“His name’s Gannon.”

“Whatever,” Dare remarked with a grin. “You asked him out?”

Cam smiled, remembering his conversation with Gannon. No, he hadn’t asked him out; it’d been the other way around and a nice change of pace for Cam. Generally, he was the pursuer in the few relationships he had under his belt. He tended to go out with men who were looking for someone to take the reins. Granted, he hadn’t had a clue what to expect from Gannon. Truth was, the man had surprised the hell out of him with his demand for dinner. It hadn’t been a question, and had it been, Cam probably would’ve turned him down.

But the way Gannon took control… That had set off something inside Cam. Something that’d been dormant for a while, and he was strangely looking forward to whatever Gannon had in mind. Cam got the impression, although different, he and Gannon were matched pretty evenly.

“He asked,” Cam told his friend. “I’m meetin’ him at his house.”

“He live around here?” Dare asked.

Cam shook his head.

“You sure you’re good with that?” Dare’s concern was evident. “I know how you are about the long-distance thing.”

Yeah, Cam wasn’t fond of it, but he’d come to a decision. Since Gannon had already come to the marina three times, it was only fair that Cam made an effort. He’d know more tonight, after they had a little privacy.

“I’m steppin’ out of my comfort zone,” he told Dare.

Dare responded with a long, slow whistle, followed by, “So, you’ll be back … in the mornin’?”

Cam laughed but didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure when he’d be home, honestly. Hell, dinner could be hell and he could be home early. Or…

He didn’t want to think about the other option. There was some serious chemistry between him and Gannon, strange as it was, but it came down to the fact that they were polar opposites and didn’t know the first thing about one another. Although the sex had the potential to be spontaneous and fucking hot, Cam wasn’t looking for one night of passion.

“You got condoms?” Dare asked teasingly as Cam pushed the door open.

“I’m good,” Cam answered with a chuckle.

“Later, man.”

Cam stepped outside, the evening sun sliding lower in the sky but still shining bright. As he walked to his truck, the gravel crunching beneath his feet, he realized he was still smiling.

It had taken him all of ten minutes to find Gannon’s address, and another twenty to convince himself that he really was going to do this. He’d spent the next half hour getting ready, though he hadn’t put too much effort into what he wore. At first, he’d considered going to Gannon’s in what he’d had on for the day, but thought better of it at the last minute, choosing to jump in the shower.

It was one thing to enjoy the back-and-forth between them, but Cam was far more interested in Gannon than he was letting on. More than he cared to acknowledge. That didn’t mean he’d dressed up for the occasion, but he had put on jeans and a T-shirt and dug his Nikes out of the closet rather than going with flip-flops. After he’d brushed his teeth, he’d even added a touch of cologne at the last second. He looked presentable, or at least he thought so.

After programming the address into his truck’s GPS, Cam set out for the hour-long drive. When he’d learned that Gannon lived in a house that overlooked Lake Travis, he had to admit, he’d been even more intrigued. Not because the homes in that area ranged from seven figures on up but because he was interested in the view.

Money didn’t appeal to Cam the way it did to a lot of people. As long as he had what he needed to survive, he was happy. Granted, he wasn’t hurting, by any means. The marina was thriving, continuing to remain in the black, and allowing them enough to grow to accommodate the steadily increasing business. But he had never been attracted by a flashy man with a big wallet. It just didn’t do it for him.

By the time he arrived at Gannon’s nearly an hour later, Cam’s nerves were acting up. He’d tried everything from blasting the radio to rolling down the windows, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Gannon and what this night might have in store for him.

First dates were hell.

Apparently he’d been even more worked up than he’d thought because he hadn’t realized he was still sitting in his truck, parked in Gannon’s driveway, until Gannon appeared at the window, tapping solidly three times to get his attention.

With an embarrassed smile, he looked over at Gannon and shut off the engine. Before he could open the door, Gannon was doing the honors.

“I see you found the address,” Gannon said, his tone low, oddly seductive, as though he liked the fact Cam had put forth the effort to find him.

“I did,” he replied, climbing out of the truck.

“So, what? Your truck having separation anxiety?” Gannon teased.

He caught the spark in Gannon’s eyes as his heated gaze slowly perused Cam’s body, down, then up again to rest on Cam’s face.

“Somethin’ like that.”

“You look good,” Gannon said, and the blatant approval in those dark, dark brown eyes had heat blooming deep inside him.

“Dressed up for the occasion.” Cam kept his eyes on Gannon’s face, his gaze dropping to those soft, smooth lips. Not for the first time, Cam wondered what it would be like to kiss Gannon, to feel those lips against his own.

“I can see that.” Gannon flashed another smile. “Come on in.”

Cam followed Gannon along the winding path that led up to the front door. Trailing behind him, he took stock of what he was up against tonight.

Faded Levi’s that accentuated a very, very nice ass. Check.

A black polo that shifted over a well-muscled back. Check.

Bare feet. Oh, yeah. Something about the sight of Gannon’s feet made Cam’s blood pump faster.

Or possibly, that was just his increased heart rate from the long trek. Although doubtful.

Gannon’s house was built on a hill, so it took a few minutes to make their way to the front door. When they did, Gannon stood there, waiting for Cam to come inside.

Taking a deep breath, trying to slow his rapidly beating heart—which he admitted had absolutely nothing to do with the walk—Cam stepped over the threshold and resigned himself for whatever Gannon had in store for him tonight.

And after that, he willed his nerves to chill.

As they’d done during the entire drive over, they ignored him once again.

Gannon had been pleasantly surprised when he’d seen the big, black Ford Super Duty F250 Lariat—a truck that suited Cam to a T—parked in his driveway. Part of him had expected Cam to be a no-show, so when he’d looked on the security camera monitor and noticed he did have a guest, he’d actually felt a little light-headed with relief.

What it was about Cam, he still couldn’t put his finger on, but Gannon was looking forward to the chance to get to know him better. He had absolutely no expectations for the night, other than a nice dinner, some conversation, maybe a little wine out on the deck overlooking the water.

“Smells good,” Cam said as Gannon led him through the house toward the kitchen.

“Me? Or the food?” Gannon probed, casting a quick look at Cam over his shoulder.

The way Cam’s eyebrow lifted casually, the corner of his mouth curling just a little… That was probably the sexiest look he’d ever seen on a man.

When Cam didn’t answer, Gannon laughed. “It’ll be ready in about half an hour. Thought we’d have a drink while we wait. Preference?”

“What do you have?”

“Beer, wine, scotch, iced tea, water.”

“Beer’s good,” Cam said, his eyes scanning the room briefly before coming to rest on Gannon again.

Gannon nodded toward the double doors that led out onto the back deck. “If you wanna go out there, I’ll bring it to you.”