Question Mark (5 page)

Tapping on the bar, Christian let the bartender know he was coming right back and weaved his way through the pre-dinner drinks crowd until he was right behind his guy. For a second, he was nearly overcome by the need to touch him, but years of withholding stuck solid.

Christian leaned forward and said, “If you’re looking for someone, I hope it’s me.”

The man jumped and spun towards him, his cheeks brightening to a lush pink. “You keep catching me off guard!”

Christian grinned unapologetically and gestured toward the bar with a flick of his chin. “Thirsty?”

 “Are you even old enough to drink?”

Dammit. Christian forced a laugh even at the same time he felt that pull of attraction. So the guy was a bit of a hard ass, huh? Christian was glad that he didn’t have to fake his interest. “I’m twenty-eight. Wanna see my driver’s license?”

The other man turned away and kept his eyes moving as he shrugged. “No need.” He gave the tatts another furtive look, making warmth bloom under Christian’s skin. People always looked; few had the guts to ask what all the ink meant.

“Well then? Care for a drink? I’m good company.”

A sideways look and the hint of a smile was all Christian needed to clinch his plans to ravish this man until there was nothing left to ravish. “I’ve no doubt, but I’m waiting for—”

“Mark! You weren’t supposed to be here yet,” the familiar voice broke in on their conversation and Christian turned to see the galldamned actor from the lobby. His veins froze when he thought of how he’d actually paid good money to see
Innuendos
last week and now his famous ass was coming at them full speed ahead.

Share the wealth, man. Christian thought. There’s thousands of guys who’d gladly plunder your village. You really gotta step up on my turf?

Christian looked back and forth between Whitlow and the mystery guy—Mark apparently—and considered pushing Whitlow back down the steps. How was he supposed to compete with
this
? This was
the
Zane Whitlow who also happened to be out and apparently proud about it…
Great!

Fuckola.

Christian grit his teeth together at the look on Mark’s face as Whitlow smiled like he didn’t know how hot he was, hands in the pockets of his shorts and his pale pink button up shirt fluttering in the breeze. Pale pink! The guy was too secure for his own good and Christian couldn’t ignore that there was some chemistry between Mark and the actor. Maybe they already knew each other before they arrived in Bora Bora, but their obvious connection had Christian seeing shades of green.

Mark watched Whitlow’s every move until he realized he was ignoring Christian at his side.

“God, I’m sorry.” His voice was rough and sexy and Christian almost scowled because he had nothing to do with making it that way. “I’m Mark, by the way, and this is—”

“Zane Whitlow.” The actor held out his hand and smiled politely, his eyes flickering back to Mark.

Christian took the offered hand and tightened his grip until Zane looked back at him, startled. He was sending a message that the actor got loud and clear. What surprised Christian was when Zane gripped his hand right back and added a little pressure for emphasis. Umm ouch.

“Good to meet you,” Christian ground out and pulled back his hand, disappointed. He was lean and strong, but clearly not as strong as Whitlow. Christian turned back to Mark and flicked his head to get his hair out of his eyes. “Looks like I’m too late to monopolize you this evening. There’s always tomorrow, though.” He threw in a wink for good measure and lightly grabbed Mark’s shoulder in farewell. Christian’s mood improved dramatically when he saw Whitlow stiffen at the contact.

Mark blushed again and casually moved away like he was heading into the bar, and Whitlow took the opportunity to close the distance to Christian and glare.

“Forget it, kid,” he whispered.

“Up yours,” Christian grinned, retreating to his spot at the bar.

This wasn’t at all how he thought he’d be spending the evening. Mark was supposed to be across from him, laughing and smiling while Christian absorbed the rush of flirting with his secret life. Instead, Mark was across the bar yucking it up with a famous guy who could wine and dine him until his eyes crossed. What a pisser.

But like he’d said to Mark, he’d figure something out for tomorrow. Christian would find him and make him forget all about those baby blues Whitlow kept twinkling at him. And tonight? Well, Christian would get exceptionally drunk.

CHAPTER FOUR

Zane had wanted to grab a quick shower and shave before he met Mark for dinner, so after he swam back to his bungalow in a haze of
I-can’t-believe-that-just-happened
, he rushed to clean up. He would have been there to meet him on time, too, if it hadn’t been for the call from his agent/manager who practically had him sign a contract before he went on vacation saying he would keep himself available for phone calls. Zane was humoring her because a big deal was in the works, but being late for dinner was out of the question.

He cut Jenny off by admitting that he had a date. She was sweet enough to remember that it had been a couple of eons since he’d been out, so she took the opportunity to really give him hell before she hung up. Now he was twice as nervous.

Mark already gave Zane that weird gut ache he used to get when his gorgeous and worldly drama teacher in high school used to call on him. That hadn’t ended well. As such, Zane was really quite concerned at the exact magnitude of dorkiness Mark might end up witnessing this evening. Remembering the way Mark looked right through him when they were swimming made Zane bury his face in his hands. It was so
embarrassing.

He couldn’t help himself, could he? Zane just
had to
follow advice that would short-circuit any intelligence and authenticity and instead make him look like an actor in a bad porno.

“I had better stuff I wanted to do… Like try to chat with you…”
he mimicked himself.
“I’m also a lame asshole…”

Apparently Mark had a kind heart because this date was
happening
. Zane’s heart, however, was thumping out a base line as he threw on the only clothes in his bag that weren’t totally wrinkled. Before stepping out the door, he gave himself a final once over and decided he was doing alright. Casual. Not too serious. Not too frumpy. God, was that a zit? Fuck it. There was no time.

The lights were off in Mark’s bungalow, so Zane took a chance that he might end up sweating through his shirt and jogged toward the open-air bar where they were meeting. He slowed down quickly when he got his first look at Mark standing on the landing waiting for him. His dark hair was freshly styled and he’d changed into a polo with a pair of blue patterned shorts and white sneakers. He looked comfortable, delicious, and semi-distracted by a tall man who acted like he wanted to lay Mark down on the deck and go for the gold in team sports.

Zane frowned and sped up.
Hell no
. Where were Mikey and James when he needed them to run interference? This guy required a solid
fuck-off
so he could get Mark out of there.

Mark still hadn’t seen him and he closed the distance quickly as rocker boy pumped up the wattage on his flirting. It soothed Zane’s nerves somewhat when he heard Mark turning the guy down because he was already busy. Not to mention that it was a quadruple delight to see the glint of anger in the younger man’s eyes as Zane staked his claim. And though it was unlike Zane to be so assertive, he wasn’t going to let Mark fly away from Tahiti and out of his life forever without seriously pursuing him. If rocker boy wanted a competition, Zane was determined the kid would lose.

I mean, look at Mark, he thought to himself. There’s
something
there that’s more than attraction. Something big. It was like going through life looking for something you thought you wanted until, one day, you’re walking around and you notice a completely different thing and realize it’s what you needed all along. Mark could be that thing. He could be exactly what Zane needed.

Zane moved up behind Mark who was putting distance between himself and Christian—another good sign—and without thinking about it, Zane reached out and for the breath of a moment, lightly touched Mark’s arm. His fingers grazed over skin warmed by the heat of the day and he purred. Mark stopped and looked back at him, a mysterious smile on his face.

“Sorry about that guy,” he whispered. “I didn’t expect it. I literally ran into him today on my way to—”

Zane was feeling pretty smug just then and shook his head to cut Mark off. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t blame him. I mean, I’m just glad I got to you first.”

Mark met his gaze and held the eye contact for a bone-melting moment before looking away, that half-smile that was so distracting appearing. “You sure that you’re no good at talking to guys?”

“The worst. Trust me on that.”

“I don’t know…” he murmured. “Jury’s still out, I think.”

How did Mark do it? They had hardly spoken to each other, but the few words that came out of his mouth made Zane forget about important things, like how they were both leaving this island in a week and how Zane was incredibly busy with his career now. He was stuck in this back and forth internal argument about making a move while he had a chance, or letting the moment slide away because of the risk involved.

Zane cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair for lack of knowing what else to do. “Would you like to grab a bite out here or in the restaurant?” He gestured in the general direction of the tropical dining amenities.

Mark gave the bar a cursory glance and noticed the way it was filling up. Zane also noticed that people were beginning to realize who he was and unless he wanted their dinner to be continuously interrupted, they’d have to find a secluded spot fast. He wasn’t being conceited. Fame was a double-edged sword. While he loved that people enjoyed his work, sometimes lines blurred and they felt his personal privacy was optional. The really matter-of-fact folks said that if he didn’t want attention, he shouldn’t be in the public eye, but they’d change their tune quick if they were in his shoes. There was a difference between being on the red carpet and out on his first date with a guy that he
really
wanted to make a good impression with.

Mark leaned in closer, drawing a shaky breath from Zane, and spoke, his voice low. “I’m not trying to be like some stupid fan girl, but people are really noticing you here and I don’t know the protocol for dating a…uhm…superstar.”

Damn, Zane wanted to kiss that vulnerability away. Mark swallowed nervously and Zane’s heart softened even more. The last thing he wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

“Hey,” he answered softly, “there is no protocol…for…well, secluded is better, but I just want to spend time with you. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“People will bother you out here, right?”

Zane started to deny it, but off to the side he noticed a girl pulling out her phone and preparing to take a picture. Some people stopped at that, just snapping pics from afar; she didn’t act like that would be the end of it. She would want to chat, then get a picture together, which he normally wouldn’t mind doing, but
not
on a first date with Mark Newland.

“We’ll probably be interrupted here,” he admitted finally, wincing a little.

“Then we get a table inside. Come on.”

Zane followed Mark and as he did he caught another glare from Christian who was leaning back against the bar. Winking back, Zane swept past him to Mark’s side. He tried to give the host a meaningful look so he’d stick them in a quiet corner. When they were finally led to their table, he sighed in relief.

The table was small, set for two, and separated from the room by a partition with flowering plants growing from the center. The windows around the room had been opened to the air and they could see the lights of tiki torches surrounding the restaurant and shining on the paths to the bungalows.

“Perfect,” they both said simultaneously, then laughed. The raw tension or sense of expectation, Zane wasn’t sure which, was palpable in the air between them and he wanted to sit down and learn everything he could about the man across from him. A trip to Bora Bora ending in a first date was the last thing Zane expected to happen. The nerves were galloping through his system now.

Playing softly in the background, he heard Chris Isaak’s
Let Me Down Easy
and he closed his eyes for a second. No fucking joke. Let me down easy, Mark… In the dim light the other man was even more distracting… Zane didn’t know how to describe it. Mark was something so
new
.

***

The server did a disappearing act, practically floating away, and Mark looked out the window at the flickering lights. “It’s really beautiful here.” He was taking in the scenery, but his mind was racing at a break-neck pace over how differently his evening was turning out  compared to what he thought would happen that very morning.