A Foolish Plan Read online

  “Steve and I always spend time together on Saturday evenings.”

  Dexter scoffed. “Maybe he thinks it’s time to get a proper boyfriend or girlfriend. Someone he can marry someday.”

  Jared felt a sudden pang of pain somewhere in his chest, but he brushed it off. It also wasn’t a feeling of jealousy over possibly losing Stephen to someone else. He was sad because Stephen hadn’t bothered to share with him about going out on dates with some strangers. That must be it. He glanced at Dexter, who was frowning as usual, and Isaac, who had a guilty expression on his face. He briefly wondered why Isaac had to look like that, but that wasn’t a priority to him. The most important thing was to hear more about Stephen’s dates from Dexter.

  “Where did he go on…uh, these dates?”

  Jared did his best to keep his voice all casual and cool. He couldn’t comprehend why Dexter appeared so smug and triumphant while Isaac had apprehension written all over his face. For a short moment, he entertained the thought that Isaac had such an adorable expression, but he wasn’t suicidal or foolish enough to voice that out loud. He and Dexter might be best friends, but he was aware of how possessive Dexter could be. He had no doubt Dexter would punch him square in the face if his best friend knew he was ogling Isaac. It was best to shut his mouth.

  “His usual places,” Dexter replied. “You know how much he enjoys bringing men or women to all these impressive and expensive places.”

  Jared nodded as he got up on his feet. “I know.”

  “Where are you going?” Isaac asked. “We haven’t been here for ten minutes.”

  “I have an errand to run,” Jared answered as calmly as he could without giving his secret plan away. “You and Dexter can stick around. I’ve already paid for the room for the next two hours.”

  “But—”

  “That’s a great idea,” Dexter cut Isaac off midsentence. “We haven’t hung out at a bar in quite a while, babe. Maybe we can even have some fun in this room. Just the two of us.”

  Dexter had this lewd expression on his face while Isaac was simultaneously blushing and looking pleased. Jared mock gagged at Dexter.

  “Yuck! Please wait until I’m out from the room before you two bump uglies with each other,” Jared said while glaring a little at Dexter. “I may have seen you naked and hard in the past, but now that you and Isaac are practically married to each other, it feels wrong to be a voyeur during your most intimate moment.”

  Dexter raised his middle fingers at Jared. “Then get out. I’m horny for my boyfriend.”

  Jared rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Bye, guys.”

  Dexter and Isaac waved their hands at Jared, who ran out from the room as quickly as possible. He shuddered once he closed the door behind him, especially when Isaac started moaning loudly. Then he took a deep breath before making his way toward the public area of the bar. He ignored the lustful gazes from some of the other patrons. On most of the other nights, he would have fucked or gotten fucked by as many of them as he could manage to, but he had something more important to deal with. He was determined to see what Stephen’s date for that evening was like. Stephen only had three favorite places that he knew of. He would have to make sure that Stephen’s date was good enough for his best friend. That was his only motive. He wasn’t jealous. That would be fucking ridiculous.

  * * * *

  Over the past nine days, Stephen had dated nine different people. Those men and women had been nice enough, but they weren’t Jared. Stephen couldn’t help it. He would compare them to Jared, and they could never measure up to his best friend. He bit back a sigh and forced a smile at Harold, his present date. The two of them were having dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. Harold, who was seated across the table from him, was date number ten. Unlike any of his previous dates, Harold was extremely prim and proper. Harold was handsome and soft-spoken. Harold obviously had a nice build, and he was also smart and rich. He was a really sweet man.

  Unfortunately for Harold, Stephen was searching for someone like Jared. Then he almost cursed out loud at himself. He should stop lying to himself. He wanted Jared. Period. Harold was, for the lack of a better and kinder word, boring. Jared was gorgeous, sexy, and mischievous, and Stephen really wished he could date his best friend instead. That was an impossibility for the time being, though. Besides, he was out on a date with Harold at the moment. It was only polite to concentrate on Harold for the duration of the evening.

  “That sounds like a really fun and thrilling experiment,” Stephen mumbled at Harold when the man paused for a second or two. “What happened after that?”

  That broke the dam, and Harold began to talk about all of his medical research with every single excruciating detail in tow while Stephen did his best to listen to his date. Once every few minutes, he would interject with a word or two even though he wasn’t paying much attention to Harold at all. His thoughts revolved around Jared for the most part. He was thankful when Harold eventually reached the end of the story. He was also glad to notice that they were both about to finish the last morsel of their respective dinner. Then he was taken aback when someone placed a chair right next to him. He was even more astonished when Jared plopped down onto the chair and grinned at him.

  “Hey, Steve.”

  Stephen was frankly delighted to see Jared, but he was also curious about his best friend’s unexpected appearance. “Jared, what are you doing here?”

  “Making sure you’re okay,” Jared replied in a casual tone of voice before smiling widely at Harold. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Jared Masters, Stephen’s best friend.”

  “Harold Ritz,” Harold responded with while shaking hands with Jared. “Nice to meet one of Stephen’s friends.”

  “Thank you. The pleasure is all mine.”

  Harold blushed, and Stephen glared at Jared. He grabbed Jared’s head closer to him and whispered furiously into his best friend’s ear.

  “Jared, what the fuck are you playing at?”

  Jared’s cheerful expression didn’t change at all. Then Stephen gritted his teeth in irritation when Jared turned his full charm onto Harold, whose cheeks were all red at the moment. Harold was definitely not immune to Jared’s magnetic allure.

  “Getting to know your…handsome date for the evening.”

  Stephen narrowed his eyes at Jared. “If this is your idea of a joke, I—”

  “Not at all,” Jared interrupted while continuing to beam at Harold. “So, Hammock—”

  “Harold,” Harold corrected. “It’s spelled H-A-R—”

  “Right. Harold, what do you do in your spare time?”

  “I read. I also enjoy listening to classical music and baking. I—”

  “How scintillating!”

  Stephen gasped under his breath. Harold might not realize it, but Stephen could hear the sarcasm oozing through every syllable of the words that came out from Jared’s mouth. He was mortified, and he felt bad for Harold. He placed his palm on top of Jared’s left thigh. He knew Jared was muscular everywhere. He wouldn’t be able to pinch the meat, so he did the next best thing. He shifted his hand closer to Jared’s crotch and squeezed his best friend’s ballsac. Hard enough to send a nonverbal warning to Jared, who hissed and grunted before giving Stephen a dirty look. Stephen put on a friendly expression.

  “Jared, as delighted as I am to have your company tonight, I think you should leave Harold and me alone to continue with our date.”

  Jared gazed straight into Stephen’s eyes. “Sometimes, three people can have a lot of fun together.”

  “Not unless one of them wants to lose his testicles for the rest of his life.”

  Jared gaped at Stephen. “You will never do that to me.”

  Stephen waggled his eyebrows at Jared. “Want to take that risk?”

  “I may just do—”

  “I think the two of you have some unresolved issues,” Harold cut Jared off midsentence all of a sudden.

  Stephen glanced in Harold’s direction, feeling b
ad for his date now. “I’m so sorry about Jared.”

  Harold got up on his feet. “It’s fine. This has been fun. Keep in touch, please.”

  Stephen detected the disappointment in Harold’s tone of voice. “Harold, once again, I’m really sorry.”

  Harold smiled at Stephen before doing the same to Jared. “It’s all right. Have a wonderful evening, gentlemen.”

  Then Harold walked away from the table. For the next few seconds, Stephen and Jared didn’t exchange a single word with each other. Stephen was too embarrassed by the outcome of his date. He was also more than a little furious at Jared, who was now sporting a rather guilty expression on his face. Jared was about to speak up when Stephen raised his left hand to stop his best friend from doing so.

  “Save it. I don’t want to hear whatever you have to say. You’ve just ruined my date. Thanks a lot, jerk.”

  Jared scoffed. “I’d just saved you from a fucking boring date. I might not be present at the beginning of your date, but I saw enough toward the end to know you were obviously not interested in him or anything he was telling you about.”

  “But that’s none of your fucking business.”

  Jared sneered at Stephen. “Did you just call me a fucking busybody?”

  Stephen refused to look in Jared’s direction as he folded both arms across his chest. “If the shoe fits.”

  The silence between the two of them stretched on for a short moment before Jared pushed his chair backward and got up on his feet. Then he stared down at Stephen, who returned the look with a glare.

  “I’m sorry then. I thought we were supposed to be best friends. I was just concerned on your behalf. Nice to know that I apparently mean so little to you. Or maybe I don’t mean shit to you.”

  Stephen was stunned now. It wasn’t caused by Jared’s words. At least not completely. It was due to the unfamiliar expression on Jared’s face. Jared was a mischievous man. He took things lightly almost all of the time. Stephen rarely got to witness such a serious expression on Jared’s face, and it had never been directed toward him. In addition, Jared seemed really hurt, too. Stephen’s words died in his throat.

  By the time he managed to compose himself, Jared was already heading toward the main entrance of the restaurant. Stephen tilted his head backward and shut his eyes. Everything went out of control way too fast for his liking. Moreover, this plan of inciting Jared’s jealousy by dating other people was turning into such a fucking mess, and he still had no idea if Jared actually harbored any feelings toward him. Or not. Nothing in Jared’s words or actions could show Stephen how his best friend truly felt for him. Jared might just be mad at him as a best friend and not as a potential lover. Isaac was right. This plan was horrible. It had now spiraled into a disaster. Stephen shouldn’t have listened to Dexter in the first place. Now, he had to find a way to fix it before he ruined his friendship with Jared. He also still had to come up with a way to sound Jared out on the possibility of the two of them dating each other. This was such a fucking mess!

  Chapter 4

  Jared groaned as he planted his face in his palms. Then he removed both hands and stared at Dexter. It was the morning after his foolish action of crashing into Stephen’s date at the restaurant, and he was currently seated on the luxurious and comfortable couch in Dexter’s office. Not that he cared about the damn couch. Much. He was more concerned about the state of his friendship with Stephen. Unsurprisingly, Dexter, who occupied the single couch to Jared’s left, didn’t have any expression on his face.

  Jared knew Dexter rarely displayed his feelings. The only time Dexter would be animated and lively was when he was with Isaac, and Jared was still amazed by that. Love could truly change a person for the better. Dexter was much happier ever since he got together with Isaac, and Jared didn’t need to be a mind-reader to know that. Dexter’s feelings would often show up on his face, especially when Isaac was around. That was neither here nor there. At the moment, Jared was worried he was going to lose Stephen as a best friend because he had done something so monumentally stupid.

  “Say something, man.”

  Dexter glanced at Jared. “Something.”

  Jared scoffed at Dexter. “Ha! Ha! Funny.”

  There was a brief stretch of silence between them before Dexter eventually spoke up. “Why did you mess Steve’s date up?”

  Jared looked away. “That Hammock guy is a loser.”

  “Harold.”

  Jared was a little bewildered by Dexter’s response. “What?”

  Dexter sighed. “Steve talked to me really early this morning. His date’s name from last night was Harold.”

  Jared was annoyed by the reminder of that motherfucker’s name. “Whatever. My point is Steve deserves someone better.”

  “Yeah? Like who?”

  “I…” Jared trailed off immediately. “I don’t know, but not that guy from last night. That guy was a fucking bore. Steve can do so much better than him.”

  Dexter leaned forward on the couch until he was close enough to Jared. “Have you entertained the possibility that Steve may be searching for someone fun and exciting? Someone who can be his best friend. Someone who doesn’t take everything in life too seriously. Someone who can bring plenty of joy into his life. We both know Steve can be hypersensitive at times. He probably prefers someone who won’t get too easily offended when he’s in one of his moods.”

  Jared was delighted to hear that. “That’s an excellent idea. Steve needs someone who understands and accepts him.”

  Dexter smiled at Jared. “That’s right, and I can think of someone like that right now.”

  Jared considered the possibility of introducing a potential date or two to Stephen, but he didn’t have the right candidate in mind. He raised his head and gazed straight into Dexter’s eyes.

  “Who?”

  Dexter suddenly looked frustrated. “Come on, man. There’s a suitable man right here.”

  “Huh?”

  “Motherfucking hell,” Dexter mumbled at Jared before pointing at him. “You!”

  “What?”

  “You and Steve can go out on dates—”

  “That’s right,” Jared interrupted because he was instantly thrilled by the idea that came to his mind after listening to Dexter’s suggestion. “I can be his date until he finds the right man. That will be perfect.”

  Dexter gaped at Jared. “That wasn’t what I—”

  “No! That’s what I should do. It will work beautifully. I can be his substitute date and wingman at the same time. We can ogle men and women together, so I’ll know the right kind of person he wants in a relationship. Just like old times. So far, I only know about the type of men and women he likes to have sex with, but I have zero clue when it comes to the kind of people he wants to date in a romantic way. This is brilliant. You’re a genius, man.”

  Dexter had a horrified expression on his face now. “That wasn’t—”

  “Don’t worry, man. That is such a splendid idea. Completely foolproof. I’m going to find Steve a man.”

  Dexter grabbed onto Jared’s shoulders and shook him. Hard. “Shut up and look at me.”

  Jared was taken aback by Dexter’s tone of voice. Dexter sounded really exasperated and annoyed.

  “What?”

  Dexter breathed in deeply before expelling the air out through his mouth. “You. Should. Date. Steve. Got it?”

  “Yeah. Then I can—”

  “No! You and Steve should become boyfriends. For real.”

  Jared was stunned. Then he burst out laughing, and it took him several moments to calm down. Meanwhile, Dexter appeared to become really furious for some unfathomable reason. Jared didn’t know the reason for that, but Dexter would often frown at anybody and anything anyway. It was Dexter’s normal, default expression, except when he was with Isaac. Dexter would look serious even when he was with Jared and Stephen. Jared clapped Dexter on the shoulders with both hands.

  “Steve and I are best friends. The three of us have
been best friends for years, man. Steve doesn’t like me that way.”

  Dexter squeezed Jared’s shoulders. “Forget that for a moment. Do you love Steve?”

  “Of course. He’s my best friend.”

  “Damn it,” Dexter cursed out loud. “I mean, do you love Steve as a potential lover?”

  “I…nah! I don’t think so.”

  “Are you one hundred percent positive you won’t feel jealous if Steve starts dating a man or a woman in the near future?”

  Jared felt something burning deep in his gut upon hearing that, but it couldn’t be whatever feeling Dexter was talking about. He wasn’t in love with Stephen. He loved Stephen because they were best friends. Hence, he wanted the best man or woman for Stephen. That was it. He would have known a long time ago if he’d had any romantic feelings for Stephen. Dexter was talking crazy. Jared wasn’t in love with Stephen. At all. He ignored the weird feeling of rage in his gut at the thought of Stephen going out on real dates with anyone other than him. He was simply concerned about the well-being of his best friend.

  “Nope.”

  Dexter relinquished his hold on Jared and raised both arms in a gesture of surrender before placing them back down onto his thighs and shaking his head. Jared stared at Dexter when his best friend began mumbling to himself.

  “Isaac warned me earlier this morning that you would be too blind to identify your own feelings. He was right. Shit! Now, I owe him five blowjobs, and I’m not permitted to have any orgasm before I complete all five of them. This will be painful for my balls.”

  “What?”

  Jared really couldn’t hear Dexter’s words properly because his best friend was muttering softly to himself. Dexter glared at Jared.

  “Never mind. Good luck, man.”

  Jared grinned at Dexter. “Thanks. I’m going to find Steve a man or a woman. He will be thrilled.”

  Dexter snorted. “I don’t think so.”

  Jared ignored Dexter because his best friend was being such a downer. He would succeed. He would prove it to Dexter. However, he first had to earn Stephen’s forgiveness. It wouldn’t be easy. Stephen could be really obstinate at times. However, Jared was up for the challenge. Once Stephen was no longer mad at him, Jared could commence the task of landing his best friend the perfect man or woman. That should be fun.