From the Blurb:
Never fall for the straight guy—Jasper knows better. At least until his straight guy crush starts crushing back…
Jasper
Tanaka has made an art form out of avoiding commitment. Which is why
his crush on a nearby café owner, Matt, has been perfect—the guy is
straight, vanilla, and far too sweet—everything that puts him out of
Jasper’s reach.
Matt Reed’s always been unlucky in love, never
enough for his partners. And when his most recent girlfriend dumps him,
he decides to take a chance on something new—a rope class. Lucky for
him, Jasper’s there, and their time together sparks an attraction that
both surprises and captivates Matt.
When a developer’s offer
threatens to shut Tabletop Tavern down, Jasper’s grasping for any
distraction possible—and Matt offers the perfect one. Except the intense
feelings between become far too real, and if Matt decides this was just
a curiosity, Jasper won’t survive the loss of the one guy he’s let in
and the only home he’s ever known.
Roll the dice on romance at Tabletop Tavern…
Excerpt:
“Hey, Jas,” Meg called, snapping his attention to the group by the exercise mats. Eight or so folks gathered around Meg, some looking paired up already while others hung back. The owner of Whipped was tall, lean, and gorgeous, with sleeves of tattoos up her bare arms, a muscle shirt featuring the Whipped logo, and leggings that showed off impressive thighs. Her finger-length black hair was coiffed to the side, and the dark eyeliner and crimson lipstick she wore made her features even starker.
“See, I made it out,” he said, since she’d been trying to convince him to come to a class for ages now. Meg’s lips quirked, and she beckoned him over with two fingers. Too bad women didn’t make him tick, because her confidence was attractive all on its own.
“Fucking finally,” she responded. She glanced over to one of the women who pulled out coils of rope from a duffel. “We’re waiting on one more, and then we’ll pair off.”
Great, back to getting picked last for gym class. There were a few cute guys in the mix, but two looked coupled off. There was an enby babe he’d seen around here before who was built enough to wreck him and another bigger guy who leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. Jasper thought about trying to catch a glance, to gauge some interest.
Except truth be told, a secret part of him held on to the stupid, irrational hope that Matt wouldn’t mind getting paired off with a man.
And that the man would be him.
Fucking idiotic because Matt was straight and would want to partner with a woman, but until the moment came, Jasper would entertain these daydreams, however farfetched they were.
Jasper’s gaze snapped to the movement by the door.
Matt had arrived.
The man looked fucking delicious today, dressed down in a white T-shirt that clung to his broad frame and gray sweats that did the same to those massive thighs. His ginger beard stood out, and his blue eyes were even prettier with the lost-puppy look to them. One day the sight of this man would stop being a gut punch of lust, but today was not that day.
“And there’s our straggler,” Meg called out, her voice booming through the area. “Come on in. I promise you this isn’t nearly as intimidating as it seems.”
“Hilarious coming from you,” a cute girl with teal hair mouthed back.
“Keep that attitude up and I’ll take it out on your ass later,” Meg responded, her voice lowering.
Teal Hair batted her lashes provocatively, and Jasper couldn’t help the smirk that rose to his lips. He liked this crew already.
Matt walked up to Jasper, which he didn’t mind in the slightest. If the guy wanted to cling to him through the whole class, all the better.
“Okay,” Meg said, striding over to where Teal Hair had pulled out the rope. “Pixie here is going to be my rope bunny today. We’re going for comfort first with these pairings, so if anyone has come with partners, you’ll stay with them. I made sure there were an even number of riggers and rope bunnies booked for the class today, so the rest of you will be able to divide evenly.”
Already, the folks who were part of a couple or at least play partners split off to the side, which left him and Matt along with about four others. Before he could even scope out who was left, Matt clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t know anyone else,” he murmured, his blue eyes wide with the slightest hint of fear. “Would you partner up with me?”
Jasper’s mouth dried up. Holy hell.
“Yeah,” he found himself rasping out, even as the realization settled over him.
Partnering up with the guy he’d been crushing on from afar for close to two years?
Oh, he was so fucked.
Charisma Check is available for pre-order on Amazon and will be available as part of your Kindle Unlimited on May 23, 2023.
Comments
Post a Comment