking a foreign language?” He grinned, his large mouth curving up and lighting his eyes. “Yes. A drink. With me.”

  “Like a date?”

  Alex sighed. “No. Not like a date. A date.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and danced up on his toes. “God, Tuck, you’re thick. I want to get to know you better, so I’m asking you out. Albeit poorly.”

  Tuck had been working on trying to figure out how to be intimate with someone—on how to create relationships with people who weren’t Todd. His therapist had encouraged him to take baby steps—like learning to ride a bike. Alex was cute, he seemed like a really nice guy, and Tuck thought he could do worse for a set of training wheels.

  “Uhm.”

  “Is that a no?”

  “No.” Tuck rubbed his face. The idea of a date scared the shit out of him. “I mean, it’s not a no.”

  “So a yes, then?” Alex’s half-lidded, chocolate brown eyes made Tuck squirm.

  Tuck shrugged, quick and awkward. “Sure.”

  “When’s your next night off?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Perfect. Mine too.” Alex leaned over and brushed his lips against Tuck’s cheek. A quick kiss to seal the deal. “It’s a date.”

  Dazed, Tuck felt frozen in place and numb. He stared blankly as Alex rushed off to bus the next table.

  Todd brushed against his shoulder, startling Tuck from his stupor. “What the fuck was that all about?”

  Tuck blinked. “Apparently, I’ve got a date.”

  “Huh,” Todd grunted. “Good for you.”

  Chapter 4

  Jealousy Sucks

  Todd paced in his bedroom. He could hear Tuck showering…getting ready for his date. A Goddamn date! It was one thing to have random pulls, but another to actually fucking date someone. He’d been so pissed the night before, he’d wanted to kick Alex’s ass and warn him to back off. That dude moved in fast. Why had Tuck said “yes?” Tuck never dat
ed. Never.

  What made Alex so freaking special?

  Twenty minutes later, Tuck walked into Todd’s bedroom. He wore a light blue T-shirt that deepened the color of his eyes and clung to each of his hard-earned muscles. His jeans hung low on his waist and tight in all the right places. His freshly shaved face was still a little pink from the razor.

  “How do I look?”

  Too good. Too good for the likes of Alex. “Hot,” he said aloud. He crossed the short distance between them and wiped off a small bit of shaving cream Tuck had missed below his right ear. His gut clenched. God, this close, he smells so damned good. Masculine. Intoxicating.

  “You think he’s going to like me?” Tuck asked shyly.

  Todd could hear the nerves in Tuck’s question. He wanted to lie, to ramp up Tuck’s insecurities so he’d cancel this date, but looking at his goofy, beautiful, sweet friend, he couldn’t. Instead, he said the absolute truth. “He’s going to love you.”

  Chapter 5

  The Date

  “So,” Alex said. “Now you know everything about me. What about you?”

  Not even the alcohol buzz could stop Tuck’s rising anxiety. His therapist encouraged him to open up to people, but his life was too heavy for a first date. “There’s nothing to tell. I’ve lived a boring life and have a boring job. The end.”

  “And your roommate?”

  “Todd?” Why did Alex want to know about Todd? Todd wasn’t any of his business. “What about him?”

  “You two ever…” Alex wiggled two fingers together. “You know…”

  Tuck nearly spit the drink he’d been sipping. “No!” He made a pah sound. “Why would you even ask that?”

  “Well, besides the fact that you’re both really hot, though you edge him out just a bit,” Alex said with a wicked smile. “He definitely gave me the touch-him-and-I’m-going-to-kill-you vibe.”